Lachesis muta

Lachesis muta muta

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Serpentes
Infraordo: Caenophidia
Superfamilia: Viperoidea

Familia: Viperidae
Subfamilia: Crotalinae
Genus: Lachesis
Species: Lachesis muta
Subspecies: L. m. muta – L. m. rhombeata
Name

Lachesis muta (Linnaeus, 1766)
Vernacular names
magyar: Néma csörgőkígyó, szurukuku
Nederlands: Bosmeester
português: Surucucu

Lachesis muta, also known as the Southern American bushmaster or Atlantic bushmaster,[2] is a venomous pit viper species found in South America, as well as the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. Two subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.[3]

Taxonomy

Two additional subspecies, L. m. melanocephala and L. m. stenophrys, had earlier been recognized. However, both were elevated to species level by Zamudio and Green in 1997 (see L. melanocephala and L. stenophrys).[1]
Subspecies

Subspecies^[3]	Taxon author^[3]	Common name	Geographic range^[1]
Lachesis muta muta	(Linnaeus, 1766)	South American bushmaster	Colombia, eastern Ecuador, Peru, northern Bolivia, eastern and southern Venezuela, Trinidad, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana and much of northern Brazil, Costa Rica
Lachesis muta rhombeata	(Wied-Neuwied, 1824)	Atlantic Forest bushmaster	Coastal forests of southeastern Brazil (from southern Rio Grande do Norte to Rio de Janeiro).

Description

Adults grow to an average of 2 to 2.5 m (6½-8 feet), although 3 m (10 feet) is not too unusual. The largest recorded specimen was almost 3.65 m (12 feet) long, making this the largest of all vipers and the longest venomous snake in the western hemisphere.[4] Lachesis muta is the third longest venomous snake in the world, exceeded in length only by the king cobra and the black mamba. Weight in this species is estimated at an average of 3 to 5 kg (6.6 to 11.0 lb), somewhat less than the heaviest rattlesnakes or Bitis vipers, such as the Gaboon viper, and the rhinoceros viper.

The head is broad and distinct from the narrow neck. The snout is broadly rounded. There is no canthus. A pair of small internasals is present, separated by small scales. The supraoculars are narrow. Other parts of the crown are covered with very small scales. Laterally, the second supralabial forms the anterior border of the loreal pit, while the third is very large. The eye is separated from the supralabials by 4-5 rows of small scales.[5]

The body is cylindrical, tapered and moderately stout. Midbody there are 31-37 nonoblique rows of dorsal scales which are heavily keeled with bulbous tubercles and feebly imbricate. There are 200-230 ventral scales. The tail is short with 32-50 mainly paired subcaudals, followed by 13-17 rows of small spines and a terminal spine.[5] Like most New World pit vipers, Lachesis muta exhibits defensive tail vibration behavior in response to potential predatory threats[6]

The color pattern consists of a yellowish, reddish or grey-brown ground color, overlaid with a series of dark brown or black dorsal blotches that form lateral inverted triangles of the same color. The lateral pattern may be precisely or indistinctly defined, normally pale at the center.[4]
Venom
Lachesis muta muta in Ecuador

Some reports suggest that this species produces a large amount of venom that is weak compared to some other vipers.[7] Others, however, suggest that such conclusions are not accurate. These animals are badly affected by stress and rarely live long in captivity. This makes it difficult to obtain venom in useful quantities and good condition for study purposes. For example, Bolaños (1972) observed that venom yield from his specimens fell from 233 mg to 64 mg while they remained in his care. As the stress of being milked regularly has this effect on venom yield, it is reasoned that it may also affect venom toxicity. This may explain the disparity described by Hardy and Haad (1998) between the low laboratory toxicity of the venom and the high mortality rate of bite victims.[8]

Brown (1973) gives the following LD50 values for mice: 1.5 mg/kg IV, 1.6–6.2 mg/kg IP, 6.0 mg/kg SC. He also notes a venom yield of 200–411 mg.[9] The bushmaster's venom has proteolytic activity, which destroys and causes lesions in the tissue, anti-coagulant, which causes incoagulable blood, hemorrhagic and neurotoxic, that acts mainly on vagal stimulation. The symptoms are quite similar to those caused by Bothrops, at the site of the bite there is pain, edema, ecchymosis, skin necrosis, abscesses, vesicles and blisters. The main complications at the bite site include necrosis, compartment syndrome, secondary infections and functional deficit. The systemic effects are characterized by hypotension, dizziness, visual disturbances, bradycardia, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.[10] Other manifestations are also similar to Bothrops, including systemic hemorrhage and kidney failure.[11] In ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil, a 7-year-old boy was bitten when he left the house and stepped on one of these specimens, which then readily bit him; death was reported to have occurred approximately 15 minutes later. In 2005, in northwest Mato Grosso, a 5-year-old child also died, going into shock approximately 30 minutes after being bitten by a Lachesis muta and succumbing within 90 minutes.[12][13]
Etymology

Lachesis is one of the three Fates in Greek mythology and was supposed to assign to man his term of life—something this species is certainly capable of doing. The species is similar in appearance to rattlesnakes and vibrates its tail vigorously when alarmed, but has no rattle and was therefore called mutus (later muta), which is Latin for dumb or mute. However, when in the undergrowth, the tail actually makes quite a loud rustling noise.[14]
Common names

Known as the mapepire zanana or mapepire grande (pronounced ma-pa(y)-PEE za-Na-na or ma-pa(Y)-PEE GRAN-dey) in Trinidad,[15][16] surucucú in the Amazon Basin (surucucu in large part of Brazil), shushúpe in Peru, and pucarara in northern Bolivia. In Venezuela the species is known as cuaima or cuaima piña. In Colombia it is known as verrugosa or verrugoso due to the warty look of its scales, and in Suriname as makasneki and makkaslang.[17] It is also known as the Atlantic bushmaster.[2]

It is called ĩtsãi in the Kwaza language of Rondônia, Brazil.[18]

In the Shawi language of Peru, it is called na’shi.[19]
Distribution and habitat

Found in South America in the equatorial forests east of the Andes: Colombia, eastern Ecuador, Peru, northern Bolivia, eastern and southern Venezuela, Guyana, Costa Rica, Suriname, French Guiana, much of Brazil, and the island of Trinidad.[16] The type locality is "Surinami" (Surinam).[1] It occurs in primary and secondary forests; adjacent fields and cleared areas.[4] In Trinidad it tends to prefer hilly and mountainous regions.[20]
Diet

Bushmasters prey primarily on rats and mice.
References

McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
Lang, Kirsty (6 October 2013). "Trying to save the heat-seeking Atlantic bushmaster". BBC News. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
"Lachesis muta". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 25 October 2006.
Mehrtens JM (1987). Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
United States Navy (1991). Poisonous Snakes of the World. New York: U.S. Government / Dover Publications Inc. 203 pp. ISBN 0-486-26629-X.
Allf, B. C., Durst, P. A., & Pfennig, D. W. (2016). Behavioral plasticity and the origins of novelty: the evolution of the rattlesnake rattle. The American Naturalist, 188(4), 475-483.
Lachesis muta, The Silent Fate at South American Pictures. Accessed 26 October 2006.
Ripa D (2001). "Bushmasters and the Heat Strike" at VenomousReptiles.org Archived 2008-04-09 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 26 October 2006.
Brown JH (1973). Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. ISBN 0-398-02808-7.
Pinho, F. M. O.; Pereira, I. D. (January–March 2001). "Ofidismo". Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira (in Portuguese). 47 (1): 24–29. doi:10.1590/S0104-42302001000100026. ISSN 0104-4230. PMID 11340447.
Borges, Célio Campos; Sadahiro, Megumi; Santos, Maria Cristina dos (November–December 1999). "Aspectos epidemiológicos e clínicos dos acidentes ofídicos ocorridos nos municípios do Estado do Amazonas". Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (in Portuguese). 32 (6): 637–646. doi:10.1590/S0037-86821999000600005. ISSN 0037-8682.
http://www.lachesisbrasil.com.br/download/BulChicagoHerpSoc_Vol42Num7pp105-115%282007%29.pdf
Rodrigo (2 January 2011). "Núcleo Serra Grande: Sobre o tamanho (verdadeiro) de Lachesis". Núcleo Serra Grande. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
Gotch AF (1986). Reptiles — Their Latin Names Explained. Poole, United Kingdom: Blandford Press. 176 pp. ISBN 0-7137-1704-1.
Mendes, John (1986). Cote ce Cote la: Trinidad & Tobago Dictionary. Arima, Trinidad. p. 95.
"List of Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago" Archived 2006-08-08 at the Wayback Machine at Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Biodiversity Clearing House Archived 2012-12-21 at archive.today. Accessed 25 October 2006.
Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). In Costa Rica it is commonly known as Mata Buey or Casabel Muda The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. 2 volumes. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates. 870 pp. 1,500 plates. ISBN 0-8014-4141-2.
Manso, Laura Vicuña Pereira. 2013. Dicionário da língua Kwazá. M.A. dissertation. Guajará-Mirim: Federal University of Rondônia.
Rojas-Berscia, Luis Miguel. 2019. From Kawapanan to Shawi: Topics in language variation and change. Doctoral dissertation, Radboud University Nijmegen.

Herklots GAC (1961). The Birds of Trinidad and Tobago. London: Collins. p. 10.