This snake feeds chiefly on mice. * * * * * _A. rhodostoma._--Snout pointed, somewhat turned up at the tip: 7-9 supralabial shields; body scales in 21 rows; 138-157 ventrals; 34-54 subcaudal pairs. Coloration reddish, grey, or pale brown above, with large angular, dark brown, black-edged spots arranged in pairs or alternating. Vertebral line almost black; lips yellow, speckled with brown; brown, black-edged band, running from the eye to the angle of the mouth. Belly yellowish, spotted with greyish-brown. Total length, 810 millimetres; tail 90. _Habitat_: Java. * * * * * _A. hypnale_ (fig. 31).--Snout more or less turned up, with a hard, pointed end; 7-8 supralabial shields; body scales in 17 rows; 125-155 ventrals; 28-45 subcaudal pairs. Coloration very variable; brown, yellowish, or greyish above, sometimes with dark brown spots or transverse bands. Cheeks brown, with a longitudinal, white, black-edged streak on each side of the neck. Belly more or less speckled with dark brown. Total length, 480 millimetres; tail 65. _Habitat_: Ceylon, and Western Ghats of India as far north as Bombay. In Ceylon this snake is known as the _Carawalla_. It is much dreaded, but its bite is not rapidly fatal. (f) =Lachesis.= This genus has many representatives in Asia and the New World. The American species are for the most part of larger size and more formidable. They are characterised by a triangular head, covered with small scales or small shields, and by a cylindrical or compressed body. The Asiatic species have the subcaudal scales in two rows and the tail short, and often prehensile, which enables them to climb trees or bushes, where they lie in wait for their prey. Their classification is based upon the following characters:-- A. First infralabial scale in contact with its fellow. I. Scales in 21-25 (rarely 27) rows; 129-158 ventrals; 21-57 subcaudals; 5-9 series of scales between the supraocular shields; tail _non-prehensile_. [Illustration: FIG. 32.--_Lachesis okinavensis._ (After G. A. Boulenger, _op. cit._)] (1) _L. monticola._--Supraocular shields large, separated by 5-8 scales; snout obtuse. Colour brown or yellowish above, brown or pale yellow on the sides, with a brown temporal streak. Belly white, spotted with brown. Total length, 740 millimetres; tail 115. _Habitat_: Tibet, Himalayas (2,000 to 8,000 feet), Hills of Assam, Burma, Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Sumatra. (2) _L. okinavensis_ (fig. 32).--Supraocular shields large, separated by a transverse series of 6-9 scales; end of snout pointed and turned up. Colour brown above, with dark transverse bands and a light temporal streak. Belly brown, spotted with black, especially on the sides. Total length, 350 millimetres; tail 60. _Habitat_: Okinawa, Loo Choo Islands. (3) _L. strigatus._--Supraocular shields small, sometimes broken up, separated by 8-11 convex scales in juxtaposition.