The snake flag of Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

has no official status on the island. It is a historical flag dating from an edict issued 4 August 1766, specifying that vessels of the French Colony of Martinique and Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 620 km2 and has an...

 should fly a version of the French ensign, which at the time was a white cross on a blue field, with L-shaped (for Lucia) snakes in each quarter of the cross.

The snakes are fer-de-lance vipers (Bothrops lanceolatus

Bothrops lanceolatus

Bothrops lanceolatus is a venomous pitviper species generally considered endemic to the island of Martinique. No one has satisfactorily explained why it has flourished there and is unknown on nearly all other Caribbean islands. Some reserve the name fer-de-lance for this species, while others apply...

, French trigonocéphale) native to Martinique.