Many people are scared by snakes. At the same time, it is simply impossible to not note their features and uniqueness. Coldblooded animals are striking in their behavior, the original way of movement, the power of the impact of the toxic matter and the extraordinary appearance. Snakes belong to the chorda representatives of the animal world. Reptiles enter the squad of scaly, subordinate snakes. The existence and wellbeing of the coldblooded has a great influence by the temperature of the surrounding air. Studying the snakes opens the unpredictable features of reptiles and conquers an increasing audience that this population cannot help but fall in.
- Characterization and structure of snakes
- Snake and hibernation of snakes
- Numerous families of snakes
- The brightest representatives of the snake
- Gamadriand (Royal Cobra)
- Desert Taypan (Cruel Snake)
- Black Mamba
- Kassava (Gabon viper)
- Anaconda
- Python
- Eggs (African egg snakes)
- The radiant snake
- Cherveshaped blindness
- Injudic snakes
- Poisonous snakes
- Propagation of snakes
- Conclusion
Characterization and structure of snakes
Until recently, science has known 3200 varieties of snakes and only 410 species are poisonous. The most interesting and unusual feature of coldblooded is the unique structure of the body. In length, an adult can grow up to nine meters. The smallest snakes grow up to 10 cm. The same fluctuations relate to the weight of the representatives of the scaly detachment, starting from 10 g and, reaching 100 kg. The main distinguishing feature of males is their long tail; They also grow smaller in size.
A variety of body shapes is simply amazing. There are individuals having a long and thin body, or, conversely, short and thick. Those snakes that live near the sea have a flattened look and often resemble a tape. The skin of coldblooded is predominantly dry, completely covered with scales or peculiar shields. In different parts of the body, the surface differs, for example, on the sides and on the back of the scales are small and resembles a tile (as it lays on each other). The belly of most snakes are “dotted” with wide semiring plates.
The eyelids are motionless and, it seems that they are able to hypnotize the victim. Reptiles never blink and even sleep with open eyes. The unique structure of the skull allows even the smallest individuals to open the mouth so that a small rabbit climbed into it. This is because the upper jaw is connected to neighboring bones and is mobile, while the elements of the lower are connected by a bunch that is stretched.
Due to the unusual body, the structure of the organs is also unique: they are all elongated and elongated closer to the head. A total of about 200-400 vertebrae has a skeleton, each of which is mobile and connected by ligaments. Sliding a snake on the ground occurs due to the movement of shields located on the belly. Thanks to the keratinized layers of the epidermis, coldblooded animals easily move quickly.
Despite all the features of snakes, reptiles have poor vision and hearing. In return, nature awarded them with a beautiful smell and touch. Not the last role in orientation in space is played by a language that is bifurcated at the end. Many researchers call it “sting”. Opening his mouth, the snake catches the air with his tongue and various particles and elements of the atmosphere stick to it, then the reptile leads the organ to a certain place located in the mouth, and feels the smell, taste.
In most cases, their poison snakes use for selfdefense, it is also one of the ways to kill the victim.
Snake and hibernation of snakes
What snakes eat directly depends on the size of the coldblooded animal. The main diet of reptiles consists of frogs, rodents, lizards, some types of insects. But the fact remains all the livestock snakes. For individuals it is considered a real delicacy to have breakfast with small chicks or eggs. Thanks to the possibility of climbing trees, they can easily ruin bird nests and enjoy the meal.
Eating is not every day. Snakes cope with hunger perfectly and provided that there are water nearby, individuals may not eat for months. A feature of reptiles is their endurance and patience. Snakes are hidden among the foliage, wait for prey by the road or on the ground, but the hunt is patient and, as a rule, effectively. Livestock swallow food from the head, but with caution so as not to get hurt from the sharp teeth of the victim. Before this process, individuals try to immobilize the animal, squeezing its body with their rings.
Food is digested for 2-9 days. The speed of the process depends on the health of the individual, the ambient temperature, the size of the victim. To accelerate digestion, many snakes put up the abdomen in the sun.
Snakes do not like cold, because already in late October early November they leave to winter. As a dwelling, individuals can choose a hole of rodents, a haystack, wood roots, cracks, crevices and other places. If the reptiles are near people, then they hide in the basements, sewer systems, abandoned wells. The hibernation of animals may be interrupted or not at all (if the coldblooded live in a tropical or subtropical climate).
Closer to early April, representatives of the scaly detachment begin to crawl out of their shelter. The exact time of the “exit from the numbness” depends on the level of humidity, temperature and other factors. Almost the whole spring snakes are warming in the sun. In the summer in the daytime, animals prefer to be in the shade.
Numerous families of snakes
Experts have an opinion on the number of families in the submarine of snakes. Here are the most popular classification of reptiles:
Thanks to the ability to adapt, snakes can be found in any part of the world. Despite belonging to one family, animals have a variety of shapes, flowers, differ in color, habitat and other signs.
The brightest representatives of the snake
Among the wide variety of snakes, the most striking subspecies are moi, vipers, aspids, seaheaded and falsecreamy coldblooded. The following reptiles are considered the most interesting and unusual.
Gamadriand (Royal Cobra)
If you collect all the snakes together, then Gamadriand will surpass the rest. This type of livestock is considered the largest, even giant and poisonous. The royal cobra grows to 5.5 meters, the antidote after its bite does not exist today. A terrible poison after 15 minutes kills the victim. In addition, it is the Hamadrians who can eat their own kind. Female individuals can starve for three months, carefully guarding their eggs. On average, cobra live for about 30 years and most often they can be found on the territory of the state of India and the islands of Indonesia.
Desert Taypan (Cruel Snake)
It is quite possible to meet a land killer in the desert or on the plains of Australia. Quite often, individuals of this species grow up to 2.5 meters. The poison of a brutal snake is 180 times more powerful than cobras. The color of the coldblooded animal depends on weather conditions. So in the heat of the taipans they have a skin similar to straw, and in the cold-dark brown.
Black Mamba
The maximum growth of the black mamba is 3 meters. The representative of the reptiles is considered the fastest (individuals can move at a speed of 11 km/h). The poisonous snake kills the victim in just a few seconds. Nevertheless, the animal does not belong to aggressive and can attack a person, only feeling a threat. Black Mamba received such a name due to painting strips of mouth. The skin of a predator is olive, green, brown shades, sometimes with an admixture of metal.
Kassava (Gabon viper)
Big, fat, poisonous this is how you can characterize the Gabon viper. Individuals grow up to 2 meters in length, and have a body girth of almost 0.5 meters. The main feature of animals is the unique structure of the head it has a triangular shape and small horns. This type of snakes can be attributed to calm. Female individuals are vibrant.
Anaconda
Anacondas are included in the family. These are the largest snakes, the length of which can be 11 meters, and weight 100 kg. “Water Boats” lives in rivers, lakes, vibrants and belongs to an unhappy reptile. The main food of coldblooded animals is fish, waterfowl, heguana and kayman.
Python
Giant nonnuclear snake reaching 7.5 meters in length. Females differ from male individuals with their powerful body and large sizes. Pythons prefer to eat small and medium mammals. They can easily swallow the leopard, porcupine, jackal and over the course of many days to digest the prey. Snakes of this type hatch eggs, maintaining the desired temperature.
Eggs (African egg snakes)
Animals feed exclusively with eggs and grow no more than 1 meter in length. Due to the unique structure of the skull, small snakes easily swallow large booty. The cervical vertebrae break the shells, and the contents of the eggs are swallowed, while the shell is hidden.
The radiant snake
Nonadult snakes with excellent body color. Individuals grow up to 1 meter and feed on lizards, small rodents.
Cherveshaped blindness
Small representatives of reptiles (the length does not exceed 38 cm) in appearance resemble rainworms. Can meet under a stone, in the thickets of shrubs, rocky slopes.
Injudic snakes
The following representatives of coldblooded animals are attributed to nonadversible snakes:
Ordinary
Ordinary distinctive features are yellow or orange spots located on the sides of the head;
Amur output
The Amur Regulations the length of the animal can reach 2.4 m, belongs to the family already like;
The copper is ordinary
The tiger and mesh python, dairy snake, Mais, yellowbellied and the Aesculans of the runner are also among the nonnavigable snakes.
Tiger python
Mesh python
Dairy snake
Yellowbellied output
Poisonous snakes
Gyurza
Among the most dangerous poisonous snakes are Gyurza. The length of individuals rarely when exceeds two meters.
Efa
In Asia, such a dangerous predator like Efa lives in Asia. Snakes of this type are afraid of people and warn them about their presence with hissing. Coldblooded grow up to 80 cm and belong to livestock snakes.
A special place in the list of poisonous snakes is given to the explosive (Yamkolov) representatives of reptiles. These are one of the most dangerous animals on the planet, which are known thanks to their tail, working as a “rattle”.
Rattlesnake
Propagation of snakes
Coldblooded animals love to be alone. But in the wedding period, they become very friendly and loving. The “dance” of males can last many hours before the female will consent to fertilization. For the most part, snakes are oviposing animals, but there are some varieties that give birth to living cubs. Snake masonry can reach 120,000 eggs (this process is affected by the habitat and a type of reptile).
Sexual maturity of snakes occurs in the second year of life. The female is sought by smell, after which male individuals wrap the body of the chosen one. Surprisingly, the parents of newborns do not pay the slightest attention to them.
Conclusion
Snakes are extraordinary creatures that differ from each other in size, shape, skin color and habitat. The unique structure of the body, an interesting lifestyle and the nature of individuals make them a vivid object for research.