Facts about Snakes
Primitive groups among the modern snakes, pythons and boas, have vestigial hind limbs: tiny, clawed digits known as anal spurs, which are used to grasp during mating (AAAS 2000; Mehrtens 1987, 11).
Renewal of the skin by molting allows growth in some animals, such as insects, and is believed to also serve this function in snakes, although this view is disputed.
Phylogeny of snakes is poorly known because snake skeletons are typically small and fragile, making fossilization uncommon.
The snake returns in Exodus when Moses, as a sign of God's power, turns his staff into a snake; snakes are similarly produced by the pharaoh's magic-practicing priests, but Moses's snake devours them.
The vestigial left lung in snakes is often small or sometimes even absent, as snakes' tubular bodies require all of their organs to be long and thin (Mader 1996).
The frontal limbs in all snakes are non-existent because of the evolution of the Hox genes in this area.
India is often called the land of snakes and is steeped in tradition regarding snakes (Deane 1833).
Fossil evidence suggests that snakes may have evolved from burrowing lizards, such as varanids or a similar group during the Cretaceous period (McDowell 1972).
Snakes are categorized in the order Squamata within the entire suborder Serpentes.
Contrary to the popular notion of snakes being slimy (perhaps because of possible confusion of snakes with worms), snakeskin has a smooth, dry texture.
Three important medical symbols involving snakes are used today: the Bowl of Hygieia, symbolizing pharmacy, and the Caduceus and Rod of Asclepius, which are symbols denoting medicine in general (Wilcox and Whitham 2003).
Snakes generally are distinguished from lizards—which also belong to order Squamata, but are placed in suborder Sauria (or Lacertilia)— by the absence of legs, although some lizards are legless.
Venomous snakes that use hemotoxins usually have the fangs that secrete the venom in the front of their mouths, making it easier for them to inject the venom into their victims (Frieberg 1984, 125).
The axial skeleton of the snakes' common ancestor had, like most other tetrapods, the familiar regional specializations consisting of cervical (neck), thoracic (chest), lumbar (lower back), sacral (pelvic) and caudal (tail) vertebrae.
The great diversity of modern snakes appeared in the Paleocene, correlating with the adaptive radiation of mammals following the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Snakes are also differentiated from lizards by have more flexible jaws and by lacking external ear openings and movable eyelids whereas most lizards (but not all) have movable eyelids and external ear openings.
In "Freudianism: The Misguided Feminism," she discusses how Freudianism is essentially completely accurate, with the exception of one crucial detail: everywhere that Freud wrote "penis," the word should be replaced with "power."
Being ectothermic or cold blooded, the surrounding temperature plays a large role in a snakes digestion.
Snakes do not ordinarily prey on humans and most will not attack humans unless the snake is startled or injured, preferring instead to avoid contact.
After eating, snakes become torpid while the process of digestion takes place (Rosenfeld 1989).
Venomous snakes are found in diverse families of snakes and do not constitute a formal classification group used in taxonomy.
All snakes are strictly carnivorous, eating animals such as lizards, other snakes, small mammals, birds, eggs, fish, snails and insects (Mehrtens 1987; Sanchez 2007; Behler and King 1979; Kaplan 1996).
The Titans are also depicted in art with snakes instead of legs and feet for the same reason—they are children of Gaia and Ouranos (Uranus), so they are bound to the earth.
Snakes lack external ears and snakes show no tendency to be influenced by music (Bagla 2002).
Elsewhere Jesus Christ instructed his disciples to be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16).
Medusa is described as a hideous mortal, with snakes instead of hair and the power to turn men to stone with her gaze (Bullfinch 2000).
Some snakes, like the Asian vine snake (genus Ahaetulla), have binocular vision.
Of the roughly 725 species of venomous snakes worldwide, only 250 species are known as able to kill a human with one bite.
Other primitive snakes are known to have possessed hindlimbs but lacked a direct connection of the pelvic bones to the vertebrae, including Haasiophis, Pachyrhachis and Eupodophis) which are slightly older than Najash (AAAS 2000).
The diversity of modern snakes appeared during the Paleocene period (around 66 to 56 million years ago).
Scales have been modified over time to serve other functions such as "eyelash" fringes, and protective covers for the eyes, with the most distinctive modification being the rattle of the North American rattlesnakes.
Some snakes have a venomous bite, which they use to kill their prey before eating it (Freiberg 1984; Behler and King 1979).
Certain birds, mammals, and other snakes such as kingsnakes that prey on venomous snakes, have developed resistance and even immunity to certain venom (Mehrtens 1987, 243).
Both sidewinding and lateral undulation require substantial space, but some environments, such as tunnels, have very limited space and in these instances snakes rely on concertina locomotion (Cogger and Zweifel 1992).
To produce antivenin, a mixture of the venoms of the different species of rattlesnakes, copperheads, and cottonmouths is injected into the body of a horse in ever-increasing dosages until the horse is immunized.
In Asian countries such as Thailand,Indonesia, and Cambodia, drinking the blood of snakes, particularly the cobra, is believed to increase sexual virility (Flynn 2002).
In all venomous snakes, these glands open through ducts into grooved or hollow teeth in the upper jaw (Mehrtens 1987, 243; Freiberg 1984, 5).
The movement of snakes in arboreal habitats has only recently been studied (Cogger and Zweifel 1992).
Sometimes these people exploit the fear of snakes by releasing snakes into the neighborhood and then offering to rid the residence of snakes.
The more than 2,900 species of snakes are spread across every continent except Antarctica.
Snakes use various methods to move on land or in water (Cogger and Zweifel 1992).
Snakes may have evolved from a lizard that adapted to burrowing during the Cretaceous period (around 150 million years ago).
Similar skull structure, reduced/absent limbs, and other anatomical features found in both mosasaurs and snakes lead to a positive cladistical correlation, although some of these features are shared with varanids.
Three medical symbols involving snakes that are still used today are Bowl of Hygieia, symbolizing pharmacy, and the Caduceus and Rod of Asclepius, which are symbols denoting medicine in general (Wilcox and Whitham 2003).
Some snakes that use neurotoxins, such as the mangrove snake, have their fangs located in the back of their mouths, with the fangs curled backwards.
Venom in snakes is more for killing and subduing prey than it is for self-defense.
Earlier, the Irulas caught thousands of snakes for the snake-skin industry.
The Irulas are also known to eat some of the snakes they catch and snakes are very useful in rat extermination in the villages.
The bites of non-venomous snakes are usually harmless because their teeth are designed for grabbing and holding, rather than tearing or inflicting a deep puncture wound.
Snakes are worshipped as gods even today with many women pouring milk on snake pits (despite snakes' aversion for milk) (Deane 1833, 61).
Three reproductive modes are known in snakes: egg-laying, ovoviviparous, and viviparous.
All snakes can laterally undulate forwards (with backward-moving waves), but only sea snakes have been observed reversing the pattern, in other words, moving backwards via forward-traveling waves.
The ideal temperature for snakes to digest their food is around 30 degrees Celsius.
Later Moses made Nehushtan, a bronze snake on a pole, which when looked at cured the people of bites from the snakes that plagued them in the desert.
Snakes have more flexible jaws than lizards, lack movable eyelids, lack external ear openings, and generally lack limbs entirely, although some species have traces of hind limbs.
Venomous snakes are found in diverse families of snakes and do not constitute a formal classification group used in taxonomy.
Non-fatal bites from venomous snakes may result in the need for amputation of a limb or part thereof.
Since they can live on land, they also have an expanded lung system. Reptiles include turtles, crocodilians, lizards, snakes and tuatara (found only in New Zealand). The reptiles of Quebec are represented by turtles and snakes only. Curently, there are 37 known species of amphibians and reptiles in Quebec.
Snakes live in almost every corner of the world. They are found in forests, deserts, swamps and grasslands. Many call underground burrows or the spaces under rocks home. Some snakes, like the cottonmouth water moccasin of North America live in water part of the time.Jun 20, 2014
Snakes have an organ in the throat called the glottis, through which they breathe. ... This is generally a quiet process, but can change at the snake's discretion. By forcibly expelling air from the glottis, the snake makes structures within the glottis rattle, creating the iconic hissing sound.
Snakes don't blink because they do not have eyelids. Each eye is covered with a single clear eye scale. These eye scales protect eyes from injury and prevent the eyes from drying out. That is the reason snakes are unable to blink their eyes and sleep with open eyes.
Yes, Snakes Sleep. If you've never in your life seen a snake with his eyes closed, you're not alone. No one has ever actually seen that, because snakes just don't possess eyelids. Despite their not having eyelids, they can sleep just fine.
There are some snakes that are completely diurnal while others are completely nocturnal. However, others are found in between. Others will be active in the night or in the day according to the season. ... The eyes of the snakes do not have eyelids and they are covered by clear scales in the wild and in captivity.
Generally, reptiles do demonstrate basic emotions. ... A more controversial emotion in reptiles is the concept of pleasure, or even love. Many feel that they have not developed this emotion, as it does not naturally benefit them. However, most reptiles do seem to recognize people who frequently handle and feed them.Aug 18, 2011
Actually peacocks are omnivorous. They eat a variety of food including reptiles i.e snakes. They have been seen stalking and then eating snakes.
A food chain only follows just one path as animals find food. eg: A hawk eats a snake, which has eaten a frog, which has eaten a grasshopper, which has eaten grass. A food web shows the many different paths plants and animals are connected. eg: A hawk might also eat a mouse, a squirrel, a frog or some other animal.