We invite you to find out a few amazing facts from the life of reptiles.
They're everywhere (almost)
Our planet is home to more than 2,900 species of snakes, found everywhere from the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia to southern Australia. They can be found on every continent except Antarctica (Ireland, Greenland, Iceland and New Zealand also had no snakes), and even deep underwater and high in the mountains.
Snakes have a special internal structure
Have you ever thought about how they work? internal organs snakes? Well, maybe not, but in fact the structure of these creatures is amazing, since they do not have a body as such to house the main systems. Snakes' paired organs, such as kidneys, are located front and back rather than left and right, and they only have one functioning lung.
Schematic representation of the internal organs of a snake: 1 - esophagus, 2 - trachea, 3 - tracheal lung, 4 - rudimentary left lung, 5 - right lung, 6 - heart and thymus, 7 - liver, 8 - stomach, 9 - air (swimming) ) bag, 10 — gallbladder, 11 - pancreas, 12 - spleen, 13 - intestines, 14 - testes, 15 - kidneys.
The location of the heart can change, it moves due to the absence of a diaphragm, so that large pieces of food do not compress it when swallowed and move along the esophagus.
They sniff with their tongue
We often associate the word “snake” with the hissing and fluttering of a forked tongue from an open mouth. Why do they do this? The fact is that snakes smell using their tongue, collecting airborne particles and then transferring them to the olfactory organs in the mouth. The two parts of the tongue give the reptile something of a sense of direction as to where smells or tastes are coming from. With these quick movements, snakes are able to perceive chemical substances in air, soil and water, and also with their help to determine the presence of nearby prey or predators.
Snakes are sensitive
Sensitive in a different sense than touching soap operas, otherwise: snakes have a subtle sense of vibration. The slippery part of the abdomen can detect even the slightest vibrations in the air and on the ground, which gives the reptile the ability to sense the approach of other animals.
In addition, some rattlesnakes, pythons and boas also have infrared receptors in the grooves on their heads that allow them to sense the heat emitted by any warm-blooded animal nearby.
They eat what suits them
Snakes exclusively consume a variety of animals as food, including small lizards, other snakes, small mammals, birds, eggs, fish, snails or insects and up large mammals such as jaguars and deer.
Since snakes eat their prey in one large gulp, the size of the reptile determines the size of the animal it consumes. For example, a young python may start out with lizards or mice, moving on to small deer and antelope as they age and increase in body size.
Their sizes vary from 10 cm to 10 m
Most snakes are relatively small, about a meter long. The extinct snake Titanoboa cerrejonensis was 12-15 m long, but by far the longest reptile reticulated python about 10 m. On the other side of this ruler is a 10 cm crumble Leptotyphlops carlae.
The weight of the heaviest snake is 250 kg
The South American anaconda grows up to 9 m in length and reaches a weight of 250 kg. On land, these reptiles are rather clumsy, and therefore live near shallow rivers and swamps, spending most time in water where they can move faster. The anaconda's eyes and nostrils are located on the top of its head, and these snakes stalk prey like alligators, leaving their bodies below the surface of the water.
And what animals does the heaviest snake in the world hunt to maintain its impressive mass? This wild boars, deer, birds, turtles, capybaras, caimans and even jaguars, which the snake strangles, squeezing with its powerful body. Its jaws are connected by flexible ligaments, allowing them to swallow a whole meal, which sometimes lasts for weeks or even months.
Some snakes can fly!
Are you fascinated by the sight of a reptile slithering through the grass? What can you say about a snake rushing through the air? Yes, there are five species of venomous tree-dwelling snakes that can fly. They can be seen on the island of Sri Lanka and in South-East Asia, and technically these snakes are more likely to be gliders than flyers, as they use the speed of free fall from a tree and contraction of body muscles to catch rising air currents.
Snakes are mysterious and controversial animals on our planet. Some admire them, while others are horrified by them, and in fairness it is worth noting that there are much more of the latter. This subconscious fear of snakes largely stems from mortal danger these reptiles are for humans - the bite of a poisonous snake can send them to the next world in a short time even a hero.
There are 2,600 known species of snakes. Almost all snakes hunt moving prey. The exception is the ovivorous snake and several other species of snakes whose diet may consist of carrion.
All snakes, without exception, are predators.
Not all snakes lay eggs - there are also viviparous species among them.
Spitting snakes pretend to be dead when in danger. Having fallen on their backs, with their mouths open, they emit unpleasant odors. This ritual is protection from predators: carrion with an unpleasant odor is not suitable for dinner. From the outside it looks like funny memes.
Snakes can have 300 pairs of ribs.
Vipers, pythons and boas have a special organ on their heads that responds to changes in temperature. Thanks to him, snakes “see” perfectly and hunt in the dark.
The most poisonous land snake in the world is the taipan. One dose of taipan poison is enough to kill a hundred people. This snake is 50 times more poisonous than a cobra. Taipan is also considered the most dangerous snake, since its monstrous toxicity is combined with impressive (up to 3.5 meters) size and extremely aggressive disposition.
Sea snakes are smaller than land snakes, but some of them are very dangerous. However, all of them are not too aggressive towards humans, unless you try to harm them.
Some snakes do not have a right lung, so the left lung is larger than the right lung. The snake's heart slides along the body, which makes it easier for food to pass through gastrointestinal tract.
With the help of their tongue, snakes collect information about their surroundings, which they then transmit to the sky. The function of the sky is recognition. So waving the tongue for a snake is only a collection of information, and not a threat.
All snakes shed periodically throughout their lives.
Most snakes are excellent at seeing warm objects, such as mammals, due to their developed infrared vision.
The rattlesnake has a rattle consisting of 6-10 layers. The rattle is the result of molting: one molting - one segment.
The tail of the Calabar boa constrictor resembles a head. This similarity is protection for the boa constrictor. In case of danger, he exposes his tail to the enemy, thus saving his head.
Popeye the boa constrictor managed to live for more than 40 years.
The black mamba is one of the most poisonous snakes. More than 95% of those bitten by this snake die. The black mamba is also considered one of the fastest - it can move at a speed of more than 16 km per hour. But this snake does not have a black color - the mamba can be brown, green, gray.
The most long snake lives at the Ohio Zoo. This is Fluffy the python. Its weight is 136 kg, and its body length is 7 m 31 cm. Fluffy is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.
Giant snakes called anaconda. The body length of the anaconda is more than 6 meters. These snakes spend most of their lives in water. But despite this, they are excellent poison dart climbers.
A herbivorous snake lives in Mexico. Her body is covered with fur. This snake is a pet and Mexican children love to play with it. This myth “pops up” quite often on the Internet. But this is an outright lie.
The smallest snake was found in Barbados. Its length subtle body less than 10 cm.
It is believed that the cobra remembers the one who offended it. Thus, residents of a village located near the city of Mangaluru tell how a cobra decided to take revenge on a boy who threw a stick at it. A few days later the cobra attacked its offender. The child was not at a loss - he rushed to the boat and swam on it along the river. When he swam to the shore, it turned out that the snake was waiting for him. The boy swam across the river several times until they rushed to his aid. local residents.
According to many scientists, the deadliest snake is the king cobra. You can die from the bite of this snake within an hour. Its competitor is the tiger snake. The venom of both snakes is potent. However, tiger snake it is less than that of the king cobra.
The only snake that feeds on its relatives is the king cobra.
The jaw clenching reflex in snakes is so strong that the predator that kills the snake often becomes the victim himself, because when bitten, he received a dose of poison that was not controlled by the snake.
All snakes eat animal food, that is, carnivores. In most cases, the “killing” technique comes down to suffocation of future food. The most typical example is the death grip of a boa constrictor.
Some types of harmless and non-venomous snakes look almost indistinguishable from their poisonous counterparts - this is how they protect themselves from attacks by predators.
Poisonous snakes use venom primarily not for defense, but for attack when hunting.
Snakes have poor eyesight. They only react to moving objects. Good vision is characteristic only of tree snakes.
Poisonous snakes in the world there are about three times less than non-poisonous ones.
In Asia you can meet flying snakes. Having climbed trees, spreading their ribs to the sides, they are able to soar in the air, covering distances of 100 meters.
Snakes' eyelids are always closed, but this does not prevent the snake from seeing, since its eyelids are transparent. However, the vision of most species of snakes is still weak, which cannot be said about the sense of smell. However, snakes sense odors not with their nostrils, but with their tongue, tasting the air.
Snake racing takes place every year in India. Cobras compete. It is interesting that at these competitions not a single cobra touched its owner. But attempts to sting overly active fans have been recorded.
The African Gaboon viper is considered to have the longest teeth among snakes. The length of the tooth is 3 cm.
Snakes can hibernate for 3 years without eating.
Snakes are not indifferent to music. With their eyes closed in pleasure, they dance superbly to the music of Mozart, Ravel, and Handel. Snakes dance to rock music too. In this case, their movements are cutting. Russian pop music causes apathy and even nausea in them.
There are no snakes in New Zealand.
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Snakes... How many secrets and mysteries these reptiles keep within themselves. Only a few people have the opportunity to study them, but for most they evoke fear or disgust. Here are the most interesting facts about snakes that will help you get to know these reptiles even better.
- 1. The African snake, which loves to feast on eggs, looks very similar to a viper. Although it is not poisonous, this color allows it to exist calmly in the world wildlife. With a head size of 1 centimeter, it can easily swallow the eggs of birds 5 times larger.
- 2. Spitting cobras can feign their death. They do this in the most extreme cases when conventional methods do not help deal with the attacker. At such moments, cobras turn onto their backs, open their mouths wide and emit very unpleasant odors of rot. As a rule, after such a scene the predator leaves hungry.
- 3. A “sensor” of temperature indicators, which is located on their head, helps snakes navigate well in the dark. Such a sensor looks like a small hole, and it can respond to changes of only 0.002 degrees.
- 4. Some species of snakes have about 300 pairs of ribs. And the internal organs are located one after another. It is also interesting that their left lung is much larger than their right. The right one is sometimes completely absent. The heart of snakes can move around the body. This function was provided by nature to make it easier for reptiles to move food through the gastrointestinal tract.
- 5. Snake venom is a complex substance that has different composition at different types reptiles. Some contain enzymes that are dangerous to the nerves, others – to the heart, and still others – that break down DNA.
- 6. Snakes have two pairs of teeth on the upper jaw and one on the lower jaw. They all change throughout life.
- 7. By frighteningly waving their tongues, snakes “sniff” the air around them. The information obtained is transmitted to the sky, where it is quickly identified.
- 8. The spitting cobra can hit its victim with both a bite and spitting poison at a distance of three meters. At the same time, she aims directly at the eyes - at the mucous membrane.
- 9. The “rattle” of a rattlesnake’s tail consists of large quantity layers. So, the next molt adds another segment to them. As a result, there may be about ten layers.
- 10. Most old snake There was Popeye the boa constrictor in the world. It existed until 1977 (40 years).
- 11. Interesting Facts about snakes also concern their other records. For example, the longest snake is considered to be a snake with the interesting nickname Fluffy, which lives at the Ohio Zoo. At the age of 18, Fluffy's body length is 7.31 meters. And the weight is 136 kilograms. This snake is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
- 12. The smallest snake was discovered in Barbados. The length of her body was about 10 centimeters.
- 13. The only kind snakes that feed on their relatives - the king cobra.
- 14. Snakes have rather poorly developed vision. Therefore, they respond well to movement. It is worth noting that tree snakes have good eyesight.
- 15. In Asia there are flying snakes. Having straightened their ribs, they can “fly” from one tree branch to another, covering distances of even 100 meters.
- 16. African Gaboon viper longest teeth. Sometimes their length reaches three centimeters.
- 17. Snakes can hibernate for three years without eating at all.
- 18. The sliding part of the snake’s belly detects even subtle vibrations on the ground and in the air. This ability helps reptiles sense the approach of predators, people and their prey.
- 19. Snakes swallow their prey in one gulp.
We invite you to watch interesting video fight between cats and snakes. Who will win? Look ;)
Poisonous snakes
The first snakes appear to have appeared on earth about 130 million years ago, based on fossils found in the sediments Cretaceous period. It is likely that snakes descended from lizards that lost their legs in the process of adapting to life underground. Although anacondas spend a significant part of their lives in water, they climb trees very well. Anacondas are the giants of the snake world, often exceeding 6 meters (19.8 feet) in length in parts of the Amazon where they are not hunted. Most snakes now live on the surface of the earth, but they have not regained legs. Despite this, they have remarkably adapted to move with ease on a variety of surfaces. The garter snake is widespread in the central states North America. In winter, it hibernates, often in a community of its own kind, in places suitable for this. Snakes swim well and climb trees. In addition, they can grab fast-moving prey and swallow animals much larger (in diameter) than themselves. Once cooled, the Indonesian blood pito emerges from a forest stream. Most pythons are not afraid of water, and some can catch fish and frogs. About 2,600 species of snakes are known to science. Almost all of them are predators, specializing in hunting live prey. There are one or two exceptions, such as the amazing egg-eating snake or the few species that happen to eat carrion, but for the most part snakes only grab prey that moves. The water moccasin snake, sometimes called the water moccasin snake, loves water and is very poisonous. The cottonmouth appears to be displaying a cotton-white inner surface mouth, which is why it is also called a cottonmouth. Snakes move very easily and can quickly elude an enemy or pursue prey. Snakes swim effortlessly, bending their bodies like eels. Some float on the surface, others underwater, and their bodies have become flattened for additional pushing force. Deadly horned viper from Africa uses protective coloration to hide. It moves like a horned rattlesnake, and the force of the throw is so great that the snake jumps. On the ground, snakes move by bending in numerous arcs and pushing aside pebbles and twigs, so they move very quickly, slightly raising their heads to see better, or using the “accordion” method. , folding the body into a series of horizontal folds and making a jerk. This method can also be used to climb trees, as the folds cling to the bark. The green, slender, sharp-headed snake is well camouflaged under the creeping plants of the Ecuadorian rain forest. It grabs any unwary insect or bird. To move more easily and reduce contact with the scalding hot sand, the horned rattlesnake first throws its head and then bends its body into an arc. The so-called horned rattlesnakes that live in sandy deserts, easily move over loose and sometimes very hot sand, twisting most of the body into a spiral and leaving only two points of the body at a time for support. Some of the largest and heavy snakes(combat, pythons, anacondas) use the method of rectilinear movement. The name of the blunt-headed snake accurately reflects its appearance. Habitat - from tropical Mexico to northern Bolivia. Having extended their body in a straight line, they glide forward without any noticeable muscle movements. In fact, in this case, the scales on the ventral side rise and fall in turn along the entire body. This happens so synchronously that the snake slithers forward in one smooth movement. This method can even be used to climb trees. Of all the methods, this is the least noticeable, allowing you to get close to prey without being detected.
There are more than 2000 species in the world various snakes- large, small, poisonous, non-poisonous, harmless, etc. And these reptiles certainly deserve attention. In this article we will look at 15 interesting and unusual facts about snakes.
1. We all know how a cobra dances to the fakir’s pipe (from movies or TV shows, or maybe we’ve seen it live), but in reality these snakes are absolutely deaf and don’t hear the sounds of the pipe, but they dance because they follow the movements of the pipe (the fakir always in motion) and prepare for an attack, in addition, they react to the vibrations of the leg, which the caster taps. But in any case, even if the cobra attacks, nothing bad will happen, since the poison is always removed in advance.
2 . The Python lays the most eggs among snakes. Some species are capable of laying around 100 eggs at a time.
3. King Cobra It can also feed on other snakes. she is not even bothered by the fact that they may be poisonous.
4. The oldest long-lived snake is a boa constrictor named Popeye. This snake died in 1977 at the age of 40.
5. Some types of snakes (for example, spitting cobras, etc.) can simulate death when they realize that the advantage is not on their side. They lie on their backs, open their mouths and even make noises bad smell. Predators, as a rule, do not touch them.
6. The snake constantly sticks out its tongue in order to recognize information about environment and objects. Her tongue is so sensitive that it picks up “information” from the air.
7. Some snakes (for example, vipers, pythons, etc.) have a notch on their heads that serves as a temperature sensor. This “device” helps them hunt, especially in the dark.
8. Snakes have very poor vision and hearing, so they react mainly only to moving objects.
9. Some snakes can hibernate for up to 3 years without eating or drinking.
10. It has long been known that snake venom can be used as medicine. Based snake venom(cobra) the ointment “Cobratoxan” (cobratox) is made, which is used for radiculitis, inflammation of other joint diseases. In addition, thanks to cobras, they also make a special vodka, which has a powerful healing effect (especially for men).
11. Almost all snakes are oviparous, but there are some species that are born like mammals (that is, connected to the mother by vessels). Viviparous snakes are considered common vipers, many sea snakes and the American one.
12. South American anacondas are considered the heaviest snakes. Their weight can reach up to 250 kg.
13. The smallest snakes can be the size of our common one earthworm, and the largest (pythons) reach up to 10 meters.
14. The rattle of rattlesnakes is not some kind of balls inside the tail, but old fur and skin, i.e. the result of her molt.
15. Due to the flexibility of snakes, you might think that they have no bones at all, but this is not true. The fact is that snakes have about 150 pairs of ribs, but they are not like those of humans (immobile), but have a movable structure, as if on hinges, so from the outside one might think that snakes are completely boneless.
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