Rattlesnake viper. Rattlesnake or rattlesnake

Currently, rattlesnakes are called the subfamily of pit vipers. These snakes have a pair of infrared (heat-sensitive) dimples located between their nostrils and eyes. This is where the name of the subfamily comes from.

Nowadays, 175 species of the pit family have been described, 69 of them live in southeast Asia, and 106 in America. This subfamily is the only one living on the American continent. The copperhead lives in Russia - in the Far East and Central Asia.

Many people die due to the fact that the behavior of pitheads is quite aggressive, and the poison is quite strong.

Features of a rattlesnake

Like other representatives of the viper family, pit vipers have a pair of poisonous teeth, hollow and relatively long, from which poison is secreted. The shape of the head is usually triangular, the pupils in the eyes are located vertically.

The name of the subfamily “pitheads” comes from a pair of thermoreceptor dimples located between the nostrils and eyes. They sense infrared radiation very well, and snakes use them to recognize their prey, thanks to the difference in temperature between the environment and the prey itself.

These receptors perceive even slight, about 0.1 degrees, changes in air temperature. The snake recognizes rodents and birds even in complete darkness, since their temperature is much higher for it. These dimples, like primitive eyes, help the snake select a victim and attack it very accurately.

Since pitheads, like other snakes from the viper family, prefer to hunt at night from ambush, this quality is simply necessary for them. Among the variety of snakes, only boas have a similar sensory organ. The length of rattlesnakes varies: from 50 cm - ciliated viper to 3.5 m - bushmaster.

The name “rattlesnake,” widespread in Russia, comes from a pair of species of pit vipers found in North America that have a “rattle” at the tip of their tail. It represents modified scales. Which form movable segments. Special rattling sounds are created when the segments collide when the tip of the tail oscillates.

Rattlesnake habitats

Representatives of pitheads live from humid jungles and high mountains to deserts, there are even aquatic species. Some snakes live on the ground, others live in trees, and some climb to a height of more than 1 km. above sea level.

Apart from some species that are active around the clock, snakes in this subfamily prefer to be nocturnal to avoid sun and heat burns and go out hunting when most of their prey is active. During the daytime, pitheads prefer to hide in rodent burrows or under stones. To find the most optimal place to rest, snakes again use their heat-sensitive dimples.

When danger approaches, the rattlesnake assumes a threatening pose - using its powerful muscles, it coils its body into a tight spring, which is ready to unfold at any moment with terrible force. The tail part is folded into a spiral ring, from the center of which a rattle rises vertically, producing a characteristic rustling sound. The front part of the body takes the form of a fairly high column.

Newborn snakes do not have a rattle; it grows as they grow older. In newly born cubs, the tip of the tail is crowned by one large, almost round, scute. Rattlesnakes, like other relatives, molt; in the first year this happens especially often - up to 6 times. With the completion of each moult, one additional keratinized skin segment is added to the snake’s rattle, since the loose skin is unable to come off completely from the tail; it is torn off from the skin. In adult snakes, the molting process occurs once every 1-1.5 years. While crawling between rocks and through thickets, some of the rattlesnakes accidentally lose their rattles, breaking them off. Then they gradually grow again.

For a certain time before the start of molting, the cornea of ​​the eyes becomes opaque and cloudy, protecting snake eyes, which lack eyelids, from damage. The snake temporarily loses its sight and navigates during this period with the help of its tongue, but prefers to hide in a shelter until its vision is restored. But even snakes that have lost their sight can hunt using a thermolocator, which can detect objects that have a temperature different from the temperature of the surrounding air. Apart from rattlesnakes, only some species of vipers have similar abilities.

Rattlesnake bite

The rattlesnake uses its teeth primarily to grab and hold its prey. A sign of a poisonous snake is a pair of large saber-shaped teeth, larger than the rest. Inside they have channels for the passage of poison, used to kill prey during the hunt and to protect themselves when danger arises. For the most part, rattlesnake venom is extremely dangerous to humans.

It is a well-known fact that a snake sheds its keratinized outer layer during molting. The same thing happens with poisonous teeth. But even at this time, the snake produces venom that spreads along the folds of the gums. Consequently, a snake bite, even in the absence of poisonous teeth, is dangerous, since the poison can enter the human blood through the skin.

In some cases, after being bitten by a rattlesnake, people saw four wounds, rather than the usual two. Then they made erroneous conclusions about the emergence of a new four-toothed species of snake. In fact, for about a couple of days the snake bites with both old teeth that have not yet fallen out and new ones that have not yet fallen into place. Usually, when bitten, a pair of large dots-wounds are clearly visible - traces of poisonous teeth and two rows of small dots left by non-poisonous teeth.

It is difficult to predict how a rattlesnake bite will affect a particular person and how the venom will act. This is influenced by many factors. The main ones are the quality and quantity of the poison, the location of the bite (the closer it is to the head, the more dangerous), how deeply the snake teeth penetrated the person’s skin, and what mental and physical state the person was in at the time of the bite. But in any case, a person needs to be provided with immediate and qualified medical assistance.

First aid should be provided thoughtfully, since uncontrolled application of various objects to the bitten area - from hot iron objects and coals from a fire to cold earth - does not help, but only aggravates the patient’s condition.

It happened that a person who was bitten by a rattlesnake had his fingers cut off, or even his entire hand, but this cruel method did not justify itself at all. It is often believed that poison is a poison for the body, and they try to disinfect it with an alcohol solution. But this can only have the opposite effect - the vessels dilate, the absorption of the poison accelerates.

The most effective remedy is a special serum made from snake venom. Also, snake venom is used in small doses, with the addition of other elements, as a medicinal drug. For example, rattlesnake venom is successfully used to treat leprosy, and water snake venom is used to stop severe bleeding.

Rattlesnake venom

In order to regularly receive large amounts of venom, special serpentarium nurseries are created in which thousands of snakes are kept, and venom is regularly collected from them. Only snakes do not live there for long, only about six months, although in a zoo with good care they can survive about 10-12 years.
Rattlesnakes generally adapt quickly to captivity. Despite the fact that at first they may refuse to take food, they gradually become accustomed to the staff, the snakes begin to take food from special tongs and can even allow themselves to be touched. But snakes are insidious creatures; they can bite very unexpectedly, even if they have been behaving approximately for a long time.

Sometimes a rattlesnake can go hungry for a long time - up to nine months. Even if, for example, a live rat is introduced to it, the snake does not show any interest, and the potential victim is also not afraid of the snake, only being excited by the noise of the rattle. Once upon a time there was even such a case: a rattlesnake was killed by rats. When snakes are hungry, they bathe, drink water, shed their old skin, and only after all this are they ready to eat.

Although snakes are poisonous, they also sometimes become prey for many animals (ferrets, hedgehogs, martens, weasels) and birds (crows, vultures, buzzards, spotted eagles, peacocks). They are not susceptible to the effects of snake venom at all, or it is very weak for them.

The more the territory of America was populated, the smaller the population of snakes on it became, as they began to be eaten by pigs, who are not afraid of snake bites because they enter the subcutaneous fat, where there are practically no blood vessels into which the poison can enter. In the states of Florida and Georgia, people also eat rattlesnakes, claiming that the meat tastes like chicken.

Since ancient times, South American Indians have noticed the toxic effect of snake venom on humans and animals and began to use it in war and hunting. The main weapon of the Indians has always been bows and arrows. The main part of the poison for arrows is curare (juice from the roots of chondrodendron and stirchnos), and snake venom is added to it. The poison is applied to the tip of the arrow and retains its properties for a long time. If an arrow hits a large bird or animal, even slightly hitting the animal, it will die in a couple of minutes. Paralysis of the body's motor system occurs and breathing stops.

Snake cult among Indians

The cult of snakes is widespread among the Indians of South and North America. Rattlesnakes are sacred animals, considered intermediaries between people and gods. Since ancient times, when drought and crop failure occur, the Indians have performed a snake dance. During it, they swing large two-meter snakes like whips, throw them to the ground, and calls are made to enter into negotiations with the deity. The crowd sings, asking the gods to send them grace in the form of rain and harvest. Residents of Eastern India and North Africa also worship snakes; there are even special holidays dedicated to them.

Every rattlesnake is venomous, but not all have the tail rattle that gives its name to this vast subfamily with more than two hundred species.

Description

Rattlesnakes (in the broad sense of the term) include one of the subfamilies included in the viper family. Herpetologists classify them as Crotalinae, at the same time calling them rattlers or pitheads (due to a pair of thermolocator pits planted between the nostrils and eyes).

Surukuku (they are also formidable bushmasters), temple keffiyehs, jararaks, millet rattlesnakes, urutu, American spearhead snakes - all this crawling variety belongs to the subfamily Crotalinae, consisting of 21 genera and 224 species.

One of the genera bears the proud name Crotalus - real rattlers. This genus includes 36 species, including miniature dwarf rattlers, about half a meter long, as well as diamondback rattlers (Crotalus adamanteus), reaching up to 2 and a half meters. By the way, many herpetologists consider the latter to be the classic and most beautiful rattlesnakes.

Appearance of a snake

Pit snakes differ from each other both in size (from 0.5 m to 3.5 m) and in color, which is usually polychrome in nature. The scales can be painted in almost all colors of the rainbow - white, black, steel, beige, emerald, reddish-pink, brown, yellow and more. These reptiles are rarely monochromatic, not afraid to show off intricate patterns and bold colors.

The main background often looks like an interweaving of thick stripes, streaks or diamonds. Sometimes, as in the case of the Celebes keffiyeh, the predominant color (bright green) is only slightly diluted with thin blue and white stripes.

Rattlesnakes are related by a wedge-shaped head, two elongated fangs (through which the poison passes) and a tail rattle made of ring-shaped keratinous structures.

Important! Not all reptiles are equipped with rattles - for example, copperheads do not have them, as well as the Catalina rattlesnake, which lives on the island. Santa Catalina (Gulf of California).

The tail rattle is needed by the snake to scare off enemies, and its growth continues throughout its life. A thickening at the end of the tail appears after the first molt. During subsequent molts, fragments of old skin cling to this growth, leading to the formation of a raised ratchet.

When moving, the rings are lost, but most of them remain to serve as a tool to intimidate/warn the enemy. The vibration of the raised tail, topped with a rattle, indicates that the reptile is nervous and you better get out of its way.

According to Nikolai Drozdov, the sound of the vibrating rings is similar to the crackling sound produced by a narrow film film projector and can be heard at a distance of up to 30 meters.

Lifespan

If rattlesnakes lived the entire lifespan allotted to them by nature, they would not leave this world before 30 years. At least, this is how long pitheads live in captivity (when well-fed and without natural enemies). In the wild, these reptiles do not always reach twenty, and the vast majority die much earlier.

Range, habitats

According to herpetologists, almost half of the rattlers (106 species) live on the American continent and quite a lot (69 species) live in Southeast Asia.

Cottonmouths are named as the only pitheads that have penetrated both hemispheres of the earth.. True, there are significantly fewer of them in North America - only three species. Two (oriental and common copperheads) were found in the Far East of our country, in Central Asia and Azerbaijan. The eastern one is also found in China, Japan and Korea, whose inhabitants have learned to prepare excellent dishes from snake meat.

The common copperhead can be seen in Afghanistan, Iran, Korea, Mongolia and China, and the humpback can be seen in Sri Lanka and India. The smooth copperhead lives on the Indochina Peninsula, Sumatra and Java. The Himalayan prefers mountains, conquering peaks up to 5 thousand meters.

The Eastern Hemisphere is home to a variety of keffiyehs, the most impressive of which is considered to be a resident of Japan - a one and a half meter tall haba. Mountain keffiyeh is found on the Indochina Peninsula and the Himalayas, and bamboo keffiyeh is found in India, Nepal and Pakistan.

Other pithopolas called bothrops are also common in the Western Hemisphere. The most numerous rattlers in Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay are considered to be jararaks, and in Mexico - urutu.

Rattlesnake Lifestyle

Pitheads are such a diverse community that its members can be found anywhere, from deserts to mountains. For example, the water muzzle “grazes” in swamps, wet meadows, and the banks of ponds and rivers, while Bothrops athrox prefers tropical jungles.

Some rattlers almost never leave the trees, others feel great confidence on the ground, and still others prefer rocks.

On hot afternoons, rattlesnakes rest under boulders, trunks of fallen trees, under decaying leaf litter, at the base of stumps and in holes left by rodents, gaining vigor closer to dusk. Nocturnal activity is typical for the hot season: in cool seasons, snakes move around during the daytime.

Reptiles that feel chilly during the cold season, as well as pregnant ones, often take sunbathing.

This is interesting! Many rattlers remain faithful for years to the once chosen hole, in which their numerous descendants continue to live. The hole seems to be passed down by inheritance for tens and hundreds of years.

Huge colonies of snakes live in such a family lair. The first foray, hunting, mating and even seasonal migrations take place near the burrow. Some species of rattlers spend the winter in large groups, keeping each other warm during hibernation, while others stay apart.

Diet, prey

Rattlers, like typical ambush predators, take a position and wait for the prey to approach within throwing distance. A signal of an upcoming attack is the S-shaped bend of the neck, in which the head of the rattlesnake looks towards the enemy. The length of the throw is equal to 1/3 of the length of the snake's body.

Like other vipers, pit vipers kill prey with venom rather than using chokeholds. Rattlesnakes feed mainly on small warm-blooded animals, but not only on them. The diet (depending on the area) contains:

• rodents, including mice, rats and rabbits;
• birds;
• fish;
• frogs;
• lizards;
• small snakes;
• insects, including cicadas and caterpillars.

Adolescent snakes often use their brightly colored tail tip to lure frogs as well.

During the day, rattlesnakes find prey using their normal senses of vision, but an object frozen without movement may not be noticed. At night, temperature-responsive pits come to their aid, distinguishing fractions of degrees. Even in pitch darkness, the snake sees the thermal contour of the prey created by infrared radiation.

Enemies of the rattlesnake

This is, first of all, a person who destroys reptiles in the excitement of the hunt or out of unjustified fear. Quite a few rattlers have been crushed on the roads. In general, the population of pitheads, like other snakes, on the planet has decreased significantly.

Factors that reduce the number of rattlesnakes include night frosts, which are deadly for newly hatched juveniles.

Rattlesnake Reproduction

Most viviparous rattlers mate after wintering (in April-May) or later, depending on their range. Often, summer sperm is stored in the female’s body until the following spring, and only in June does the reptile lay eggs. There are from 2 to 86 (Bothrops atrox) pieces in a clutch, but on average 9-12, and after three months the offspring are born.

As a rule, before laying eggs, females crawl 0.5 km away from their burrow, but it happens that snakes hatch right in the family nest. After 2 years, the female, having regained her strength, will be ready for the next mating.

At the age of 10 days, rattlers shed their skin for the first time, during which a “button” is formed at the tip of the tail, which eventually turns into a rattle. Around the beginning of October, the snakes try to find their way to their native hole, but not all succeed: some die from the cold and predators, others go astray.

Male pitheads reach sexual maturity at 2 years of age, females at 3 years of age.

WikiHow works like a wiki, which means that many of our articles are written by multiple authors. This article was produced by 48 people, including anonymously, to edit and improve it.

The rattlesnake belongs to the subfamily of pit vipers, which live in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In Central and South America they are ubiquitous, but in Russia there are only two species. Contrary to the traditional idea of ​​these snakes, they do not hunt humans, but feed on rats, mice, gophers, small birds, frogs and even sometimes large insects. At the same time, the rattlesnake's main instinct is self-defense. In fact, a snake is a very vulnerable animal because it is small in size and does not have legs or ears, and the poison that enters the attacker’s blood with a bite helps it defend itself. If you encounter a rattlesnake, proceed with caution, always practice safety and pay attention.

Know when and where you may encounter a rattlesnake. Most often, people find these snakes on hikes, while mountaineering, in tent camps, and just while walking in the wild.

• Typically, rattlesnakes live in hot climates (many like deserts), but some prefer cool places (like the diamondback rattlesnake). Most species of rattlesnakes live in the southern United States and Mexico, although they are also found in other regions (desert areas of Canada, etc.).
• Most often, rattlesnakes come out of their hiding places on warm summer evenings at sunset and after it - in the summer they are most active at night. At the same time of day, human eyes begin to see worse, so be careful. Wear good boots and take a flashlight if you're going out at night.
• Rattlesnakes love warmth. At any time of the year, even in winter, these snakes can go in search of a warm place. The optimal air temperature for them is 21-32°C.
• Rattlesnakes generally do not sit in open areas. If they do come to the surface, they move very quickly because they do not want to become prey to predators, including humans and large animals. Therefore, rattlesnakes are most often found near rocks, in bushes and any other places where a snake can hide. However, on hot days, snakes like to bask on hot stones or asphalt.

Why do some animals seem attractive to us, while others seem terrible? Why do some people touch, while others frighten or disgust? Hard to say. But be that as it may, an encounter with a two-meter poisonous snake with an open mouth with sharp teeth clearly does not bode well.

Rattlesnakes, or rattlesnakes, live in North and Central America, the southeastern United States and northeastern Mexico, and are also found in South America. Two genera of rattlesnakes have a rattle at the end of their tail (hence the Russian name for the family). It is formed from modified scales and consists of movable segments that, when vibrating, produce a peculiar sound.

Rattlesnakes are the most common venomous reptile in the United States. They prefer to live in deserts, such as Death Valley, where it is dry and hot. There they hide in bushes and among stones, and usually hunt at night, when it is cooler. Rattlesnakes are not very picky about what they eat: small mammals, birds, fish, amphibians (frogs and toads) and reptiles (smaller lizards and snakes) are suitable for them. The venom of rattlers is very strong and can kill a person if the snake manages to bite into the human body with two long crooked teeth. Inside each rattlesnake tooth there is a channel through which venom is injected into the wound.

The most interesting facts

Rattlesnakes do not lay eggs. They are ovoviviparous: the egg develops in the body of the female snake, and the cubs hatch there, which are born already fully developed. A few minutes after birth, baby snakes move independently, and their venom is as deadly as that of adult snakes. For the first time, the cub begins to curl up into a ring at two weeks of age, after the first moult. And then he grows new skin.

Rattlesnakes have a special sensory organ called “eyes” that “see” heat. These are receptors that detect temperature differences and allow the snake to recognize warm-blooded creatures in the dark - people, mammals, birds. It is enough that, for example, a mouse’s body temperature is 10 °C higher than the air temperature for a rattlesnake to “notice” the animal at a distance of up to 7 m!

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Most people have a favorite activity, a so-called hobby. But not everyone knows that a hobby not only brings pleasure, but also heals our body. The use of labor processes for therapeutic purposes is used to increase the tone of the body, normalize metabolic processes, alleviate the human condition in a number of diseases, strengthen and restore human health.

• Sewing treats heart diseases associated with rhythm disturbances, lowers blood pressure and calms the nervous system. Sewing soft toys reduces allergic reactions and helps normalize the functioning of the digestive system.
• Knitting has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system, relieves headaches, and helps get out of depression. And crocheting helps develop the joints of the hands and improves well-being in case of atherosclerosis.
• Beading helps restore mental balance, treats diseases of the genitourinary system, inflammation of joints and ligaments.
• Embroidery helps restore mental balance, treats diseases of the genitourinary system, inflammation of joints and ligaments
• Carving and painting on wood is a kind of gymnastics for the eyes with myopia. It also helps with allergic dermatitis, hypotension, diseases of the digestive and respiratory organs.

Most likely, each person intuitively supports his favorite activity in accordance with the problems of his body.

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Hyacinth is a very beautiful flower, the name of which can be translated as “flower of rain.” The flower appeared a long time ago, back in Ancient Greece. However, the myth tells about a rather sad reason for the appearance of the plant. The story concerns King Amycles, who had a simply wonderful son. He was so wonderful that the gods Zephyr and Apollo began to feel jealous of him. This jealousy led to the murder of the young man by one of the deities. And in the place where drops of the young man’s blood fell, a beautiful flower grew, which was later called hyacinth. We invite you to pay attention to how to choose an electric meat grinder.

A little information

To learn how to grow hyacinths at home, you need to have a little basic information. The plant can be classified as a member of the lily family. The flower grows not only at home, but also in the wild: Central Asia, North America, and the Eastern Mediterranean. Hyacinth grows from a bulb. A stem grows from the center of the bulb, surrounded by fairly large fleshy leaves. On the stem there is an inflorescence of different colors. In rare cases, one plant may produce several stems with flowers.

The flowers are shaped like small bells that open strongly. One inflorescence can contain up to 30 flowers.

After the plant's flowering period has passed, the stems begin to dry out. At the same time, a young one is born inside the old bulb. Also, daughter bulbs can grow on a young bulb, which begin to bloom only after 3 years.

Homemade hyacinth

If the plant does not grow in the wild, it can be grown at home. Moreover, the plant is quite common among lovers of growing flowers.

Hyacinth blooms from January to May.

For flower growth, it is necessary to prepare a special soil: clay-turf, and coarse sand (3:2) should also be added.

It is recommended to grow the plant at a temperature of 10-16 degrees. As for lighting, during the flowering period you need to provide the plant with bright light. You need to water the flower regularly, but make sure that the water does not stagnate.

How to grow hyacinth at home

Once a month, mineral fertilizer should be added to the soil.

Until the flowering period, the plant is kept in a place where it is cool and there is also shade. Once flowering begins, the temperature of the flower is not very important. However, you should remember that in a cool room the plant will bloom longer. After the hyacinth has bloomed, the bulb should be placed in a cool, dark place. At the beginning of autumn, the bulbs are planted again. The flower reproduces by bulbs.

How to grow hyacinth at home

Winter forcing

At the end of August, healthy large onions are selected, wrapped in gauze and left in the refrigerator. The temperature should be +5 degrees. In the first months of autumn, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the bulbs to prevent the development of diseases.

The beginning of November

Now you can start planting the bulbs. To do this, you need to prepare pots up to 30 cm high. As for the diameter, it all depends on the number of bulbs planted.

How to grow hyacinth at home

Next, the vessel is filled with soil (10 cm layer), which is compacted. After that, you need to water the soil, place the prepared plants on its surface and sprinkle them with another layer of soil (the bulbs should stick out a little from it). Now the pot of bulbs can be placed in the refrigerator or other cool place. The plant is left in this state for a month.

Beginning of December.

Now you can move the planted flowers to a warm room (temperature 16 degrees). It is also necessary to provide them with dim light. Homemade hyacinth is very picky about light, so you need to monitor the flower for about 10 days. After the sprouts reach 3 cm, you can begin to water them moderately. Now you can provide bright lighting.

January

This month the sprouts are already strong, and the inflorescence is already peeking out a little from under them. In this case, the bud has the shade that the future flower will have. Soon the plant will begin to bloom.

After the flowers have fully bloomed, you need to move them to a warm room. The temperature for hyacinth in this case should be about 16 degrees.

End of flowering

How to grow hyacinth at home

After the home hyacinth has faded, the stem can be cut off. However, you should not touch the leaves, since without them it is impossible to form a new bulb. To keep them in proper shape, it is better to tie them up.

In this case, you should definitely water the plant (moderately), and also add fertilizer to the soil every few months. You need to do this until the leaves begin to dry out.

You can cut the leaves only after they are completely dry. This will mean that the bulb has formed. It needs to be taken out of the ground and placed in a cool place (not in the refrigerator).

You can plant a new bulb after a few years, as it needs to gain strength before forcing. After the storage period has expired, you need to plant the hyacinth in early autumn.

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A snake is an animal of the chordate type, class Reptiles, order Squamate, suborder snakes (Serpentes). Like all reptiles, they are cold-blooded animals, so their existence depends on the ambient temperature.

Snake - description, characteristics, structure. What does a snake look like?

The body of the snake has an elongated shape and can reach a length of 10 centimeters to 9 meters, and the weight of the snake ranges from 10 grams to more than 100 kilograms. Males are smaller than females, but have a longer tail. The body shape of these reptiles varies: it can be short and thick, long and thin, and sea snakes have a flattened body that resembles a ribbon. Therefore, the internal organs of these scaly animals also have an elongated structure.

The internal organs are supported by more than 300 pairs of ribs, movably connected to the skeleton.

The snake's triangular head has jaws with elastic ligaments, which makes it possible to swallow large food.

Many snakes are venomous and use venom as a means of hunting and self-defense. Since snakes are deaf, to navigate in space, in addition to vision, they use the ability to capture vibration waves and thermal radiation.

The main information sensor is the forked tongue of the snake, which allows it to “collect information” about the environment using special receptors inside the palate. Snake eyelids are fused transparent films, scales covering the eyes, therefore snakes don't blink and even sleep with their eyes open.

The skin of snakes is covered with scales, the number and shape of which depends on the type of reptile. Once every six months, the snake sheds its old skin - this process is called molting.

By the way, the color of the snake can be either monochromatic in species living in the temperate zone, or variegated in representatives of the tropics. The pattern can be longitudinal, transversely circular or spotted.

Types of snakes, names and photographs

Today, scientists know more than 3,460 species of snakes living on the planet, among which the most famous are adders, sea snakes (not dangerous to humans), pit snakes, pseudopods, which have both lungs, as well as rudimentary remains of the pelvic bones and hind limbs.

Let's look at several representatives of the snake suborder:

• King cobra (hamadryad) ( Ophiophagus hannah)
  

The most gigantic poisonous snake on earth. Some representatives grow up to 5.5 m, although the average size of adults usually does not exceed 3-4 m. King cobra venom is a lethal neurotoxin, causing death in 15 minutes. The scientific name of the king cobra literally means “snake eater”, because it is the only species whose representatives feed on snakes of their own kind. Females have an exceptional maternal instinct, constantly guarding the clutch of eggs and completely going without food for up to 3 months. The king cobra lives in the tropical forests of India, the Philippines and the islands of Indonesia. Life expectancy is more than 30 years.

• Black Mamba ( Dendroaspis polylepis)

The African venomous snake, growing up to 3 m, is one of the fastest snakes, capable of moving at a speed of 11 km/h. The highly toxic snake venom causes death in a matter of minutes, although the black mamba is not aggressive and attacks humans only in self-defense. Representatives of the black mamba species received their name due to the black coloration of the oral cavity. The snake's skin is usually olive, green or brown in color with a metallic sheen. It eats small rodents, birds and bats.

• Fierce snake (desert taipan) ( Oxyuranus microlepidotus)

The most poisonous of land snakes, the venom of which is 180 times stronger than that of a cobra. This species of snake is common in the deserts and dry plains of Australia. Representatives of the species reach a length of 2.5 m. Skin color changes depending on the season: in extreme heat it is straw-colored, when it gets colder it becomes dark brown.

• Gaboon viper (cassava) ( Bitis gabonica)

The poisonous snake that lives in the African savannas is one of the largest and thickest vipers, up to 2 m long and with a body girth of almost 0.5 m. All individuals belonging to this species have a characteristic, triangular head with small horns located between the nostrils . The Gaboon viper has a calm character, rarely attacking people. It belongs to the type of viviparous snakes, breeds once every 2-3 years, bringing from 24 to 60 offspring.

• Anaconda ( Eunectes murinus)

The giant (ordinary, green) belongs to the subfamily of boas; in former times the snake was called a water boa. The massive body, 5 to 11 m long, can weigh over 100 kg. The non-venomous reptile is found in low-flow rivers, lakes and creeks of the tropical part of South America, from Venezuela to the island of Trinidad. It feeds on iguanas, caimans, waterfowl and fish.

• Python ( Pythonidae)

A representative of the family of non-venomous snakes, it is distinguished by its gigantic size, ranging from 1 to 7.5 m in length, with females being much larger and more powerful than males. The range extends throughout the eastern hemisphere: tropical forests, swamps and savannas of the African continent, Australia and Asia. The diet of pythons consists of small and medium-sized mammals. Adults swallow leopards, jackals and porcupines whole, and then digest them for a long time. Female pythons lay eggs and incubate the clutch, by contracting muscles, increasing the temperature in the nest by 15 -17 degrees.

• African egg snakes (egg eaters) ( Dasypeltis scabra)

Representatives of the snake family that feed exclusively on bird eggs. They live in savannas and woodlands of the equatorial part of the African continent. Individuals of both sexes grow no more than 1 meter in length. The movable bones of the snake's skull make it possible to open its mouth wide and swallow very large eggs. In this case, the elongated cervical vertebrae pass through the esophagus and, like a can opener, rip open the eggshell, after which the contents flow into the stomach, and the shell is coughed up.

• Radiant snake ( Xenopeltis unicolor)

Non-venomous snakes, the length of which in rare cases reaches 1 m. The reptile received its name for the rainbow tint of its scales, which are dark brown in color. Burrowing snakes live in the loose soils of forests, cultivated fields and gardens in Indonesia, Borneo, the Philippines, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and China. Small rodents and lizards are used as food items.

• Worm-like blind snake ( Typhlops vermicularis)

Small snakes, up to 38 cm long, resemble earthworms in appearance. Absolutely harmless representatives can be found under stones, melons and watermelons, as well as in thickets of bushes and on dry rocky slopes. They feed on beetles, caterpillars, and their larvae. The distribution area extends from the Balkan Peninsula to the Caucasus, Central Asia and Afghanistan. Russian representatives of this species of snake live in Dagestan.

Where do snakes live?

The distribution range of snakes does not include only Antarctica, New Zealand and the islands of Ireland. Many of them live in tropical latitudes. In nature, snakes live in forests, steppes, swamps, hot deserts and even in the ocean. Reptiles lead an active lifestyle both during the day and at night. Species living in temperate latitudes hibernate in winter.