Snakes are chordate animals that belong to the class Reptilia, order Squamata (Squamata) and the suborder Serpentes; without a doubt, they correspond to a very peculiar group within the reptiles. These limbless animals have caused both fascination and fear, as some of them can be not only aggressive, but also deadly poisonous. However, they are beautiful animals that often respond to situations of fear or threat.
Like all wild animals, they play an important role in the ecosystems they inhabit, and in this article on our site we want to tell you about some of the curiosities of the most amazingsnakes. We invite you to continue reading to discover everything there is to know about snakes.
They belong to a very diverse group
Snakes are a curiously diverse group, currently being grouped in the suborder Serpentes, which is subdivided into two infraorders: Scolecophidia and Alethinophidia. The first contains the blind serpents, made up of five families. In relation to the second, there are discrepancies in the number of families, but, according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System, 24 are identified, where we find the rest of the groups, for example, false corals, boas, typical snakes, pythons, dwarf boas, vipers, cobras, mambas, marine, among others. The total number of reported species adds up to 3 691 snakes, with 1 245 subspecies
Discover in this other article the different types of snakes that exist.
Its dimensions are variable
Snakes are a very varied group in terms of the sizes they exhibit. Thus, currently there are tiny individuals, as is the case of the Barbados thread snake (Tetracheilostoma carlae), about 10 cm long,and huge species , for example one of the largest in the world is the green anaconda (Eunectes murinus), native to South America, of which there are records indicating that it measures between 10 and 12 meters in length and weighs about 250 kg.
Get to know the 10 largest snakes in the world in this other post, they will surprise you!
Your senses are amazing
The senses are a curious aspect of snakes. Vision varies according to the type, so that various species have poor vision, while some of the arboreal habits of tropical forests have this sense well developed, such as the parrot snake (Leptophis ahaetulla), which lives in Central and South America.
Regarding hearing, snakes don't have external and middle ears, but they are not deaf, since they do have an inner ear, which allows them to have some hearing. These reptiles are quite sensitive and sense vibrations in the ground, which is important for hunting or staying alert.
Another of the great curiosities of snakes is that these animals depend to a greater extent on chemical perception to smell, for which they they use their forked tongue which is constantly moving out of the mouth. With the tongue, they pick up the particles as they pass, which they introduce into the mouth so that the chemical traces are captured by structures known as Jacobson's organs, which are located on the palate and are covered with olfactory tissue, in this way the animal smells its prey or hunters.
A striking aspect of certain snakes such as vipers, pythons and boas is their special thermoreceptor capacity, since they have structures known as the pit organs, which are holes in their face, between the nostrils and the eyes, that have a specialized membrane to detect infrared radiation from potential prey or predators. In this sense, these structures allow them to easily detect their prey, even in the total absence of light, because they perceive the heat generated by the other individual.
They have different ways of moving around
Locomotion in a legless animal (without legs) might seem like a problem at first, however, snakes have developed strategies that allow them to move without any difficulty, in fact, they do it very effectively and certainly curious. Here's how they do it:
- One of the forms of movement they use is the lateral undulation, with a typical move in form of S, which is possible because the animal is propelled laterally against the irregularities of the surface. It is thanks to the presence of their numerous vertebrae, which are short and wide, that they manage to make these rapid undulations.
- Another way that snakes have to move and that is also very curious is through the accordion movement, useful when they are in a chute or climb a tree. In these cases, the reptile extends its body forward, while forming an S against the sides.
- They can also move in a straight line, mainly those with higher weights. In this case, some points of the body are supported by the ground, while others, due to the action of certain muscles, are raised and allow the body to move forward.
- Snakes found in places such as deserts with loose sand, where they cannot support themselves for movement, move through the well-known " flank wriggling ", which has minimal contact with the ground. The animal forms undulations as it moves forward, while the body creates an angle of about 60degrees in relation to the direction in which it is going.
Find out all the details in this article on How Snakes Move.
They have different hunting strategies and ways of eating
Snakes are carnivorous animals, very agile when hunting, which feed on a variety of individuals depending on the habitat and the size of the reptile itself. The venomous species use their toxic bite when they catch prey to kill it before eating it. Those without venom, instead, they capture their food and generally kill it by constriction , but some can even devour their prey while it is still alive.
Another curious fact about snakes is that various species, thanks to the fact that their jaws are not joined rigidly, but rather are linked by muscle and skin, have extremely flexible mouthparts, which allows them to it allows to consume prey much larger than the animal itself and even eggs of enormous sizes in relation to the size of the mouth. In this sense, they swallow the food whole and then start a complex digestion system that keeps them inactive for a certain time.
Not all play the same way
If you still want to know more about snakes, their curious way of reproducing will seem surprising. Although all snakes have internal fertilization, they exhibit various types of reproduction, which is undoubtedly a curious aspect within the same group. In this sense, there are oviparous species, as is the case of the group of pythons, which even take care of their nest until the young are born; others are ovoviviparous, such as those of the genus Crotalus, commonly known as rattlesnake; while boas are viviparous snakes
Another of the curiosities of snakes is that the females can store the sperm and decide when to fertilize the eggs, which they even manage to lay at different time intervals after copulation.
Get to know in depth the different types of reproduction in animals in this other article.
Some are poisonous and some are not
One aspect for which snakes are often feared is their venom, so it is always important to be careful with these animals, especially if we do not know enough information. Snake venom is a complex mixture of proteins, which has neurotoxic or hemolytic impacts, such that it affects the nervous system or causes the destruction of red blood cells in victims.
Venomous snakes have traditionally been divided into different groups according to their fangs:
- We have the family of the Viperids, where the vipers are located, who have tubular-shaped fangs in the anterior area of the mouth through which they inoculate the poison.
- There is also the Elapida family, characterized by the presence of short fangs, which remain erect all the time and go releasing the venom during the bite. This group includes cobras, mambas, corals, and sea snakes, among others.
- Finally, in the group of the Colubrids, the majority of non-poisonous snakes with fangs arranged in the back of the mouth are located. However, here there are certain species that are an exception, such as the case of the African boomslang (Dispholidus typus), which is poisonous.
Interestingly, the saliva of all snakes, including non-venomous ones, has a certain toxic effect, but this is because it is a very useful tool that they use to start predigesting their food before they swallow it.
In this other post we talk about the most poisonous snakes in the world.
They are distributed almost all over the world
Snakes are animals that are distributed throughout almost the entire planet, with the exception of Antarctica and some islandsThe habitat of these reptiles can be very varied, so we find species in jungle areas such as the green tree python (Morelia viridis), desert areas such as one of the types of rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus), maritime, such as the sea snake bighead (Hydrophis annandalei), swampy or freshwater, as is the case of the green anaconda (Eunectes murinus), with semi-aquatic habits and even in temperate areas such as the common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) widespread in North America.
All these curiosities about snakes bring us a little closer to these fantastic animals, but it is important to remember that they must remain in their natural habitat without being disturbed. In this way, if you find a snake, do not try to touch or catch it, as the consequences could be very serious. Do you know any curious facts about snakes that are not in this article? Leave us your comment!
