There are about 3,400 species of snakes, and less than 10 percent are venomous. Despite this, snakes are a symbol of fear for human beings, sometimes personifying evil.
Snakes or snakes belong, along with chameleons and iguanas, to the order Squamata These animals are characterized by having the upper jaw completely fused to the skull and a highly mobile lower jaw, plus a tendency to reduce limbs, totally absent in snakes. In this article on our site we will learn about the types of snakes that exist, their characteristics and some examples.
Characteristics of snakes
Snakes, like other reptiles, have a body protected by scales These epidermal scales are arranged side by side, overlapping, etc. Between them there is a mobile area called a hinge, which allows you to make movements. Snakes, unlike lizards, have horny scales and do not have osteoderms or bony scales under them. This squamous epidermal tissue sheds completely each time the animal grows. It moves as a single piece that receives the name of camisa
They are ectothermic animals, that is, they are not able to regulate their body temperature by themselves, they depend on the environment. To do this, they modify and adapt their behavior to keep their temperature as stable as possible.
As a reptile, the circulatory system of snakes is characterized by having the heart divided into three chambers, two atria and a single ventricle. This organ receives blood from the body and the lungs, releasing it back into the body. The small valves and partitions that the ventricle presents make it work as if it were divided in two.
The respiratory system of snakes is made up of a small hole at the end of the mouth called theglottis The glottis has a membrane that allows air to pass into the trachea when the animal needs to breathe. Behind the trachea we find a fully functional right lung with a bronchus running through it called mesobronchus The left lung in snakes is greatly reduced or completely absent in many species. Breathing is produced by the intercostal muscles
Snakes have a highly evolved excretory apparatus The kidneys are of the metanephric type, as in birds or mammals. These take filter the blood by expelling waste substances. They are located in the most posterior part of the body. They do not have a bladder, but the end of the tube where it is discarded is enlarged, allowing for storage.
Fertilization in these animals is always internal. Most snakes are omnivorous animals, they lay eggs. Although, on occasions, they can be ovoviviparous, developing the young inside the mother. The ovaries in females are elongated and float within the body cavity. In males, the seminiferous ducts act as testicles. A structure called hemipene appears, which is nothing more than an outgrowth of the cloaca and serves to enter the female's cloaca.
The cloaca is a structure where the excretory ducts, the end of the intestine and the reproductive organs converge.
Some sense organs are highly developed in snakes, this is the case of smell and taste. Snakes have an organ called Jacobson's or vomeronasal organ, through which it detects pheromones. In addition, through saliva, taste and olfactory sensations are impregnated.
On their faces they have some pits that capture small differences in temperature, up to 0.03 ºC. They use them to hunt. The number of pits they have varies between 1 and 13 pairs on each side of the face. Through the detectable thermal field, there is a double chamber inside separated by a membrane. If there is a warm-blooded animal nearby, the air in the first chamber increases and the termination membrane moves, stimulating the nerve endings.
Finally, there are very poisonous snakes The poison is produced by salivary glands whose composition is modified. Being, after all, saliva, it has a digestive function that helps digest the prey. Therefore, if you are bitten by a snake, even if it is not poisonous, the saliva itself can cause an adverse reaction and cause very painful wounds.
Where Do Snakes Live?
Snakes, given their diversity of species, have come to colonize almost all the planet's habitats, with the exception of the poles. Some snakes live in wooded, using trees as a means of movement. Other snakes live in grasses and more open areas. But, they can also live in very rocky areas or areas with a shortage of water, such as deserts. There are snakes that have even colonized the oceans. So the aquatic environment can also be an ideal place for some species of snakes.
Poisonous snakes
Different types of poisonous snakes have different teeth:
- Aglyphic teeth that do not have a channel through which to inject the poison and it flows throughout the mouth.
- Opisthoglyph teeth. They are in the back of the mouth, with a channel through which the poison is introduced.
- Protoroglyph Teeth. They are located at the front and have a channel.
- Solenoglyph teeth. They have an internal conduit. Poisonous teeth that can move back and forth are more poisonous.
Not all snakes are equally dangerous. Normally, snakes have evolved to prey on specific prey and, among them, humans are not found. Therefore, most snakes, even if they are poisonous, do not necessarily pose a real threat.
Despite this, there are truly dangerous snakes. Among the most poisonous snakes in the world we find:
- Taipan snake (Oxyuranus microlepidotus)
- Black Mamba (Dendroaspis Polylepis)
- Blecher's Marina (Hydrophis Belcheri)
- King Cobra (Ophiophagus Hannah)
- Royal or Velvet Nauyaca (Bothrops Asper)
- Diamond Rattlesnake (Crotalus Atrox)
Also find out on our site what to do in case of a snake bite.
Non-poisonous snakes
Nearly 90 percent of the snakes that inhabit planet earth are not poisonous, but they still pose a threat. Pythons are not poisonous, but with their bodies they can crush and suffocate large animals in a few seconds. Some types of python are:
- Carpet python (Morelia spilota)
- Burmese Python (Python bivittatus)
- Royal Python (Python regius)
- Australian amethyst python (Simalia amethistina)
- African Rock Python (Python sebae)
Some snakes are considered types of domestic snakes, but no snake is a domestic animal, since they have not undergone the lengthy process of domestication. What happens is that the temperament of the snakes is usually calm, and they rarely attack, unless they feel threatened. This fact, added to the characteristic of not having poison, makes many people decide to keep them as pets. Other nonvenomous snakes are:
- Boa constrictor (Boa constrictor)
- California King Snake (Lampropeltis getulus californiae)
- False coral (Lampropeltis triangulum); it is one of the types of snakes from Mexico.
- Tree python (Morelia viridis)
Freshwater Snakes
The water snakes live on the banks of rivers, lakes and ponds. These snakes are usually large and, although they breathe air, they spend much of the day submerged in water, where they find some of the food they need, such as amphibians and fish.
- Collared snake (Natrix natrix)
- Viper snake (Natrix Maura)
- Java Shark Snake (Acrochordus javanicus)
- Anaconda (Eunectes Murinus)
Sea Serpents
Sea snakes make up a subfamily within the group of snakes, the subfamily Hydrophiinae. These snakes spend almost their entire lives in s alt water, being, in most cases, unable to move on a solid surface, such as the earth's surface. Some species of sea snakes are:
- Broad-snouted Sea Serpent (Laticauda colubrina)
- Black-headed sea snake (Hydrophis melanocephalus)
- Yellow Sea Serpent (Hydrophis platurus)
Sand Snakes
Sand snakes are called snakes that live in deserts. Among them we find some types of rattlesnakes.
- Horn viper or sand viper (Vipera ammodytes)
- Mohave Rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus)
- Arizona Coral Snake (Micruroides euryxanthus)
- Peninsular Shiny Snake (Arizona pacata)
- Glossy Snake (Arizona elegans)
