Snakes (Serpentes) are one of the most peculiar inhabitants of planet Earth. They, like no other animals, are subject to persecution by people, who have been pursuing them for a long time and killing indiscriminately poisonous and non-venomous, and the latter, it must be said, are the majority: of the 3,200 species of snakes known to science, only about 410 species are poisonous, and in the former USSR even less - out of 58 species, only 11 are poisonous.
External features and structural features of snakes
The elongated body of snakes can reach a length from 10 cm to 9 m, weight ranges from 10 grams to 100 kilograms. Males are generally smaller than females but have a longer tail. The shape of the body can be short and thick, long and thin, or flattened, resembling a ribbon (in sea snakes)
The skin of snakes is dry, covered with scales or scutes formed by keratinized layers of the epidermis. On the back and sides they are small and overlap each other in a tiled manner; the belly is covered with wide semi-circular plates.
The immobility of the fused eyelids creates the impression of an unblinking gaze, which seems to have hypnotic powers.
There is an opinion that frogs, hypnotized by a snake, themselves climb into its mouth, resist, scream, but are unable to escape. When meeting a snake, the frog actually freezes, but this is only one of the ways to preserve life: pretending to be dead, freezing is a consequence of the instinct of self-preservation. But she herself, of course, does not climb into the mouth. The snake turns out to be more agile than the victim, and grabs it before it can escape.
The skull of snakes is designed in a special way: the bones of the upper jaw are movably connected to each other and to neighboring bones; The left and right halves of the lower jaw are connected by a tensile ligament. These properties allow, for example, the viper, whose head does not exceed 5-7 cm in size, to open its mouth enough to swallow even a small rabbit whole.
The internal organs of snakes are also arranged unusually. Their heart is small and significantly removed from the head. So, in cobras, for example, it is located in the second half of the body.
The skeleton consists of 200-400 movable vertebrae connected by ligaments. When moving, the snake slides along the ground with its scutes. Overlapping each other like tiles, the scutes alternately assume a right angle position and help the reptile move easily and quickly. In this case, the movements of the vertebrae, ribs, muscles, and scutes are strictly coordinated: they occur only in the horizontal plane.
Some people believe that a snake can jump or roll like a wheel, but this is not so. Raising her head slightly, she lowers it to the ground and pulls up the front part of the body with a loop, after which she again raises her head, lowers it and, moving forward, pulls the whole body behind her. If a snake is placed on an absolutely smooth glass surface, it will make useless movements, since the abdominal scutes will not be able to find support on the surface devoid of protrusions and there will be no forward movement.
Snakes see and hear poorly, but they have a well-developed sense of smell and touch. And their forked tongue, which is sometimes mistakenly called a sting, helps them in this. Particles of substances from the air stick to the tongue, snakes move their tongue to a special place in the mouth and thus smell - as if they are tasting the air.
What do snakes eat?
All snakes, without exception, are carnivores. Their diet includes various types of animals, the size of which depends primarily on the size of the predator itself. The main food of snakes is frogs, rodents, lizards, their own relatives, including poisonous ones, as well as some types of insects. The ability to climb trees gives snakes the opportunity to destroy bird nests by eating chicks or eggs.
Snakes do not feed every day, and if they fail to catch prey, they can starve for a long time. If water is available, snakes can go without food for up to several months.
All snakes track their prey patiently, hiding among the leaves of trees, or on the ground, along paths leading to a watering hole. Snakes swallow prey from the head, not from the tail, fearing the sharp teeth of the victim, who may still be alive. Before swallowing a victim, non-venomous snakes squeeze it with the rings of their body so that it cannot move.
The duration of digestion of the victim depends on its size, the state of health of the snake, the ambient temperature and usually lasts from 2 to 9 days. Digestion requires higher temperatures than other life processes. To speed up the process, the snake exposes its filled belly to the sun, leaving the rest of the body in the shade.
Hibernation
With the onset of cold weather, approximately in the second half of October - early November, snakes go to winter, climbing into rodent holes, under stones or tree roots, into haystacks, into cracks and crevices. In populated areas, they gather in basements, abandoned wells, and settle along pipes with heating and sewer systems. Winter torpor may be interrupted at times, and then they can be seen on the surface. In the tropics or subtropics, snakes may not hibernate or only sleep for short periods of time.
At the end of March - early April, snakes crawl out of their shelters. The life activity of snakes, as cold-blooded animals, depends on climatic factors: temperature, sunlight, humidity, etc. In this regard, the daily activity of reptiles also changes in different seasons of the year. In spring, they spend all day long under the sun, and in summer, the period of activity occurs in the morning, evening and night hours.
Reproduction
Snakes are characterized by 2 methods of reproduction. Some species, for example, the viper, reproduce their own kind by laying eggs with underdeveloped embryos, the further development of which takes place outside the female’s body. Vipers and copperheads are characterized by ovoviviparity, that is, the eggs remain in the mother’s body until the embryos in them are fully developed. Pregnant females lead a half-starved lifestyle, they are sedentary and very cautious. Heavier reptiles cannot make a lightning-fast throw and often stay in secluded places.
For example, cubs are born in the second half of August - September, the number of newborns is from 1 to 8, sometimes their number even reaches 17 or more. Small creatures behave like their parents - they move, hiss, and when defending themselves they bite, secreting a small portion of poison. Vipers feed exclusively on insects - locusts, grasshoppers, beetles, etc.
Shedding
Types of snakes
Today there are more than 3,200 species of snakes.
Snakes (Serpentes) are part of the class of reptiles, order Scaly. In the suborder of snakes, different experts identify from 8 to 20 families. This discrepancy is associated with the discovery of new species and difficulties in their classification.
The most numerous families include:
Colubridae(Colubridae) – more than 1,500 species. The sizes of snakes of this largest family vary from 10 cm to 3.5 meters. The shape, color and pattern of colubrids are very diverse and depend on the characteristics of the habitat. Among them there are terrestrial, arboreal, burrowing and aquatic species. Most representatives of this family are non-venomous, but among them there are also so-called false snakes, which have large poisonous teeth and grooves for poison to flow down them. Colubrid snakes are often kept in terrariums.
Aspidae(Elapidae) – about 330 species. Externally, adders resemble grass snakes and are often called “poisonous snakes.” Body length from 40 cm to 5 meters. The coloring is varied. All species of snakes in this family are poisonous. They live in Asia, Australia, America, and Africa. Not found in Europe.
Viperaceae(Viperidae) – about 280 species. Representatives of this extensive family are found in Asia, Europe, Africa, North America and adapt to any landscape. Body length varies from 25 cm to 3.5 m. A light zigzag or diamond pattern on the back and sides is common for them. However, tropical tree vipers are bright green.All vipers have a pair of long fangs, which are used to secrete venom from venom glands located behind the upper jaw.
Blind Snakes(Typhlopidae) – about 200 species. They are common in tropical and subtropical regions of all parts of the world. One species is found in Russia - the common blind snake (Typhlops vermicularis).
Snakes have managed to adapt to a wide variety of living conditions: they can be found in forests and deserts, in mountains and reservoirs. This resulted in an amazing variety of forms within species of families differing in size, color, scales, etc.
Let's look at several of the most interesting representatives in more detail.
Non-venomous snakes
Common already(Natrix natrix) is widespread in the territory of the former USSR. It lives along the banks of reservoirs, in floodplain meadows, and in reed thickets. It happens that an ordinary grass snake is mistaken for a viper, but it is easy to distinguish it by two bright yellow or orange spots on the sides of its head. And it is larger in size and has a different pattern.
Already ordinary
Amur snake(Elaphe schrenckii) is a representative of the colubrid family. Lives in the Far East. This is one of the largest snakes in Russia and can reach a length of 2.4 m.
Amur snake Common copperhead(Coronella austriaca) is another snake from the colubrid family. Widely distributed in Europe, also found in western Asia.
Common copperhead The reptile defends itself from enemies by curling up into a ball, hissing, and makes throws towards the enemy. Apparently, this is why many consider it aggressive and dangerous, but in fact it does not pose a danger to people.
Common blind snake(Typhlops vermicularis) is a representative of the blind snake family. Outwardly, it looks more like an earthworm than a snake. The body length usually does not exceed 30 cm, the tail is very short. The upper side of the body has a reddish-brown color, closer to the tail the color becomes darker, the ventral side of the body is light. An interesting feature of the blind snake is that it has translucent covers, blood vessels give it a pink tint, and through the abdominal wall you can see internal organs and food debris. The common blind snake is found in Asia Minor.
Blindsnake Pythons(Pythonidae), of which there are currently 22 species, are found in Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia, New Guinea and the Sunda Islands. These are snakes ranging from 1.5 to 10 meters in length and weighing up to 100 kg. Pythons are non-venomous, but extremely dangerous, especially large representatives. They suddenly attack the victim, wrap their body around her and strangle her. A large python can swallow a jackal, a young wild boar and even a leopard whole.
Royal python Poisonous snakes
The most recognizable of venomous snakes are cobras(Naja) - representatives of the aspid family. They are known not only for their poisonousness, but also for the specific “hood” that they inflate when irritated. In total, about 16 species of cobras are known. They live throughout the African continent, as well as in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The spitting cobra, shown in the photo, is capable of shooting poison into the eyes of an enemy at a distance of up to three meters. When this method of defense proves ineffective, the cobra pretends to be dead.
Spitting Cobra In India alone, approximately 10,000 people died annually from cobra bites in the last century! However, this does not confuse snake charmers at all and does not prevent them from staging performances on the street, the main participants of which are cobras. The exotic appearance of the tamers, the accompaniment of the performance with special music, and the significant size of the snakes attract crowds of people hungry for spectacle. Witnesses of such performances claim that these performances are very convincing, especially to the uninitiated. The secrets and techniques of taming snakes have a long history and are based on a deep knowledge of both the habits of animals and the psychology of spectators. Impressed by what they see, people do not notice that the fakir performs especially dangerous tricks either with non-venomous species of snakes, cleverly replacing one with another, or with individuals whose poisonous teeth have been pulled out.
Gyurza(Macrovipera lebetina) is the most poisonous snake in Central Asia. The length of the viper can reach two meters, and the thickness of the body of a large individual can be as thick as a man’s arm. You can read more about the viper in the article.
Efa(Echis carinatus) found in Asia. It reaches a length of 80 cm. It is very afraid of people, and if it does not see a way to retreat, it warns of an attack with a hiss. It does not lay eggs, but gives birth to live young. The sand epha, although not very large - 60 cm in length, is very poisonous.
Sandy efa Viper(Vipera) is the only poisonous snake living in the European part of Russia. Common and steppe vipers, although not as dangerous as cobras or vipers, are more numerous.
Taipans(Oxyuranus scutellatus) are the most venomous and aggressive snakes in Australia. Belongs to the asp family.
Australian taipan Rattlesnakes or pit snakes(Crotalinae) - representatives of the viper family, one of the most poisonous snakes in the world. There are 32 species of rattlesnakes, most of which are found in the deserts and semi-deserts of Mexico and South America. As a warning, rattlesnakes begin to rattle their “rattle,” a special organ at the end of their tail.
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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. The color of the skin 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.
Who is this snake? Perhaps everyone can answer this question without thinking: it is a reptile that crawls on the ground because it does not have legs to walk. Partially is the correct answer. Why partially? Because there are reptiles that are not snakes, but also do not have legs - these are legless lizards. However, our article will not be about them, but about snakes. After all, the group of these animals is incredibly diverse and interesting.
Scientists count about 2,500 snakes in nature. These animals form an entire suborder in the order of scaly reptiles. Snakes are easy to distinguish from other animals by their body shape: it is elongated, as we have already said, snakes have no limbs. The body of these reptiles is flexible; they move along the surface, making wave-like movements. The special structure of the skeleton and the large number of vertebrae make snakes real acrobats, because they can curl up into a ball and even tie themselves in a knot!
The size of the snakes is also amazing in its scope: from a few centimeters to more than 10 meters! We have prepared a separate, very informative story for you about the inhabitants of our planet.
Where do snakes live?
Snakes live on almost our entire planet, with the exception of the icy continent of Antarctica. The greatest species diversity of these animals can be observed in tropical zones. Here snakes reach incredible sizes and there are individuals of a wide variety of colors. They prefer to settle in forests, deserts, swamps, mountains, steppes, as well as in fresh waters.
Lifestyle, nutrition and behavior of snakes in nature
By way of life, all snakes are loners. However, during the mating season, massive concentrations of these animals can be observed, especially during the mating period.
Many of the snakes are deadly poisonous. Especially many of these snakes are found in Africa and Asia. This video will tell you about the world:
As for the sense organs of snakes, they do not have excellent hearing or good vision. The thing is that snakes completely lack an external ear, so the snake “hears” almost only due to the vibrations of the soil or the surface on which it is located. The eyes of snakes are not distinguished by vigilance; they are able to notice only what is constantly moving; in most cases, snakes do not pay attention to motionless “prey”.
If vision and hearing are naturally poorly developed in these reptiles, maybe the taste buds in snakes are excellent? Unfortunately, the situation here is exactly the same. Snakes do not distinguish the taste of the food they eat. In general, they do not particularly enjoy eating food in the usual sense; they do not chew it, but swallow it whole.
The only sense that snakes have well developed is their sense of smell. These reptiles have receptors that detect odors not only in their nostrils, but also on their long tongue. Therefore, snakes often stick out their tongues to smell the scent of their future prey.
Snakes are also endowed by nature with so-called thermolocators. These are special devices located on the muzzle and looking like dimples. Scientists believe that such receptors allow the snake to see the world around it as if through a thermal imager.
The voice of snakes is not developed; the only sound that these animals have learned to make in the process of evolution is hissing. The only exception is, perhaps, rattlesnakes, which know how to make a “rattle” from their tail: they have scales located in a special way in this part of the body.
One of the characteristics of snakes is molting. The fact is that sooner or later the snake grows out of its scaly shell and needs to be “replaced”. However, each scale does not change individually in a snake; the animal sheds the old “skin” with a stocking. The dropped “outfit” is called a crawl.
Snakes have a wide variety of colors: from modest and inconspicuous to incredibly bright and colorful. Some use skin color to hide from enemies or to sneak up on prey unnoticed. Others, on the contrary, warn with their color that it is better not to approach them. As a rule, all venomous snakes have bright scales, but there are exceptions.
All representatives of the suborder of snakes are predatory animals. Some eat mice, others eat lizards, others eat only smaller ones, others dine on bird eggs, and others... can even eat a whole crocodile!
Often the prey of snakes (naturally, very large ones) are large ungulates. The snake literally pulls itself onto the carcass of the caught animal and gradually swallows it, and then digests it for a long time.
In the temporal part of the snake's head there are glands that produce poison. From these glands, the poison flows through channels into two tubular teeth located in the upper jaw. In some snakes, the length of these teeth reaches 4-5 centimeters. When such a snake is in a calm state, its teeth are pressed to the roof of the mouth like a jackknife. At the moment of a bite, the teeth straighten and move forward. At the same time, the snake uses them to deliver a lightning strike. The cobra's teeth are located deep in the mouth and reach a length of only 6-7 millimeters. To strike the victim, the cobra opens its mouth wide, grabs the prey and chews it. If a snake accidentally breaks its poisonous teeth, new ones grow in their place.
All animals are susceptible to snake bites in one way or another. But, for example, hedgehogs are able to tolerate very significant doses of snake venom without any consequences. Nature has endowed pigs with similar enviable qualities, which are protected from snake bites by a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, which is very poor in blood vessels and therefore prevents the spread of poison.
(!) First aid for a poisonous snake bite
The victim should be put to bed, the bitten arm or leg should be kept immobile by splinting it, and plenty of warm fluids should be given. Such methods of “treatment” as constrictions, cauterization, and drinking alcohol are harmful and dangerous.
Snakes are animals with a long, narrow and flexible body. They have no legs, paws, arms, wings or fins. There is only a head, body and tail. But does a snake have a skeleton? Let's find out how the body of these reptiles works.
Features of snakes
Snakes belong to the class of reptiles. They live throughout the earth except Antarctica, New Zealand, Ireland and some Pacific islands. They are also not found beyond the Arctic Circle and prefer the warm tropics. These animals can live in water, desert, rocky mountains and dense forests.
The body of snakes is elongated and, depending on the species, has a length from several centimeters to 7-8 meters. Their skin is covered with scales, the shape and arrangement of which are not the same and are a species characteristic.
They do not have movable eyelids, outer and middle ears. They hear poorly, but distinguish vibrations perfectly. Their body is very sensitive to vibrations, and since it is often in direct contact with the ground, the animals feel even minor shaking of the earth’s crust.
Not all snakes have well-developed vision. They need it mainly in order to distinguish movement. Representatives of species living underground see the worst. Special thermal vision receptors help snakes recognize prey. They are located in their facial part under the eyes (in pythons, vipers) or under the nostrils.
Does a snake have a skeleton?
Snakes are predators. Their food is very diverse: small rodents, birds, eggs, insects, amphibians, fish, crustaceans. Large snakes can even bite a leopard or wild boar. As a rule, they swallow their prey whole, stretching over it like a stocking. From the outside it may seem that they have no bones at all, and their body consists only of muscles.
To understand whether snakes have a skeleton, it is enough to refer to their classification. In biology, they have long been identified, which means that at least this part of the skeleton is present in them. Together with turtles and crocodiles, they belong to the group, occupying an intermediate link between amphibians and birds.
The structure of the snake's skeleton has some similar features, but in many ways differs from other representatives of the class. Unlike amphibians, reptiles have five sections of the spine (cervical, trunk, lumbar, sacral and caudal).
The cervical region consists of 7-10 movably connected vertebrae, allowing not only to raise and lower, but also to turn the head. The body usually has 16-25 vertebrae, with a pair of ribs attached to each of them. The caudal vertebrae (up to 40) decrease in size towards the tip of the tail.
The skull of reptiles is more ossified and hard than that of amphibians. Its axial and visceral sections grow together in adult individuals. Most representatives have a sternum, a pelvis and two limb girdles.
Snake skeleton with captions
The main distinguishing feature of snakes is the absence of front and hind limbs. They move by crawling on the ground, fully leaning on their entire body. Rudiments of limbs in the form of small processes are present in the structure of some species, for example, pythons and boas.
In other snakes, the skeleton consists of a skull, torso, tail and ribs. The body section is greatly elongated and contains much more “details” than in other reptiles. So, they have from 140 to 450 vertebrae. They are connected to each other by ligaments and form a very flexible structure that allows the animal to bend in all directions.
The snake's skeleton completely lacks a sternum. Ribs extend from each vertebra on both sides and are not connected to each other. This allows you to increase your body volume several times when swallowing large foods.
The vertebrae and ribs are connected by elastic muscles, with the help of which the snake can even lift its body vertically. In the lower part of the body, the ribs gradually shorten, and in the caudal region they are completely absent.
Scull
In all snakes, the bones of the braincase are movably connected. The articular, surangular and angular bones of the lower jaw are fused with each other and connected to the dentary bone by a movable joint. The lower jaw is attached to the upper ligament, which can stretch greatly to swallow large animals.
For the same purpose, the lower jaw itself consists of two bones, which are connected to each other only by a ligament, but not by bone. In the process of eating prey, the snake alternately moves its left and right parts, pushing the food inside.
The skull of snakes has a unique structure. If the appearance of the spine and ribs is typical for the entire suborder, then the skull reveals the characteristics of a particular species. For example, the rattlesnake's head skeleton is triangular in shape. In pythons, the head is elongated in the shape of an oval and slightly flattened, and the bones are much wider than those of the rattlesnake.
Teeth
Teeth are also a distinctive feature of a species or genus. Their shape and quantity depend on the animal’s lifestyle. Snakes need them not to chew, but to bite, capture and hold prey.
Animals swallow food, but do not always wait for it to die. To prevent the victim from escaping, the teeth in the snake’s mouth are located at an angle and directed inward. This mechanism resembles a fish hook and allows you to firmly bite into the prey.
The snake's teeth are thin, sharp and are divided into three types: constrictor, or solid, grooved, or grooved, hollow, or tubular. The former are usually present in non-poisonous species. They are short and numerous. On the upper jaw they are located in two rows, and on the lower jaw - in one.
The grooved teeth are located at the end of the upper jaw. They are longer than solid ones and are equipped with a hole through which the poison enters. Tubular teeth are very similar to them. They are also needed for injecting poison. They can be fixed (with a constant position) or erectile (move out of the jaw groove in case of danger).
Snake venom
A large number of snakes are poisonous. They need such a dangerous tool not so much for protection as for immobilizing the victim. Usually two long poisonous teeth are clearly visible in the mouth, but in some species they are hidden in the depths of the mouth.
The poison is produced by special glands located at the temple. Through channels, they connect to hollow or embossed teeth and are activated at the right moment. Individual representatives of rattlers and vipers can remove their “stings”.
The most dangerous snakes for humans are the Taipan genus. They are common in Australia and New Guinea. Before the vaccine was found, mortality from their poison was observed in 90% of cases.
