Where and how snakes live in natural conditions and captivity. Where is the snake's heart? Where is the snake's lungs

These amazing and unusual animals cause panic and mystical horror in many people. Having reached a species diversity of 2.5 thousand species, acquiring unique hunting methods and developing unusually sensitive sense organs, snakes have taken their place in the hierarchy of all life on the planet. Watching the movement of these reptiles, it may seem that the snake has no skeleton, that it consists of solid muscles. Such smoothness and flexibility of movements can no longer be found in the animal world. But besides the peculiarities of the structure of the skeleton of snakes, they surprise a person with other equally interesting adaptive mechanisms.

Snake or no snake?

It would seem that there is nothing easier than identifying a snake. A long body covered with scales, the absence of legs - this is the appearance of the snake. But a similar external structure is also characteristic of some representatives of the neighboring taxon in the order Scaly - legless lizards. About thirty differences separate these two suborders, but there are exceptions in each of the groups. And only a comprehensive analysis of morphological, anatomical, biochemical, genetic and other features allowed taxonomists to make a clear classification of these amazing scaly creatures.

Where are the legs?

Paleontological finds prove that snakes still had legs in the Cretaceous period. The brightest paleontological skeleton of Eupodophis descouensi, found in Lebanon in 2000, is a very well-preserved snake imprint. Skeleton in a fossil that is over 95 million years old. This ancestor of snakes with pronounced limbs is supposed to have lived in the water.

Among evolutionary scientists, disputes over the primary habitat of the ancestors of modern snakes do not subside. Originally aquatic or secondarily adapted to the aquatic environment? The question is still open and waiting for its Nobel laureate.

Features of the skeleton of modern snakes

The result of a centuries-old evolutionary process turned out to be very fortunate for the snake. The skeleton has become kenitic, which means a movable connection of all bones. In the structure of the skull, this is manifested in the non-fixed connection of the upper and lower jaws. Due to the connection with elastic ligaments, the snake can open its mouth to swallow prey many times its size.

The ribs, which snakes have from 140 to 300, are also elastically attached to the spine, which allows them to move apart and pass large food boluses through the esophagus. At the other end, the ribs are attached to the bristles on the belly by means of a muscular articulation. It is this connection that provides the movement of the snake.

The skeleton has no limbs, only some have vestigial bones that indicate a phylogenetic four-legged ancestor. In pythons and boas, they are visible in the form of so-called spurs.

How to run without legs?

The structure of snakes, the skeleton with its structural features, awarded these reptiles with a very special way of movement, in which the main role belongs to scaly plates. The kinetic connection of the vertebrae, ribs and scales through muscles allows all parts to move separately from each other. This helps the snake to bend in any direction and, as they say, tie a knot.

At the same time, precise coordination ensures translational movement in the horizontal plane. Each shield separately becomes perpendicular to a solid surface and is a support for translational movement by repulsion. Muscular effort and shield after shield move the snake's body forward. Therefore, the snake's legs are its shields.

The only thing Conan Doyle got wrong in his short story "Polished Ribbon" was that his snake couldn't get down the string. She would just fall on the hero, waking him up. The snake needs a solid and porous support to move, which is why it can easily slide on the glass.

The structure of bone tissue

In parallel with the complication of the skeleton itself, changes occurred in the bone tissue of the snake bones. The skeleton had to become stronger. The coarse-fibered inner part of the tubular bones is replaced with fine-fibered tissue over time and acquires a clear zonal structure. To put it simply, the bones grow in length and thickness not at the joints of the bones, as, for example, in mammals, but the growth zone is in the middle of the bones. Such a device makes the bone resistant to high stress, while not increasing the mass at all.

They have teeth

If we consider the skeleton of snakes, the photos will impress with the presence of many teeth. But not everyone knows that snake teeth are not intended for chewing food. With the help of the dental system, the snake grabs, holds and pushes the prey into the digestive tract. The structure of the teeth is also connected with this - they are sharp, thin and curved back. Teeth in snakes can be on the upper and lower jaws, on the palatine and premaxillary bones. And 8% of poisonous individuals in the upper jaw have special furrowed teeth with a channel inside, where the poisonous glands open. In some, these teeth are fixed, while in others, the opposite is true. In vipers, for example, they are found on a short maxillary bone that can rotate.

The heart can be anywhere

Well, not quite. Anywhere, but the structure of the circulatory system of snakes allows the blood pump to change its position. This is due to the peculiarity of snake nutrition, because when a whole unground food bolus passes through the esophagus, there is a need to free the passage, displacing vital organs. Another feature of the structure of snakes is associated with the same reason, this is the reduction of one lung. Most snakes either do not have one lung at all, or it is very small.

Snakes have a very peculiar vision of the world

Just imagine, snakes have poor eyesight, they only see movement. There is no hearing as such, but the inner ear is developed, capable of feeling the slightest vibrations of the soil. The extreme sense of smell, provided by hypersensitive receptors in the nostrils, in the mouth and on the tongue (that's why they stick out their tongue - they sniff like that, and do not try to scare someone at all) helps to navigate in space. And their language is bifurcated for a reason. Receptors on different tips of the tongue autonomously perceive odors. As a result, the snake has twice the information about how the world smells.

You can be sure that before you see a snake, it already knows your weight, smell and what you ate for breakfast.

So, to the question of whether a snake has a skeleton, the answer is unequivocal - yes. Its features are so amazing that bionics have not bypassed them. Carnegie Mellon University engineer Howie Choset's Elizabeth robot for researching and searching for artifacts in the Egyptian pyramids is a prime example.

But not only skeletal features are of interest for bionic parametric synthesis. Thermal imagers, echo sounders and sound detectors are all results taken from the experience of natural modeling of the ubiquitous natural selection.

Snakes, scientifically speaking, are a suborder of the class of reptiles of the scaly order. Snakes can be found on all continents of the Earth, except for cold Antarctica.

Among the snakes there are poisonous species, but most snakes are not poisonous. Poisonous snakes use their venom primarily for hunting, and in self-defense, they use it only when absolutely necessary.

Many non-venomous snakes first suffocate their prey (a snake and a boa constrictor, for example), and only swallow the prey whole.

Anaconda

The largest snake in nature is the anaconda.

Again, scientifically speaking, anacondas are a genus of snakes consisting of several species. And the largest snake species is the giant anaconda, the photo of which you see above.

The largest giant anaconda caught weighed 97.5 kg with a length of 5.2 meters. This snake was caught in Venezuela in the wild jungle. Residents of remote villages claim to have seen larger anacondas, but there is no evidence of the existence of larger specimens.

Like the other three anaconda species discussed below, the giant anaconda spends most of its time in the water. Anacondas prefer bodies of water with no current or with a weak current. They are found in lakes, oxbow lakes, quiet rivers of the Amazon and Orinoco basins.

Anaconda does not move far from water. Basically, anacondas crawl ashore to bask in the sun.

As we wrote earlier, anacondas belong to the subfamily of boas. Now let's talk about boas.

Boa

Boas are mostly large ovoviviparous snakes. The subfamily of boas is mainly known for the genus of common boas. The most typical representative of this genus is the common boa constrictor of the same name. Individuals of this species reach 5.5 meters in length.

Boa constrictors strangle their prey, wrapping rings around it.

Boas of this species can have an unusual color, given that they are very unpretentious in keeping, they are often kept in terrariums.

But in terrariums it is popular to keep another type of boas - dog-headed boas.

Dog-headed boas are beautiful red-orange when young and bright green when mature. The length of this type of boas does not exceed three meters.

Another representative of boas with a bright color is the rainbow boa.

This type of boa constrictor is also popular with those who like to keep snakes at home.

Cobra

Some of the most famous snakes are cobras. Science identifies 16 species of cobras, many of which are quite large.

Cobra has an amazing skill, she can raise her body to a vertical position. If the cobra is large, then in this position it can be on a par with a person.

Cobras are poisonous snakes. Their bite can be very dangerous to humans.

Cobras are heat-loving snakes, they never live in countries where snow falls in winter.

Vipers

Vipers are the inhabitants of our latitudes. Vipers are poisonous snakes, the mention of which causes fear in people.

Vipers can have a very varied coloration. Each subspecies can look very different from other subspecies, while all subspecies of vipers have a characteristic zigzag on their backs.

Vipers are active during the day, they love the sun and spend a lot of time basking in the sun.

If the viper smells a person, she prefers to leave. These are completely non-conflict snakes, and if you do not touch them

Already

One of the most peaceful snakes of our nature is already. This snake is easily recognizable by the yellow spots on its head.

Already.

They are no longer poisonous and there is no reason to be afraid of them. The snakes live on the banks of calm water bodies, such as lakes and swamps, backwaters and oxbow lakes.

Already.

It is worth noting that there is a subspecies of snakes that lives far from water bodies.

Copperheads

Copperheads are small snakes that live on the edges of forests. Copperheads feed mainly on lizards, sometimes insects.

Copperhead.

Although copperheads have poisonous teeth, their size is too small and their mouth is not capable of grabbing a person. Except for the finger. But even in this case, their bite does not pose a serious danger.

Outwardly, the copperhead looks like a small viper. The rhombuses and zigzag patterns on the back of the copperfish are very similar to those of the viper.

Polozy

Snakes are a generalized name for several types of snakes.

In our area, the Caspian snake is known - it is a fairly large snake, it is not poisonous, but very aggressive.

Caspian snake.

It is because of the aggressiveness that they do not like snakes. Although they do not pose a danger to life, and when meeting with them, you can simply go on your way.

On the islands of Japan, you can find island snakes, which are distinguished by an unusual color. This species is a resident of the sea coast.

We will end our story with a description of one of the largest snakes on the planet - a python.

The python can reach a length of four meters, which is about a meter less than the anaconda, but still impressive.

Despite their large size, pythons are very agile and smart predators. Outwardly, they could be attributed to boas, but pythons are a separate genus of snakes.

Pythons are native to Asia and Australia, and can also be found in parts of Africa. Pythons always live near bodies of water, although their life may not be connected with water. There are species of pythons that spend most of their time in the crowns of trees.

cat snakes

Cat snakes are a genus of small snakes that are distant relatives of snakes. The genus consists of 12 species that are distributed in Africa, southern Europe and southwestern Asia.

One species lives in Russia - the Caucasian cat snake. These snakes in Russia can only be found in Dagestan.

Snakes (Serpentes) are one of the most peculiar inhabitants of the planet Earth. They, like no other animals, are subject to persecution by people who have been pursuing them for a long time and killing poisonous and non-poisonous ones indiscriminately, and the latter, it must be said, are the majority: out of 3200 species of snakes known to science, only about 410 species are poisonous, and in the former USSR and 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 of 10 cm to 9 m, weight ranges from 10 grams to 100 kilograms. Males are generally smaller than females but have longer tails. In shape, 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 the keratinized layers of the epidermis. On the back and on the sides they are small and tile-like overlap each other; the belly is covered with wide semicircular plates.

The immobility of the fused eyelids creates the impression of an unblinking gaze, which supposedly has hypnotic abilities.

There is an opinion that frogs, hypnotized by a snake, climb into its mouth, rest against it, scream, but are unable to escape. When meeting with a snake, the frog really freezes, but this is just one of the ways to save life: pretending to be dead, freezing is a consequence of the self-preservation instinct. But, of course, she does not climb into her mouth. The snake turns out to be more agile than the victim, and grabs it before it can escape.

The skull of snakes is arranged in a special way: the bones of the upper jaw are connected to each other and movably with neighboring bones; the left and right halves of the lower jaw are connected by a tensile ligament. These properties allow, for example, a gyurze, 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 mobile vertebrae connected by ligaments. When moving, the snake slides along the ground with shields. Superimposed on each other, like tiles, the shields, taking turns at a right angle, help the reptile move easily and quickly. At the same time, the movements of both the vertebrae, and the ribs, and the muscles, and the scutes are strictly coordinated: they occur only in the horizontal plane.

Some people think that a snake can jump or roll like a wheel, but this is not true. Slightly raising her head, 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 her whole body behind her. If the snake is placed on an absolutely smooth glass surface, it will make useless movements, since the abdominal shields will not be able to find support on the surface without protrusions and there will be no forward movement.

They see and hear snakes poorly, but they have a well-developed sense of smell and touch. And their forked tongue helps them in this, which is sometimes mistakenly called a sting. Particles of substances from the air stick to the tongue, snakes bring the tongue to a special place in the mouth and thus smell - as if tasting the air.

What do snakes eat?

All snakes are carnivores without exception. 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 ability to destroy bird nests by eating chicks or eggs.

Snakes do not feed every day, and if they fail to get prey, they can starve for a long time. In the presence of water, snakes can go without food for up to several months.

All snakes track down prey patiently, hiding among the leaves of trees, or on the ground, along the paths leading to a watering place. Snakes swallow prey from the head, not from the tail, fearing the sharp teeth of the victim, who may still be alive. Non-venomous snakes, before swallowing the victim, squeeze it with the rings of their body so that it cannot move.

The duration of the digestion of the prey 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 the 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 leave for wintering, climbing into rodent burrows, under stones or tree roots, into haystacks, into cracks and crevices. In settlements, they gather in basements, abandoned wells, and are arranged along pipes with heating and sewer systems. Winter stupor can be interrupted at times, and then they can be seen on the surface. In the tropics or subtropics, snakes may not hibernate, or sleep for a short time.

At the end of March - in the first days of April, snakes crawl out of their shelters. The vital 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 the spring they spend all day long under the sun, and in the summer the period of activity falls on the morning, evening and night hours.

reproduction

Snakes have two types of reproduction. Some species, for example, gyurza, reproduce their own kind by laying eggs with underdeveloped embryos, the further development of which is carried out outside the body of the female. Vipers and muzzles are ovoviviparous, that is, the eggs remain in the mother's body until the embryos are fully developed in them. Pregnant females lead a half-starved lifestyle, they are inactive and very cautious. Heavier reptiles cannot make a lightning throw and more often stay in secluded places.

In, 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 they bite, releasing a small portion of poison. Vipers feed exclusively on insects - locusts, grasshoppers, beetles, etc.

Moult

Types of snakes

Today there are more than 3200 species of snakes.

Snakes (Serpentes) are included in the class of reptiles, order scaly. In the suborder of snakes, different experts distinguish from 8 to 20 families. This discrepancy is associated with the discovery of new species and difficulties in their classification.

The most numerous families are:

already shaped(Colubridae) - more than 1,500 species. The sizes of snakes of this most numerous family vary from 10 cm to 3.5 meters. The shape, color and pattern of already-shaped are very diverse and depend on the characteristics of the habitat. Among them are terrestrial, arboreal, burrowing and aquatic species. Most representatives of this family are non-poisonous, but among them there are also the so-called false snakes, which have large poisonous teeth and furrows for the poison to flow down them. Already-shaped snakes are often kept in terrariums.

aspids(Elapidae) - about 330 species. Outwardly, asps resemble snakes and are often called "poisonous snakes." Body length from 40 cm to 5 meters. The coloring is varied. All types of snakes in this family are venomous. They live in Asia, Australia, America, Africa. Not found in Europe.

Vipers(Viperidae) - about 280 species. Representatives of this vast family are found in Asia, Europe, Africa, North America and adapt to any landscape. The body length varies from 25 cm to 3.5 m. They usually have a light zigzag or rhombic pattern on the back and sides. However, tropical tree vipers are bright green.All vipers have a pair of long fangs that are used to expel 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. In Russia, one species is found - an ordinary blind snake (Typhlops vermicularis).

Snakes have managed to adapt to a wide variety of habitat conditions: they can be found in forests and deserts, in mountains and reservoirs. This led to an amazing variety of forms within the species of families, differing in size, color, scales, etc.

Let us dwell on several of the most interesting representatives in more detail.

Non-venomous snakes

ordinary snake(Natrix natrix) is widely distributed in the territory of the former USSR. It lives along the banks of reservoirs, in floodplain meadows, in reed beds. It happens that an ordinary snake is mistaken for a viper, meanwhile it is easy to distinguish it by two bright spots of yellow or orange color on the sides of the head. Yes, and in size it is larger and has a different pattern.

Already ordinary

Amur snake(Elaphe schrenckii) - a representative of the family already. Lives in the Far East. This is one of the largest snakes in Russia, it can reach a length of 2.4 m.

Copperhead common(Coronella austriaca) is another snake from the already-shaped family. Widely distributed in Europe, also found in western Asia.

The reptile defends itself from enemies by shrinking into a ball, and hissing, it throws itself towards the enemy. Apparently, therefore, many consider it aggressive and dangerous, but in fact it does not pose a danger to people.

Common blind snake(Typhlops vermicularis) is a member 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 the internal organs and food debris. There is an ordinary blind snake in Asia Minor.

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 from 1.5 to 10 meters long and weighing up to 100 kg. Pythons are not poisonous, but extremely dangerous, especially large representatives. They suddenly attack the victim, wrap their body around it and choke it. A large python can swallow a jackal, a young boar and even a leopard whole.

Poisonous snakes

Of the poisonous snakes, the most recognizable cobras(Naja) - representatives of the aspid family. They are known not only for their toxicity, 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, Sri Lanka.

The spitting cobra shown in the photo is capable of shooting poison into the eyes of the enemy at a distance of up to three meters. When this method of protection is ineffective, the cobra pretends to be dead.

In India alone, about 10,000 people died every year from cobra bites in the last century! However, this does not bother the snake charmers in the least and does not prevent them from arranging performances on the street, in which the cobras are the main participants. The exotic look of the tamers, the accompaniment of the performance with special music, the significant size of the snakes attract crowds of people who are thirsty for spectacles. Witnesses of such performances claim that these performances are very convincing, especially for the uninitiated. The secrets and techniques of snake taming have a long history and are based on a deep knowledge of both the habits of animals and the psychology of the audience. Impressed by what they see, people do not notice that the fakir performs especially dangerous tricks either with non-poisonous species of snakes, deftly replacing one with another, or with individuals whose poisonous teeth have been torn out.

Gyurza(Macrovipera lebetina) is the most venomous snake in Central Asia. The length of the gyurza can reach two meters, and the thickness of the body of a large individual can have the thickness of a man's hand. You can read more about gyurza in the article.

efa(Echis carinatus) is found in Asia. It reaches a length of 80 cm. It is very afraid of people, and if it does not see ways to retreat, it warns of an attack with a hiss. Does not lay eggs, but gives birth to live young. The sand efa, although not very large - 60 cm in length, is very poisonous.

Viper(Vipera) is the only venomous snake that lives in the European part of Russia. Common and steppe vipers, although not as dangerous as cobra or gyurza, are more numerous.

Taipans(Oxyuranus scutellatus) are the most venomous and aggressive snakes in Australia. Belongs to the aspid family.

Rattlesnakes or pit vipers(Crotalinae) - representatives of the viper family, one of the most poisonous snakes in the world. In total, 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 the tail.

In contact with

Equipped with two equally developed lungs. But vipers and sea snakes have only one lung. Snakes have a relatively small heart, a considerable distance from the head. In asps, for example, it lies at the beginning of the second third of the body. The spinal cord of snakes is voluminous and significantly exceeds the head in its mass. It fills the internal cavity of the spinal column along its entire length.

The bones of the head have a peculiar structure. The bones that form the upper jaw are movably connected to each other and to neighboring bones, and the left and right halves of the lower jaw are fastened with an tensile ligament. This allows snakes to open their mouths wide and swallow rather large prey. The mouth of a gyurza, whose head does not exceed 5-7 cm 2 and can move apart in all directions so much that it is able to swallow a pigeon or a rat.

The teeth of snakes serve mainly to capture and hold the victim, poisonous snakes have two larger teeth - to kill it and protect it at the moment of danger.

Most snakes feed on rodents, birds, and insects. It has been established that snakes that feed on cold-blooded animals (insects, frogs, lizards) take food at least once a week. Snakes that feed on warm-blooded birds, rodents, are able to withstand prolonged starvation. In favorable months of the year, snakes feed once or twice a day, hunting rodents and birds at night, and insects in the early morning and evening. In captivity, in the presence of water, snakes lie in terrariums without food for several months. Snakes have highly developed muscles. They have as many intercostal muscles as ribs. In addition, muscles attached to the ribs and vertebrae run along the back. This allows the snakes to move vigorously in a wide variety of directions. The muscles of snakes, like those of all reptiles, are pale in color.

An impressive sight is a rattlesnake, the owner of powerful muscles and ligaments, in a menacing pose. Her body resembles in these moments a tight steel spring, ready to unfold with terrible force. The tail end is folded into a spiral ring, in the center of which a ratchet is vertically exposed, making a rather distinct rustle. The middle part of the body is raised at an angle in the form of a high column. A sudden encounter with such a snake is dangerous even for an experienced snake catcher.

Only a few snakes can, like a cobra, raise the front third of the body and very few, like the gigantic anaconda, raise the front half. Not all snakes grabbed by the tail are able to bend in weight so as to bite the hand.

Snakes living on the banks of rivers and lakes, in the seas and oceans, are excellent swimmers. In water, they make the same energetic movements as on land. Snakes are able to quickly climb trees by moving in a spiral around the trunk. Their movements resemble the movement of caterpillars, resting alternately on the front, middle and back of the body. Well climbs and climbs trees, hiding in the foliage, Wagler's tree viper ( Tropidolaemus wagleri) is a native of South America.

It is generally accepted that snakes are not able to make a jump. The exceptions are a few snakes, including the Indian short python and the jumping pit viper, which lives in Central America. This snake, reaching a meter in length, has extremely strong muscles. Relatively short, she seems oversized and oversized. Having gathered the body into a tight spiral, the viper makes a throw over a distance of more than 60 cm. If the viper is on a hillock, stump or on the edge of a ditch, then it is able to jump further. The local population knows how dangerous this poisonous jumper is, which is not easy to spot because of the colorful protective coloration.

A few days before the molt, the snakes become as if blind: the cornea of ​​​​the eyes becomes cloudy and opaque. Snakes do not appear in this state under the rays of the sun due to involuntary "blindness" and in order not to lose the moisture needed to shed the stratum corneum during molting. They usually lie in rock crevices or other hidden places until their sight is restored. At this time, snakes determine the situation with the help of a language that can touch the environment, and rattlesnakes and pythons even hunt using thermolocators.

Before molting, snakes rub their muzzles against the ground until the skin bursts and begins to separate from the front of the head; first, a thin, transparent cuticle on the lips is separated, a large hole is formed. As a result, two blades appear - one on the top of the head, the other on the bottom. They bend back and gradually turn out. In the end, the inner surface is turned outward. To speed up the molt and get rid of the "creep out", the snakes crawl through the narrow gaps between the stones and thorny bushes.

Snakes often shed their horny covering after laying eggs. Younger individuals molt more often than older ones. Pacific rattlesnakes molt 3 to 6 times during their first year of life. In adulthood, they molt only once a year and a half. Some large snakes, such as the reticulated python of the Malay Archipelago ( Python reticulatus), shed almost monthly. Desert snakes - only once or twice a year. Shortly after the first spring molt, mating begins in snakes. At this time, snakes gather in groups.

Legends often speak of large balls of several snakes. Superstitious people called such balls "snake eggs" and attributed miraculous powers to them. In fact, during mating, the male and female, tightly wrapped around each other, lie for hours, choosing a shady place for this.

During the mating season, battles take place between male vipers. They raise the front parts of the body vertically and stand in this position, making oscillatory movements, and hiss. Then the snakes begin to collide heads, intertwine, move together for a while and then disperse. As a rule, during the battles, vipers do not bite.

After about four months, the female lays in a warm and damp place from 6 to 40 eggs, and in gigantic snakes up to 100. Some snakes lay eggs so ripe that the cubs break the egg shells either in the mother's body or immediately after laying. The mother takes care of the cubs, little or no care for them at all. The cubs of some snakes grow rather quickly in the first years of life, then more slowly, and finally, their growth barely noticeably increases during the year, although they continue to grow until the end of their lives.

In Mexico, at the zoo, I saw the offspring of one of the largest vipers on the American continent - bushmaster ( Lachesis muta). This viviparous snake was the mother of fifty cubs. The length of an adult female reached 210 cm, the cubs that had already grown up - 25 cm. Graceful, brightly colored snakes, which were born only yesterday, energetically scurried around the mother. They were so beautiful that they involuntarily wanted to take them in hand. But we were warned that they can bite. Therefore, they were fenced off by a glass wall from zoo visitors.

Snakes rarely breed in captivity. King Cobra ( Ophiophagus hannah) at the Bronx Zoo, located in the suburbs of New York, once laid 41 eggs. This was the second time that a cobra has laid eggs in captivity. The attendant transferred the eggs in the elastic box to the thermostat. The mother cobra, left without eggs, was literally furious with anger and five eggs had to be returned from the incubator to the nest. The next year, all the eggs were left near the cobra: many of them were damaged by the cobra, snakes hatched from the rest.

Snakes, as a rule, quickly get used to captivity. At first, they sometimes refuse to eat. In such cases, live mice should be given, later dead animals and even pieces of meat can be fed. If the snake continues to refuse food, it can be fed by pouring an egg into the stomach through a glass funnel inserted into the esophagus. Snakes gradually get used to the person constantly caring for them, react to the sound of steps and the opening of the cage door, take the offered food from tongs, and allow themselves to be touched. However, it should be remembered that the snake, being an insidious creature, can unexpectedly bite even after being considered “tame” for several months.

For a long time, South American rattlesnakes persist, refusing food. In a number of cases, rats let in to highly poisonous snakes did not make any impression on them. In turn, the rats did not experience the slightest fear of snakes. The noise the rattles made only aroused their curiosity. The rats ran over the bodies of the snakes, jumped on their backs and eventually, to the chagrin of the owner of the snakes, they gnawed one of them. Rattlesnakes sometimes starved in zoos for up to nine months. During a long fast, snakes drank water, bathed, shed their skin, and only after that they suddenly acquired an appetite.

Snakes of various genera, planted in one cage or terrarium, as a rule, get along with each other. You can plant up to a hundred snakes of various species together, attach several vipers to them and observe their complete mutual indifference. But the opposite can happen if a snake is placed with them, the food of which was unknown to the owner of the snakes. Peaceful to harmless in appearance, it can already attack vipers and even cobras, which are not much inferior to it in size. One of our terrariums kept a snake snake and a rather large cobra together. One day the cobra disappeared. Her search was fruitless. The escape of the cobra caused a great stir. Someone accidentally drew attention to the huge thickness of the body of the snake; the mysterious disappearance of the cobra was unraveled: it was swallowed by a snake.

In a terrarium where snakes are kept, there must certainly be a pool of water for swimming, sand, large stones, an electric lamp with a conical lampshade. Cleanliness and systematic exposure to ultraviolet light have a beneficial effect on snakes. It is believed that with good care, snakes can withstand captivity in zoos for 10-12 years.

Literature: E F. F. Talyzin "Poisonous animals of land and sea." Publishing house "Knowledge", Moscow, 1970

The snake is an animal of the chordate type, the reptile class, the scaly order, the snake suborder (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 longer tails. The body shape of these reptiles is varied: 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 also have an elongated structure.

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

The triangular head of the snake 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, for orientation 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 using special receptors inside the sky to “collect information” about the environment. Snake eyelids are fused transparent films, scales that cover 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 old skin - this process is called molting.

By the way, the color of the snake can be both monophonic in species that live in the temperate zone, and variegated in representatives of the tropics. The pattern may be longitudinal, transversely annular or spotted.

Types of snakes, names and photos

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

Consider several representatives of the snake suborder:

• King cobra (hamadryad) ( Ophiophagus hannah)
  

The largest venomous snake on earth. Individual 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 deadly neurotoxin, leading to death in 15 minutes. The scientific name of the king cobra literally means “snake eater”, because it is the only species that feeds on snakes of its own kind. Females have an exceptional maternal instinct, constantly guarding the laying of eggs and completely do 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 over 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 results in death within minutes, although the black mamba is not aggressive and only attacks humans in self-defense. Representatives of the species black mamba got their name due to the black color of the oral cavity. Snake 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 poison 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 - straw, when it gets cold it becomes dark brown.

• Gaboon viper (cassava) ( Bitis gabonica)

A 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 nature, rarely attacking people. Belongs to the type of viviparous snakes, breeds 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 that - a water boa. A massive body with a length of 5 to 11 m can weigh over 100 kg. A non-poisonous reptile is found in low-flowing rivers, lakes and backwaters of the tropical part of South America, from Venezuela to the island of Trinidad. It feeds on iguanas, caimans, waterfowl and fish.

• Python ( Pythonidae)

The representative of the family of non-venomous snakes is distinguished by gigantic sizes from 1 to 7.5 m in length, and females are much larger and more powerful than males. The range extends throughout the eastern hemisphere: tropical forests, swamps and savannahs 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 their eggs and incubate the clutch, increasing the temperature in the nest by 15-17 degrees by muscle contraction.

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

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

• radiant snake ( Xenopeltis unicolor)

Non-venomous snakes, the length of which in rare cases reaches 1 m. The reptile got its name for the iridescent tint of the scales, which have a dark brown color. Burrowing snakes inhabit 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 objects.

• Worm Blind Snake ( Typhlops vermicularis)

Small snakes, up to 38 cm long, outwardly resemble earthworms. Absolutely harmless representatives can be found under stones, melons and watermelons, as well as in bushes and on dry rocky slopes. They feed on beetles, caterpillars, and their larvae. The distribution zone extends from the Balkan Peninsula to the Caucasus, Central Asia and Afghanistan. Russian representatives of this species of snakes 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 are active both during the day and at night. Species living in temperate latitudes hibernate in winter.