There are about 3,400 species of snakes, and less than 10 percent of them are venomous. Despite this, snakes are a symbol of fear for human beings, often personifying evil.
Snakes, or snakes, belong to the order Squamata (popularly known as scaling), along with chameleons and iguanas. These animals are characterized by having the upper jaw totally fused to the skull, and a lower jaw that is very mobile, in addition to a tendency towards reduced limbs, or totally absent, in the case of snakes.
In this article, we will learn about the types of snakes that exist, the characteristics and some examples.
Characteristics of Snakes
Snakes, like the rest of reptiles, have their bodies protected by scales. These epidermal scales are placed side by side, overlapping, etc. Among them, there is a mobile area called bisagra, which allows you to perform movements.
Snakes, unlike lizards, have horny scales and do not have osteoderms or bone scales under them. The scaly epidermal tissue undergoes complete change every time the animal grows. It changes as a single piece, which is called exuvia.
They are ectothermic animals, that is, unable to regulate their body temperature on their own, so they depend on the environment. To do this, they modify and adapt their behavior to keep their temperature as stable as possible.
As they are reptiles, the circulatory system of snakes is characterized by having a heart divided into three chambers, two of which are atria and only one ventricle. This organ receives blood from the body and the lungs, releasing it to the rest of the body. The small valves and partitions present in the ventricle make it function as if it were divided in two.
The snakes’ respiratory system consists of a small hole in the end of the mouth, called the glottis. The glottis has a membrane that allows air to enter the trachea when the animal needs to breathe.
After the trachea, there is a fully functioning right lung with a bronchus running through it, called the mesobranch. The left lung of snakes is very small, or totally absent in several species. Breathing occurs thanks to the intercostal muscles.
Snakes have a highly evolved excretory system. The kidneys are of the metanephric type, as in birds and mammals. They filter the blood, expelling residual substances. They are located in the most posterior area of the body. The snakes have no bladder, but the end of the tube through which stool is wider, allowing storage.
Fertilization of these animals is always internal. Most snakes are oviparous animals, they lay eggs. Although, at times, they can be ovoviviparous, developing the offspring inside the mother.
The females’ ovaries are elongated and float within the body cavity. In males, seminiferous ducts act as testicles. There is also a structure called hemipenis, which is nothing more than a cloaca spill and serves to be introduced into the female’s cloaca.
The cloaca is a structure where the excretory tubes, the end of the intestine and the reproductive organs converge.
Some sense organs in snakes are highly developed, such as smell and taste. Snakes have a Jacobson organ or vomeronasal organ, through which they detect pheromones. In addition, through saliva, they are able to perceive taste and olfactory sensations.
On the face, they have loreal 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 to 13 pairs on each side of the face.
Through the detectable thermal field, there is a double chamber separated by a membrane. When there is a warm-blooded animal nearby, the air in the first chamber increases, and moves the termination membrane that stimulates nerve endings.
Finally, there are very venomous snakes. The venom is produced by salivary glands whose composition is modified. After all, saliva has a digestive function that helps in the digestion of prey. Therefore, if a snake bites you, even if it is not poisonous, the saliva itself can cause an adverse reaction and cause very painful wounds.
Where Snakes Live
Snakes, due to their species diversity, colonized almost all habitats on the planet, with the exception of the poles. Some snakes live in forested areas, using trees as a travel route. Other snakes live in pastures and more open areas.
But they can also live in very rocky areas or where water is scarce, such as deserts. There are snakes that have colonized even the oceans. Thus, the aquatic environment can also be an ideal location for some types of snakes.
Venomous Snake
The different types of snakes have different types of teeth:
- Aglyphic teeth, which do not have a channel through which it is possible to inoculate the venom and flows throughout the mouth.
- Opisthoglyph teeth, which are located at the back of the mouth, with a channel through which the venom is injected.
- Proteroglyphic teeth are found on the anterior part and have a canal.
- Solenoid glyphs have an internal duct. The inoculating teeth that can move backwards, present in the most venomous snakes.
Not all snakes are equally dangerous. Usually, snakes evolve to prey on specific prey and, among them, the human being is not present. Therefore, most snakes, even when they are venomous, should not pose a real threat.
Types of Dangerous Snakes
Despite this, there are extremely dangerous snakes. Among the most poisonous snakes in the world we find:
- Inner Taipan ( Oxyuranus microlepidotus );
- Black Mamba ( Dendroaspis Polylepis );
- Blecher’s Sea Snake ( Hydrophis Belcheri );
- Royal snake ( Ophiophagus Hannah );
- Jararca-Real ( Bothrops Asper );
- Western diamondback rattlesnake ( Crotalus Atrox ).
Non-venomous Snake
Speaking of types of snakes, about 90% of the snakes that inhabit planet Earth are not venomous, but they still represent a threat. Pythons are non-venomous snakes, but they can use their bodies to crush and smother large animals in a few seconds. Some types of python snake are:
- Carpet python ( Morelia spilota );
- Burmese python ( Python bivittatus );
- Royal Python ( Python regius );
- Python-amethyst ( Simalia amethistina );
- African python ( Python sebae ).
Some snakes are considered types of domestic snakes, but no snake is actually a domestic animal, as they have never gone through the long process of domestication.
What happens is that snakes’ temperaments are generally calm and they rarely attack unless they feel threatened. This fact, added to the characteristic of not being poisonous, makes many people decide to have them as pets. Other non-venomous snakes are:
- Boa constrictor ( Boa constrictor );
- Californian king cobra ( Lampropeltis getulus californiae );
- False coral ( Lampropeltis triangulum ); is one of the types of snakes in Mexico.
- Green-tree python ( Morelia viridis ).
Water Snake
The water snakes live on the banks of rivers, lakes and ponds. These snakes are usually large, and although they breathe air, they spend most of the day submerged in water, where they find some of the food they need, such as amphibians and fish.
- Collared water snake ( Natrix natrix );
- Water snake-viperine ( Natrix Maura );
- Elephant trunk snake ( Acrochordus javanicus );
- Green anaconda ( Eunectes Murinus ).
Sea Snake
Sea snakes form a subfamily within the group of ophidians, the subfamily Hydrophiinae. These snakes spend most of their lives in salt water, and in most cases are unable to move along a solid surface, such as the Earth’s surface. Some species of sea snakes are:
- Broad-snouted sea snake ( Laticauda colubrina );
- Black-headed sea snake ( Hydrophis melanocephalus );
- Pelagian sea snake ( Hydrophis platurus ).
Sand Snakes
Sand snakes are those snakes that live in deserts. Among them, we find some types of rattlesnake snakes.
- Horned viper ( Vipera ammodytes );
- Mojave rattlesnake ( Crotalus scutulatus );
- Arizona coral snake ( Micruroides euryxanthus );
- Peninsular brilliant snake ( peaceful Arizona );
- Bright snake ( Arizona elegans ).