All Information About Snakes

About Snakes

Snakes are carnivorous reptiles of the suborder serpents.These are elongated and legless.Snakes are amniote vertebrates  covered in overlapping scale.Snakes are generally classified with  lizard in the order squamata,They represent a lizard that has undergone structural reduction and simplification.Not all leg-less reptiles are snakes,they lack external limbs.Snakes have lost the urinary bladder.
As early as middle Jurassic epoch,snakes are thought to have evolved from terrestrial lizard.Eophis Underwoodi is known as oldest fossil snake.It was a small snake that lived in Southern England about 167 million years ago.
Snakes use combination of sense for hunting,relaying especially on smell Snakes have forked tongue which help to flick in different directions.Which help them to know when danger-or food-is nearby.

Types of snakes with pictures

There are different families of  Snakes.Let's take a look and understand few basic facts about them.

1. Elapidae

In the world Elapidae family is  most venomous species of snakes.The snakes of this family are found in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world.They have their fixed and hollow fangs which are used to inject venoms.These venoms causes severer damage to nervous tissues because these are neurotoxic.It can be potentially deadly.

Popular snake species of Elapidae family:-

1. Black mamba

2. Indian cobra

3. King cobra

4. Cape cobra

5. Green mamba

6. Egyptian cobra

7. Red spitting cobra

8. Mozambique spitting cobra

9. Inland tipan

2. Viperidae

Viperidae is the most important family of venomous snakes.These are also called vipers.Vipers are known for their long,hinged hollow fangs.These fangs stay folded back against the roof's of snakes mouth.The fangs extend when the mouth opens and get into biting position.

Popular snake species of  Viperidae Family:-

1. Copperheads

2. Rattle snake

4. Water Moccasin

5. Bush master

6. Russel's viper

7. Saw-scaled viper

8. Temple viper

3. Colubridae

Snakes  of Colubridae family are non-venamous and and possess venom that is too weak to cause  any harmful effect to human life.Boomslang and twig snake are some exceptions whose bites had been reported to cause fatalities.The fangs of culubridae  snakes are located at angled at the back.Fangs of the snakes of this breed are not hollow.

Popular snakes species of Colubridae Family:-

1. Scarlet snake

2. Corn snake

3. Desert king snake

4. California king snake

5. Black rat snake

6. King rat snake

4. Boidae

Boidae family normally comprises non-venomous but very powerful constrictors ,which can swallow a fully grown buck.They rely on their strength to suffocate their prey.They have rows of teeth in their upper and lower jaws,but they do not have fangs.According to scientists  snakes can sense their prey's heartbeat.

Popular snake species of Boidae Family:-

1. Anaconda

2. Emerald tree boa

3. Rosy boa

4. yellow snake

5. Pythonidae

Pythonidae family is similar to Boidae family.It also comprises large non-venomous snakes,which kill their prey by constriction.Mostly everyone confused between python and boas.They have same feeding habits and similar structure.Both give birth to young once,while Pythons are egg-laying reptiles.

Some popular snakes of Pythonidae Family:-

1. Reticulated python

2. Burmese python

3. The african rock python

4. Green tree python

5. Ball  Python

6. Hydrophiidae

It could be a sub family of Elapidae according to some toxonomists.Hydrophiidae family comprises sea snakes,these snakes are extremely venomous but account for rare human encounters.They contain neurotoxins and is consider to be more potent then snakes of land.

Some popular snakes of Hydrophiidae Family:-

1. Belcher's sea snake  

2. Spiny headed sea snake

3. Olive sea snake

4. Spint-tailed sea snake

5. Beaked sea snake