Alice White
Snakes are ambiguous creatures. Someone they delight, and someone – in horror, and in fairness it should be noted that the latter clearly prevail. Such a subconscious fear of snakes largely stems from the danger of these creatures to humans – the bite of some poisonous snake can send even a hero to the next world in a matter of minutes.
- There is not a single snake in New Zealand.
- Some species of harmless and non-venomous snakes look almost indistinguishable from their venomous counterparts – in this way they protect themselves from the attack of predators.
- Poisonous snakes use poison mainly not for defense, but for attack when hunting.
- There are fewer venomous snakes in the world than non-venomous ones, about three times.
- The largest living snake is the anaconda. It can reach a length of 5-7 meters, and its weight can exceed a hundred kilograms. It is found in tropical countries of South America, in particular, in Bolivia, Venezuela, and Ecuador.
- The eyelids of snakes are always closed, but this does not prevent the snake from seeing, since its eyelids are transparent. However, eyesight in most species of snakes is still weak, which cannot be said about the sense of smell. However, snakes smell not with their nostrils, but with their tongue, tasting the air.
- All snakes shed periodically throughout their lives.
- The smallest snakes in the world are the Tetracheilostoma carlae snakes living on the island of Barbados. Their length does not exceed 10 centimeters.
- Most snakes are good at seeing warm objects, such as mammals, due to their advanced infrared vision.
- All snakes, without exception, are predators.
- Not all snakes lay eggs – there are viviparous species among them.
- Currently, science knows nearly three and a half thousand different species of snakes.
- The most venomous land snake in the world is the taipan. One portion of taipan poison is enough to kill a hundred people. This snake is 50 times more venomous than a cobra.
- Taipan is also considered the most dangerous snake since its monstrous venomousness is combined with impressive size and extremely aggressive disposition.
- Sea snakes are smaller than land snakes, but some of them are very dangerous. However, all of them are not too aggressive towards a person, if you do not try to harm them.
