Snakes, vipers, rattlesnakes, boas, cobras, mambas. (inform yourself)

in #nature7 years ago

Snakes do not control their temperature, they are cold blood. These reptiles depend on the environment where they are.
We have an immense list of 2600 poisonous and non-poisonous species; snakes, vipers, rattlesnakes, boas, cobras, mambas.
They do not have legs, so to move they crawl on the ground with singular movements.

HER CARACTERISTICS
They have a cylindrical and elongated body covered by a scaly skin. His jaw is another of his distinguishing characteristics. They can open wide thanks to the articulation of the lower jaw is made up of muscles. Their sense of hearing is not very developed, as they do not have an external ear. His tongue is bifid, which allows him to direct the particles in the environment to his Jacobson organ in order to perceive the smells.

There is a wide variety of snakes both terrestrial and aquatic. They inhabit the entire world, except in the polar areas, because they are heterothermal. They move their skin periodically during their growth and, only with the exception of the vipers, the boas, have a method of oviparous reproduction.

THEIR FEEDING
They feed depending on their size, because they can not chew their food. The smaller snakes, you consume smaller prey like rodents and insects; while the larger ones consume animals such as crocodiles, lizards, deer or cattle. When choosing their prey, other factors influence, such as the habitat (aquatic snakes tend to feed on fish), body temperature, the movement of the prey or its smell. Although there are species with a more specialized diet, they feed on any live animal and in captivity they can consume already dead but fresh and thawed animals.

YOUR MOVEMENTS
It has great agility, since they have ventral scales that correspond to the number of ribs, which function like the bands of the tires, giving the snake a surface of grip and impulse.
Within the methods of movement that these reptiles use in their locomotion, we have:

The serpentine method: Is an S-shaped movement used by most snakes, both aquatic and terrestrial. This wave locomotion is based on a contraction of the muscles of the snake, starting with the neck, which pushes the snake from one side to the other creating several curves.

The method of sidewinding: This movement is a variant of the movement of serpentine, especially on surfaces with few points of resistance. It is a movement in which they also contract in the form of S, but which only has 2 points of contact with the ground, so that a large part of the body of the snake remains in the air when it moves.

The method of the caterpillar: This movement also called rectilinear locomotion is slower than those previously described. With this variant the body also contracts in waves, which are much smaller; also, they go from top to bottom, instead of to the sides. With this technique, the upper part of the curves rises above the ground while the ventral scales push against the ground, simulating the movement of the caterpillars, hence the name.

The accordion method: In this technique, the reptile extends the front of its body on the vertical surface and then find a place to hold on thanks to its ventral scales.

PREDATORS

Snakes have a large number of predators, some are:

The hedgehog: This one has its shell of thorns to counteract the attacks of vipers and cobras. Each attack the snake makes against the hedgehog results in damage to it. After being totally weakened by the wounds of the thorns, the hedgehog approaches to bite and begin to devour slowly. Hedgehogs are immune to the venom of snakes, but only partially, because if they are bitten in areas such as the snout, they can suffer serious damage.

The mongoose: After tormenting the snake with their eyes, they immobilize them and then devour them. Mongooses and snakes engage in a lightning struggle of jumps and bites on both sides. The remarkable thickness of the mongoose layer makes it difficult to introduce snake venom, but although mongooses are capable of killing poisonous snakes more than three meters long, they are not completely immune to reptile toxins.

The bird secretary: These birds can kill the snakes with strong and accurate kicks. If he does not manage to kill her, he lifts her up into the air to throw her against the stones and weaken them. Its large plume of feathers on the nape of the neck extends during the attacks and deceives the snakes.

The snake: Precisely, it is a snake one of the main threats of another, because its shape facilitates that they are devoured by another similar species.
There are some snakes that specialize in feeding on others, such as the Musurana, from South America, or the royal cobra.

The snake eagles: These raptors specialize in the consumption of snakes, hence their name. These eagles can be found in Europe, Asia and Africa.

The armadillo: This animal can kill the snakes thanks to the hardness of its shell. To weaken them, they throw themselves against the reptiles to cut them off with the edge of their armor.

Sort:  

Transfer 0.100 SBD to @mrbean1 and put the link of your post in the public memo

I GIVE you 4 FOLLOW AND 5 UPVOT and resteem by @mrbean1