Testing A Snake
The following article includes pertinent information that may cause you to reconsider what you thought you understood. The most important thing is to study with an open mind and be willing to revise your understanding if necessary.
Imagine the next time you join a discussion about Snakes. When you start sharing the fascinating Snakes facts below, your friends will be absolutely amazed.
A snake is an elongate reptile of the suborder Serpentes. Like all reptiles, snakes are ectothermic and covered in scales. All snakes are carnivorous and can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids, hind limbs, external ears, and the presence of only vestigial forelimbs. The 2,700+ species of snakes spread across every continent except Antarctica ranging in size from the tiny, 10 cm long thread snake to pythons and anacondas at 9 m (30 ft) long. In order to accommodate snakes’ narrow bodies, paired organs (such as kidneys) appear one in front of the other instead of side by side.
Snakes
While venomous snakes comprise a minority of the species, some possess potent venom capable of causing painful injury or death to humans. However, venom in snakes is primarily for killing and subduing prey rather than for self-defense. Snakes may have evolved from a lizard which adapted to burrowing during the Cretaceous period (c 150 Ma), though some scientists have postulated an aquatic origin. The diversity of modern snakes appeared during the Paleocene period (c 66 to 56 Ma).
Now that we’ve covered those aspects of Snakes, let’s turn to some of the other factors that need to be considered.
Once you begin to move beyond basic background information, you begin to realize that there’s more to Snakes than you may have first thought.
A literary word for snake is serpent (a Middle English word which comes from Old French, and ultimately from *serp-, “to creep”[1], also ερπω in Greek). The serpent is also a symbol of the healing arts.
Knowing enough about Snakes to make solid, informed choices cuts down on the fear factor. If you apply what you’ve just learned about Snakes, you should have nothing to worry about.
There’s no doubt that the topic of Snakes can be fascinating. If you still have unanswered questions about Snakes, you may find what you’re looking for in the next article.
