Snakes have lived on this planet for 130 million years. As a result, they have evolved many magical abilities. So how much do you know about these magical abilities?
ovoviviparous
Snakes generally lay their eggs first and then go through a long incubation process before they can breed the next generation. But in nature, there is such a snake, they hatch directly in their stomachs, and then directly give birth to small snakes,
For example, the short-tailed pit viper, the most common in mainland China, is such a snake. And this breeding method, resulting in a higher hatching rate of juvenile snakes, higher survival rate.
Therefore, the short-tailed pit viper is the most widely distributed and most abundant of all the snakes on the continent. Every year, it causes tens of thousands of bites and is the main snake species on the mainland.
It is said that female short-tailed pit vipers, when they are difficult to give birth, will cut their belly with sharp objects and then give the baby snake the right to live. From this we can see that the love of a mother for her child is not of any species.
Sperm storage capacity
Snakes have a very strong sperm storage capacity, they can lay snake eggs for several years without mating tails, and successfully hatch into small snakes. Academically, this is known as the phenomenon of "virgin fertility".
In a laboratory in Australia, a female eastern diamond-backed rattlesnake did not have a male snake in five years from 2005 to the end of 2010, but unexpectedly gave birth to 19 small snakes.
In this regard, Warren Booz of the University of Rollina in the United States, in order to verify the phenomenon of "virgin fertility", collected DNA samples from female mothers and juveniles.
After research, it was found that the baby snake carried a different gene from the mother. This confirms that this phenomenon is real. But as to why snakes can store sperm for a long time, humans have not been able to understand it so far.
Anti-toxicity
In nature, some snakes feed on venomous snakes. As a result, they have evolved excellent resistance to poisons. For example, our common king snake.
The king snake is in the countryside and has the saying that "one mile king snake, ten miles of non-venomous snake". They are highly venom-immune and can prey on blood-circulating snakes like the barramundi viper.
So, have they ever hit a king cobra? Personally, I think that the king snake can't beat the king cobra. Because the venom of the king cobra is mainly nerve venom, few creatures can resist the attack of this venom.
It is important to know that the amount of venom stored by the king cobra can be as high as 7 ml. The fatality rate of humans is as high as 67%, so the king snake sees the king cobra and only escapes.
Ability to fly
Snakes are widely distributed in nature. Some of them go up to the tree, some go to the sea, some drill the soil, almost omnipotent, and even some snakes, and they have evolved the ability to fly, which is the golden flower snake.
The golden flower snake is a very arboreal snake. In order to move quickly from tree to tree, they can make their bodies very flat.
Then, climb up the high treetops, and then use your powerful bouncing power to quickly eject yourself to achieve the purpose of flying in the air.
According to researchers, it has been observed that the golden flower snake can not only change direction in the air by swinging its body, but also the smaller the golden flower snake, the longer they fly.
Imitation ability
In nature, there is such a group of snakes, they have excellent imitation ability, such as the spider tail horned viper, they can swing their tail like a spider, to trap some birds.
There are also mainland arrow-nosed water snakes, which can use the biopsy in their mouths and noses to imitate insects falling into the water, so as to trap some small fish and shrimp.
In addition, snakes have a strong ability to mimic. They lie on the ground, almost making it impossible for you to see who is on the ground and who is their body, such as the viper below.
It's lying right there, in the middle of the picture. If you don't look closely, can you tell the difference? This is also the main cause of bites in many snakes.
epilogue
Snakes are a magical species, and they have many secrets that we humans don't know. But without denying it, it was really delicious.
Whether it is stir-fried or soup, it is a human delicacy and rich in nutritional value. Nature's delicacies are always delicious and delicious, and we must remain rational in hunting.