Snakes believe that everyone is not strangers, and snakes with high venom make people "look at the snake and flee". Today, let's learn about this poisonous snake - the rattlesnake!
Rattlesnake is generally about 1.5 to 2 meters long, the body is yellow-green, the back has diamond-shaped black brown spots, the tail end has a string of rings, for the remnants of multiple molting, when encountering enemies or sharp activities will quickly swing the tail ring of the tail, can make a loud sound for a long time, so that the enemy does not dare to approach or be scared away, let's take a look at why the tail of the rattlesnake rings!
Why does the rattlesnake tail ring?
At the tip of the rattlesnake's tail grew a chain ring that enclosed a cavity, and the cornea separated the cavity into two ring-shaped bubbles, as if it were two air oscillators. When the rattlesnake kept wagging its tail, a stream of air formed in the bubble, oscillating back and forth as soon as it went in and out, and the bubble made a "rattling" sound.
What does a rattlesnake tail do?
The typical feature of the rattlesnake is the ring of the tail, the ring of the rattlesnake is like a string of dry hollow beads, when shaken, the rings will rub against each other and vibrate the air apparatus to make a hissing sound to warn intruders that they will be poisoned if they bite it. The longer the ring, the louder the string, which also means that the rattlesnake is older, and the young rattlesnake that does not have a ring will attack without warning when it encounters an intruder because it cannot make a warning sound. At the same time, the rattlesnake tail can simulate the sound of water flowing, attracting thirsty critters in the desert.
What are the common species of rattlesnake?
1, pygmy rattlesnake: pygmy rattlesnake is a subfamily subfamily of snake vipers distributed in Canada, the United States and Mexico around the venomous snake, the body size is significantly smaller than the rattlesnake, the head has nine larger frontal scales, has a tail that will make sounds, but can produce a higher and denser sound than the general rattlesnake in both frequency and tone. Although the venom of the pygmy rattlesnake is generally considered to be a less dangerous toxin, it is the most correct attitude to treat any poisonous snake bite with caution and immediate treatment.
2, the eastern diamondback rattlesnake: the eastern diamondback rattlesnake is the world's largest rattlesnake, in the United States has become less and less, often run over by the car or caught in the rattlesnake capture operation. The venom is very toxic and there are many, which is not surprising because it is very large, and nowadays in the United States, only one or two people die every year from being bitten by a rattlesnake. But because of its astonishing hulk and its venom, it occupies third place on snake catcher Nigel Marvin's list of America's top ten deadly venomous snakes.
3, horned rattlesnake: horned rattlesnake also known as the side snake, for the viper family small nocturnal snake, produced in Mexico and the southwest of the United States sandy desert, body length of about 45 ~ 75 cm, above the eyes have a horn-like scales, pale yellow, pink or gray, the back and body sides of the inconspicuous spots, in the desert sideways coiled forward, leaving a unique J-shaped trace, poisonous, generally not fatal after biting.
4, South American rattlesnake: South American rattlesnake is a kind of rattlesnake distributed in South America, can be up to 1.8 meters long, neck to head has two obvious black lines. The toxin of the South American rattlesnake is like playing Russian roulette, the toxin effect of the adult rattlesnake will only destroy blood cells and tissues, but the young rattlesnake has not yet sounded and can also issue a warning, so their toxins will also make the muscles bend and climb the stem, and attack the respiratory system, resulting in respiratory failure, the strong effect of the toxin can make up for the young rattlesnake can not warn the defect.
5, spotted rattlesnake: twin spotted rattlesnake also known as double spotted rattlesnake, for the suborder viper viper subfamily rattlesnake genus of a poisonous rattlesnake, mainly distributed in the United States and Mexico, adult spotted rattlesnake body length is usually not more than 50 to 60 cm, the current longest record is 66 cm, the color is mostly gray, brownish gray (sometimes biased towards brownish red) as the tone, and there are many small brown spots, dorsal scale texture is spotted, with the ridge axis as the boundary, divided into two rows, left and right, There are about 39 to 64 pairs of such markings.
6, tabby rattlesnake: tabby rattlesnake back has a lot of tabby-like longitudinal stripes, few adults can reach 100 cm, the largest specimen length of 88.5 cm, the head is very small and the back is large, distributed in the southeastern United States Arizona and northwestern Mexico Sonora region. The tabby rattlesnake is the most venomous of any rattlesnake, and although it is very toxic, it does not appear to have caused any severe local or systemic symptoms.