Source: Magnet Tower
Snakes have survived on Earth for hundreds of millions of years, and they are not "old" enough compared to other reptiles to belong to a special branch of the lizard. This creature has long been misunderstood, and humans are filled with a sense of fear about this creature because they are not known enough. Many people "talk about snake discoloration" mainly because the shape of the snake is frightening and terrifying, and the snake contains many deadly poisonous snakes, which pose a threat to human life. So many people are afraid of snakes.
But objectively speaking, snakes are still "more effective than excessive" to humans. The whole body of the snake is a treasure: snakeskin can be used to make leather and musical instruments; Snake venom can be used to make medicinal liquor; Snake bile and snake metamorphosis can be used in medicine to treat various neurological pain, polio and other diseases; Snake meat is also on the table of people in many regions, especially in Southeast Asian countries and southern Americas, where locals hunt some snakes to make delicious food.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > the history of snakes</h1>
The earliest snake fossils were found in the early Cretaceous Period, but the appearance of snakes may be earlier, probably in the Jurassic period when dinosaurs were most prosperous, the development of reptiles flourished, in addition to dinosaurs There are a large number of lizards, some lizards are the ancestors of snakes, so most scientists believe that snakes originated in this period. Dating back to the Time of the Jurassic Dinosaurs, it evolved from certain lizard species. However, it is worth mentioning that snakes and lizards are biologically distant relatives of dinosaurs, and the two have nothing to do with each other. After the snakes mate, the breeding method is generally divided into egg birth and egg fetus, and the eggs of some varieties develop directly in the abdomen, directly giving birth to small snakes, and some varieties give birth to snake eggs to wait for the hatching of the larvae. There are also a small number of snakes that are oviparous.
Today, there are about ten major families of snakes on the earth, about 48 genera and 2700 species. It should be noted that the oviparous birth of snakes is essentially different from the animal viviparity we usually see, such as the red-tailed crab, which can directly give birth to small snakes during breeding, but it should be noted that this snake is not a "fetal animal", they are also bred with eggs like other snakes, but they do not lay eggs, but continue to be preserved in the abdomen, and finally the eggs hatch in the abdomen, and then hatch the small snake when the red-tailed grasshopper regenerates offspring, compared to egg laying, This is a more dangerous form of reproduction, and a small number of female snakes will have difficulty giving birth or other conditions, and in severe cases may die. Compared with the oviparous snake, the snake that directly lays the egg is more "advanced".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > snake family</h1>
The habitat of snakes can be divided into aquatic and terrestrial habitats, and aquatic snakes can also be divided into freshwater and seawater. The terrestrial snake family is also divided into a variety of different snakes, which can be divided into three types: ground, arboreal and burrowing according to different species. The snake is a cold-blooded animal, itself has no temperature, it can not regulate the body temperature through its own physiology, its body temperature changes with the temperature of the surrounding environment. Therefore, at low temperatures in winter, snakes will generally bury their bodies in the ground to find a more ideal temperature location for hibernation, and lie in the ground for three months, without eating or drinking; It was not until the spring of the following year that the snakes returned to the earth, everything recovered, and the temperature rose, that the snakes ended hibernating and returned to the earth to multiply.
The snake family is so large that scientists estimate that there are currently 2,700 species of snakes in the world, of which 319 are pythons. Some species carry high poison, while others are non-toxic. It can be divided into 18 families, of which the following 3 are the most common.
For example, the Viper family, which is highly venomous. It has the most advanced venom injection organ among all snakes. There are very long poisonous fangs.
The family Is a common family of snakes, including snakes, which have large scales on their heads, generally 20–30 cm long.
In addition, there are more famous cobra families, which include cobras, silver ring snakes, African snakes and so on. This snake has a slender, long, venomous body and lives in tropical and subtropical regions. The most famous of the cobra family is naturally the king cobra, which is also the largest venomous snake known to mankind, and its detoxification is very impressive.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > skeletal construction of snakes</h1>
Without limbs, snakes have a much simpler skeletal structure than other vertebrates: they are made up of skulls, hyoid bones (located in the neck that act as attachments to the tongue muscles), vertebrae, and ribs. Only some primitive snakes, such as the grasshopper and snake, have traces of pelvic structure, which proves that their ancestors were footed animals.
The number of vertebrae contained in the long body of snakes broke the animal world record: depending on the species, the number of vertebrae ranged from 130 to 500, most of which were connected to the ribs, except for the tail vertebrae, which accounted for almost one-fifth of all vertebrae, the most primitive snakes, with heavy skulls and fewer teeth. But most snakes have light skulls, connected jaws, and other special bone structures that allow their mouths to open wide enough to swallow intact prey many times larger than their body diameter. Many snake farms often pick up snakes and throw them away when they kill them, and soon they will die, and they can easily kill some snakes in this way. In fact, this is because snakes have a large number of spines, which will cause damage to the nerves of the spine, and eventually cause the death of the snakes.
Eating habits and an additional venom injection system affect the anatomy of the skull. The jawbone is covered with teeth that are connected to the bone, and snakes change their teeth many times in their lifetime. The teeth are hooked backwards to prevent prey from escaping. Snakes and snakes, like many swimming snakes, do not have venom-injected fangs. Snakes that inject venom account for about a quarter of all species. Depending on the shape and location of the teeth attached to the venom glands embedded in the jawbone, they can be divided into 3 categories, namely tube tooth venomous snakes, anterior groove venomous snakes and posterior groove tooth venomous snakes. Most venomous snakes' venom is very valuable, they do not use their own venom easily, after a "detoxification", some species of venomous snakes may take two weeks or more to recover.
Snakes are "specialized lizards", adapted to their environment through perfect body structure, are more resistant to hunger than their close relatives, and can easily climb trees and mountains, making them one of the most successful groups of reptiles. Some snakes cope with harsh and cold climates, and also use "hibernation tricks", which can survive by reducing their metabolism in winter, so that even some temperate regions have snake distribution, which also allows snakes to occupy their own place on the earth.