Chrysopelea (Flying Snake)

Chrysopelea (Flying Snake)

Description:
 Chrysopelea, or more commonly known as the flying snake, is a genus that belongs to the family Colubridae. Flying snakes are mildly venomous,though they are considered harmless because their toxicity is not dangerous to humans.Their range is in Southeast Asia (the mainland, Greater and Lesser Sundas, Maluku, and the Philippines), southernmost China, India, Sri Lanka.

Habitat:
Chrysopelea ornata ornattissima is a flexible snake. It can be found in forests, on plantations, in gardens and in houses. This snake is regularly found in the inner city areas of Bangkok and Pattaya. As they feed on rodents, geckos and other lizards, they are often found on and in houses. These snakes are active during the day, can climb walls and are very fast.

Gliders:
Chrysopelea is also known under its assigned common name "flying snake". It glides by using its ridge scales along its belly,pushing against rough bark surface of tree trunks, allowing it to move vertically up a tree. Upon reaching the end of a tree's branch, the snake continues moving until its tail dangles from the branch's end. It then makes a J-shape bend,leans forward to select the level of inclination it wishes to travel to control its flight path, as well as selecting a desired landing area. Once it decides on a destination, it propels itself by thrusting its body up and away from the tree, sucking in its stomach, flaring out its ribs to turn its body in a "pseudo concave wing all the while making a continual serpentine motion of lateral undulation[9] parallel to the ground to stabilise its direction in midair in order to land safely.

The combination of sucking in its stomach and making a motion of lateral undulation in the air makes it possible for the snake to glide in the air, where it also manages to save energy compared to travel on the ground and dodge terrestrial bounded predators.The concave wing that a snake creates in sucking its stomach, flattens its body to up to twice its width from back of the head to the anal vent, which is close to the end of the snake's tail, causes the cross section of the snake's body to resemble the cross section of a frisbee or flying disc.When a flying disc spins in the air, the designed cross sectional concavity causes increased air pressure under the centre of the disc, causing lift for the disc to fly.A snake continuously moves in lateral undulation to create the same effect of increased air pressure underneath its arched body to glide.Flying snakes are able to glide better than flying squirrels and other gliding animals, despite the lack of limbs, wings, or any other wing-like projections, gliding through the forest and jungle it inhabits with the distance being as great as 100 m.Their destination is mostly predicted by ballistics; however, they can exercise some in-flight attitude control by "slithering" in the air.

venom:
If they feel threatened and cannot flee, they bite straight away. The species Chrysopelea belongs to the family of rearfanged snakes. However, the venom so mild that it does not have much of an effect on humans. 

Diet: 

Chrysopelea are diurnal, which means they hunt during the day. They prey upon lizards, frogs, birds and bats.

 

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Rufous beaked snake

 Description:

  The rufous beaked snake is large and stout, with males reaching a maximum length of 1.1 m (3.6 ft) and females reaching 1.07 m (3.5 ft). It has a shortened skull, as with all beaked snakes, giving it a clear distinction between its head and body, as well as a dark brown eye stripe running down the side of its head.[6] Its eyes are large with round pupils. While its back tends to be yellowish-brown to reddish-brown, its belly is cream or yellowish-white.

 Geographic range:

The rufous beaked snake's range includes north Botswana, north Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Sudan. 

 

 Biology:

 Diurnal animals, rufous beaked snakes hunt small animals, including other snakes, but stay in burrows during the hottest part of the day. In the summer, females lay eight to 17 cylindrical eggs with dimensions of about 36 mm × 21 mm (1.4 in × 0.83 in) over the span of several days.The snake's venom, one of its components of which is a neurotoxin called rufoxin, causes hypotension and circulatory shock in small mammals, but is not dangerous to humans.

 

Venom:

Although this snake is mildly venomous it poses no danger to man and hardly even attempts to bite. 

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About California King Snake

    About California King Snake

About California King Snake
By Alex Bramwell, eHow Contributor

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California king snakes have black bodies and white stripes.

Found across the Western and Southwestern United States, the California king snake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) is one of 80 recognized subspecies of the king snake. The subspecies has a number of different color morphs. California kings are popular and harmless pets. Hybrids with other king snake subspecies and closely related snakes such as the corn snake (Elaphe guttata) are available

Description

    At a maximum length of 48 inches and 5 inches in girth California kings are smaller than other king snake species. The head is small and barely wider than the body and the scales are shiny and smooth. The typical coloration is white bands over a black or dark brown background, but there are unbanded races with a single vertical line running from head to tail and others with lateral stripes. Desert king snakes tend to be brown with yellower stripes while coastal animals have the highest contrast black and white bands. The pet trade has albino varieties, but albino snakes are rarely found in the wild.

Range

    While common in California, California king snakes are also found as far north as Oregon and as far west as southwestern Colorado. The subspecies also occurs in northern New Mexico and in Arizona, where it hybridizes with other subspecies of king snake. The California king snake is also found in northern Mexico and Baja California.

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Snake Myths And Facts

 1) Snakes Go Blind During the Heat of Summer

It still surprises me how many people believe this myth. Snakes do not simply go blind based on temperature or time of year. However, snakes close to shedding their skins do experience a temporary loss or inhibition of vision as their old ocular scales, protective scales covering the eyes, begin to separate from new ones developing underneath.

During this time, the eyes appear a milky gray-blue, and the snake’s ability to see is minimal. In captivity, this period of temporary blindness may happen anytime before a shed, but snakes in the wild typically do not always eat as much as their captive counterparts, so they often shed old skins less frequently. In nature, especially in the southern United States, a great many snakes slip into a shed cycle in late summer, so perhaps the myth that all snakes “go blind” was born during this time of year.

2)Snakes chase people.

 Many people who have spent time outdoors have a story about being chased by snakes. But herpetologists, people who study reptiles and amphibians, never seem to have this experience. They find that snakes are always trying to escape. To understand this perceived behavior of a snake chasing someone, one must first realize that a snake has nothing to gain by chasing a person. A snake obviously could not eat a person and so is not looking for food. They are not vengeful and do not chase people out of sheer hate

3) Rattlesnakes always add one rattle a year.

 A rattlesnake adds one rattle every time it sheds its skin. Snakes may shed several times in the course of a year, each time adding a new rattle. Rattles also may break off. Determining a snake's age by counting rattles usually results in an inaccurate estimate of the snake's age.

4)snakes drink milk.

The real fact is that snakes hate milk and it is scientifically proved that when snakes are forced to drink milk they get sick.
3. It is falsely believed that snakes can listen to music. Snakes never dance to the tune of the snake charmers. In fact snakes cannot hear the music it is the movement of the snake charmer that forces the snakes to follow a particular movement.

5)It is a common myth that snakes dance to been played by charmers.

Snakes are normally unresponsive. They are unable to hear the sounds that are transmitted in the air. Their body helps to catch the vibrations from the surface. Snakes believe that the moving charmer & his instruments are going to attack them so they quickly change their position & constantly sway their heads in the direction of instruments. This is a safeguard posture.

6) Bite received from a snake in water is not poisonous.

 Another false belief is that a bite received from a snake in water is not poisonous but the fact is that venomous snakes either when bitten on land or on water is equally poisonous.

 7)Many people believe that there are ‘Two-headed’ snakes.

This myth about ‘Two-headed’ snakes generally gets popularized by the snake-charmers who always try to prolong this mythological state about snakes in India so that they can persist in their job of attracting huge crowds towards their snake shows. Actually ‘Two-headed’ snake does not exist.

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yellow-bellied sea snake (Pelamis platura)

 yellow-bellied sea snake (Pelamis platura)

 yellow-bellied sea snake (Pelamis platura)

Description:

The body of this snake is compressed, posteriorly less than half the diameter of the neck; the body scales are juxtaposed, subquadrangular in shape, and in 23–47 rows around thickest part of body; ventral scales, 264–406 in number, are very small and, if distinct, divided by a longitudinal groove, but usually are indistinguishable from adjacent body scales. The head is narrow, with an elongated snout; head shields are entire, nostrils are superior, and nasal shields are in contact with one another; the prefrontal scale is in contact with second upper labial; one or two preoculars, two or three postoculars, and two or three small anterior temporals are present; seven or eight upper labials are found, with four or five below the eye, but separated from the border by a subocular. Colors of the snake are variable, but most often distinctly bicolored, black above, yellow or brown below, with the dorsal and ventral colors sharply demarcated from one another; ventrally, there may be a series of black spots or bars on the yellow or brown background, or the yellow may extend dorsally so there is only a narrow middorsal black stripe, or a series of black crossbars (M.A. Smith, 1943: 476–477, gives more complete descriptions of the color pattern variants). Total length for males is up to 720 millimetres (28 in), for females up to 880 millimetres (35 in); tail length for males is up to 80 millimetres (3.1 in), females up to 90 millimetres (3.5 in).

sea snake

Venom:

The venom of this species is highly potent, like other sea snakes. In Australia, sea snakes are rarely aggressive and bites are uncommon. The subcutaneous LD50 of the venom is 0.067 mg/kg and the venom yield per bite is 1.0–4.0 mg

Habits:

 These snakes breed in warm waters; they are ovoviviparous with a gestation period of about six months. According to Ditmars, females bear live young in tidal pools.They are helpless on land, and they sometimes form large aggregations of thousands in surface waters. These snakes use their neurotoxic venom against their fish prey. No human fatalities from envenomation are known.

Antivenom:

Sea snake venom can cause damage to skeletal muscle with consequent myoglobinuria, neuromuscular paralysis or direct renal damage. The venoms of significant species of sea snake are neutralised with Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Ltd (of Melbourne, Australia) sea snake (Enhydrina schistosa) antivenom. If that preparation is not available, tiger snake or polyvalent antivenom should be used. No deaths have been recorded from bites in Australian waters.[18][19] The E. schistosa antivenom was tested specifically on Pelamus platurus, and it effectively neutralised the venom.

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Chrysopelea ornata:-flying snake or golden tree snake

Chrysopelea ornata is a colubrid snake found in South and Southeast Asia. It is, along with the other species in its genus Chrysopelea, very unusual in that it is capable of a type of gliding flight. It is also rear-fanged. Currently, three subspecies are recognized, including the typical form described here. The snake's striking looks and capability of gliding make it a popular choice for captivity.

Description

Chrysopelea ornata is usually green in color, with black cross-hatching and yellow or gold colored accents. The body, though slender, is far less so than in other tree snakes. It has a flattened head with constricted neck, a blunt nose and large eyes with round pupils.[1]

The lateral, sharp and pronounced keeled condition of the ventrals in association with the normal, not enlarged, vertebral row of scales distinguish this snake. The snakes rarely exceed 40 inches in length, the smallest being measured at 115mm[4] and the largest being 1,360 mm (4 ft 51/2 in) long. The tail is about one-fourth of the total length.[1]

Chrysopelea ornata has two major colour forms, which are largely determined by geographic locality, and their descriptions are given below:[1]

    In Sri Lanka and southern extent of its Indian range, the snake is primarily greenish yellow or pale green. Each scale has a black mesial streak or spot, and is more or less edged with black. The snake also has dark crossbars at intervals. A series of large, flower-shaped, reddish or orange vertebral spots may be present or absent. Ventrals greenish, outside the keel edged with black or spotted. Head black with vellow crossbars and spots. The flower-shaped spots are commoner in Sri Lanka than in south India.

    The second colour variety occurs Southeast Asia lacks the reddish vertebral spots, and has less prominent black crossbars.

Venom
This species is considered mildly venomous, with no confirmed cases of medically significant envenomation.

Red-spotted form of Chrysopelea ornata from North Bengal, India

Geographic range

India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, western Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China (Hong Kong, Hainan, Yunnan), Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi), and the Philippines.

In India Chrysopelea ornata ranges from the Western Ghats, up to the Dangs, Katernia Ghat in Uttar Pradesh, North Bihar, northern West Bengal[1] eastwards to Arunachal Pradesh.[6] It is also found in the forests of the Andaman islands.[1]

Chrysopelea ornata climbing up prior to launching itself into the air

Behaviour

Chrysopelea ornata is diurnal and arboreal. The snake's gliding ability, while not as impressive as that of the paradise flying snake (C. paradisi), still makes it capable of moving from tree to tree with relative ease. These snakes are excellent climbers, being able move across even the smallest of branches and even straight up trees with few branches by using the edges of rough bark. They are frequently seen moving up a coconut palm, or up vertical rock faces in graceful curves, gripping the somewhat uneven surfaces with their scales. They tend to be nervous, fast-moving snakes, and will attempt to flee if disturbed, but will not generally hesitate to bite if handled. They are mildly venomous, but the venom is not considered to be dangerous to humans.[4] It is intended to assist in subduing fast moving, arboreal prey. C. ornata takes small arboreal prey, such as lizards, bats and small rodents.[7] It might also feed on bird eggs and insects. Also it is reported to take snakes occasionally, and to avoid frogs, though frogs are also reported being eaten. The snake stalks or pursues the prey and seizes it by the neck, which is duly crushed in its strong jaws.[4]

Flight
Chrysopelea ornata, like others of its genus, glides or parachutes. This is presumably done to cover distances faster, to escape predators, to catch prey, or to move around in forests. Flying snakes usually parachute from tree to tree, but sometimes launch themselves from trees onto the ground. They have been known to cross as much as 100m.[5]

It does this by climbing up to a height, which it does easily by virtue of its keeled belly scales, and then launching itself into mid-air. The snake contracts its ventral surface inwards to form a U-shaped concave depression along the entire length of their bodies, holding the outer edges of the ventral scales rigid. This concave surface acts like a parachute, and increases air resistance, allowing the snake to glide forward with the thrust of its launch. The snake undulates through the air, in a swimming-like motion. It holds the tail rigidly upwards, and by twisting the tail from side to side, it attains balance. This motion allows it to propel forward, landing clumsily at the end of its flight.[5]

Head of C. ornata with brilliantly coloured tongue exposed

Reproduction
Breeding habits are little known. The snake is oviparous[6] and six to twelve elongated eggs[1] are laid. Gravid females have been obtained in May and June and hatchlings in June. In Bangkok, according to Smith, mating takes place in June. Hatchlings measure 114–152 mm (4 1/2 to 6 in) in length, while the smallest gravid female recorded was 1,093 mm (3 ft 7 in) in length.[1]

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White Lipped Python(Leiopython)

Leiopython, formerly a monotypic genus, now comprises six species,[4] created for the non-venomous python species, L. albertisii, found in New Guinea. No subspecies are currently recognized.[5] It was first described as an intermediate genus between Liasis and Nardoa.[6] The species was named in honor of Luigi D'Albertis.


Description

Female Adults of the Northern White-Lipped Python (Leiopython albertisii) grow to an average of about 213 cm in length (6–7 ft), whereas the Southern White-Lipped Python (Leiopython hoserae) can reach up to 300 cm (10 ft) in length. They are patternless, except that the Northern White-Lipped Python has some light markings on their postoculars[3] absent in the Southern White-Lipped Python.[4] The snout is triangular and the head is distinct from the neck. The dorsum of the head is shiny black, the upper and lower labial scales are white with black markings on the anterior edge of the scales. Body color is either brownish-violet fading to yellowish ventrally (Leiopython albertisii) or blackish-blue fading to gray (Leiopython hoserae). These pythons also regurgitate fur balls, also known as "Casting." This behavior is rarely seen, but 2–3 days after feeding the results are seen. When it is witnessed owners of White lipped pythons often think their snake is regurgitating its food.


Geographic range

Found in most of New Guinea (below 1200 m), including the islands of Salawati and Biak, Normanby, Mussau and Emirau,[4] as well as a few islands in the Torres Strait. The type locality given is "Kapaor in Nova Guinea boreali occidentali ... et prope Andai..." also stated "... un esemplare a Kapaor fra i Papua Onin..." and "... un secondo esamplare ad Andai presso Dorei..." (Kapoar, Onin Peninsula and Andai, near Dorei, Irian Jaya, Indonesia).[1]

Some doubt can be cast on its occurrence on Normanby, as McDowell (1975)[8] had erroneously assigned Bara Bara to this Island, rather than to the mainland of Papua New Guinea[4] in Milne Bay Province as stated by Boulenger (1898)[9] and Koopman (1982).

Habitat

Associated with rain forests, cutover clearings and swamps. Usually found near water, into which they may quickly retreat if disturbed. Often hide under dead leaves on forest floor.[3]

Feeding

The diet includes a range of birds and mammals that are small to medium in size.[3] Neonates and young semi-adults often feed on lizards.

Reproduction
Oviparous, with females laying about a dozen eggs. The eggs stick together in a compact pile and the females coils around them. The hatchlings emerge after about two months of incubation and are about 38 cm (15 inches) in length.[3]

 

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Interesting facts about snakes...

• Snake’s scales are made up of something called Keratin, which is the same thing that our fingernails are made from.
• Mother Pythons will coil themselves around their eggs and make their bodies shiver in order to heat herself up and keep her eggs warm until they hatch. 
• The biggest snake is the Reticulated Python. It can grow up to 10.05 meters or 33 feet long! 
• The thickest snake is the Anaconda. The biggest one found measured 111 centimeters or 44 inches around. That's huge! 
• The Thread snake is the smallest snake. It is only about 10 centimeters (4 inches long) and the size of a toothpick. 
• Vine snakes are remarkable because they appear to have binocular vision. 
• Many Zookeepers believe that Cobras are faster learners than other snakes. They are able to tell the difference between their trainer and strangers.
• The ancient Greek god, Asklepios, was thought to be a healer of the sick and injured. People would take an offering to the temple and wait for Asklepios to, either come to them in their dreams or send his servants, the snake, to help them. One touch of the forked tongue was all they thought they needed to heal them. The healing snake was the Aesculapian snake. The Romans would bring this snake into their temples rather than the Greek healers.  To this day the Aesculapian snake forms part of the symbols representing physicians and veterinarians. 
• This would be funny to watch! The Hognose, Grass snake and the Spitting Cobra will fake death when feeling threatened. They flip into their backs, open their mouths, and let their tongue flop out. And they will let out some smelly stuff from their anal gland. Nobody would want to eat it after that!
• A reticulated python, named Colossus, was the largest snake that ever lived in a zoo. She lived at the Pittsburgh Zoo in Pennsylvania. Clifford Pope, the author of a book entitled “The Giant Snakes” reported that she was 22 feet long when she was captured in what is now Thailand in 1949. Eight years later she grew to 8.69 m (28 ½ feet) long. Her body was 69 cm (37 ½ inches) around and her weight was around 145 kg (320 pounds).
•  Snakes are more closely related to lizards than to other reptiles, and probably evolved from a single group of lizards. Curiously, they probably did not evolve from the group of legless lizards.
•  In ancient Greece, the sick and injured sought the aid of the god of healing and medicine, Asklepios. They took an offering to the temple and waited for the god to come to them in their dreams, or to send his sacred servants, the snakes. Ancient writings tell of the snakes healing with a touch of the tongue. The snake in question was the Aesculapian snake. The Romans chose to import this snake to their own temples, rather than to bring in Greek healers. The snake today forms part of the symbol of physicians and veterinarians (the snake is wrapped around Asklepios' staff), linking snakes to millennia of healing and medical practice.
• The hognosed snake (Heterodon sp.), grass snake and the spitting cobra can feign death by flipping on to their backs when threatened. They open their mouths, allow their tongues to loll and can empty a foul smelling substance from their anal glands, making them highly unappetizing to any potential predator.
•  Many snakes, such as vipers, boas and pythons have temperature-sensing organs on their heads. These heat pits are sensitive to changes in temperature of as little as 0.002 degrees Celsius, and effectively allow the snake to navigate and hunt in the dark.
•  Snakes can have over 300 pairs of ribs.
•  Snakes turn “blue” before a shed. This opaque change to the skin is actually due to the presence of a lymph-like layer of fluid between the old and new skins, prior to the shed of the old skin.
•  Reports of the longest, heaviest and oldest reptiles abound. Many cannot be verified. A reticulated python, shot in Indonesia in 1912, was said to be 32 feet 9 1/2 inches in length. One Burmese python weighed in at over 400 pounds. Although seldom as long as the giant pythons, the green anaconda is a heavier snake. Sir Percy Fawcett is said to have killed an anaconda measuring 62 feet in 1907, in Brazil. Since the early part of the last century, the New York Zoological Society has offered a reward of $50,000 for the capture of a live snake greater than 30 feet in length. The oldest recorded snake is a boa constrictor named Popeye, who died in 1977 at the age of 40 years, 3 months and 14 days.
•  The smallest snake may be the Martinique thread snake (Leptotyphlops bilineatus), which does not grow any bigger than 4 1/4 inches.
•  A snake's internal organs, although superficially different, have basically the same functions as those of a mammal. The difference lies in their arrangement. They are placed one after the other, to accommodate the tube-like body. All snakes have a right lung and associated air sacs that extend most of the way to the vent. In most species, the left lung is considerably shorter, or even missing.
•  The glottis, which is the entry to the trachea (breathing tube), can move to either side, to allow the snake to swallow prey. This is the tube you see when you look at the floor of a snake's mouth. Cartilage around the opening of the tube closes to prevent food from entering the respiratory tract, and produces the classic “hiss” in many snakes.
•  A snake's heart can slide 1 to 1 1/2 times its length from its normal position, to allow the passage of swallowed prey. This is because of the relative mobility of the pericardial sac, which surrounds the heart.
•  Venom glands have evolved independently in several species. Venoms are very complex substances, which may consist of a dozen or more toxic components. These can include substances poisonous to the heart, nerves and DNA as well as enzymes that break down natural tissue barriers, allowing the spread of venom within the body.
•  Spitting cobras can inject venom in their bites, but can also force venom out, under pressure, through tiny channels in their fangs. Raising the front half of its body, the snake can aim venom at the eyes and mucous membranes of its target, over 3 feet away.
•  Snakes have two rows of teeth on the top jaw, one row on the bottom jaw. The teeth, including fangs, in most cases are replaced throughout life.
•  When the tongue is in the mouth, it lies in a sheath beneath the glottis with its tip touching the vomeronasal or Jacobsen‘s organ. This is an organ of smell, so when your snake flicks out his tongue, he is, in fact, “tasting” or smelling the air. The forked design allows the snake to detect on which side the smell is strongest, and so to locate his prey, even in the dark.
•  The Brahminy blind snake are all females. When mature, they lay fertile eggs, and the young are clones of the mother. Although native to Asia, this snake is now found in warm countries all over the world.
•  The Emerald tree boa is born red or yellow, and changes to green after about a year.
•  The rattlesnake's rattle consists of six to 10 layers of scales, which fail to shed and make that distinctive sound when the tail is shaken as a warning. Eventually the older segments will slough as the rattle lengthens.
•  The tail of the Calabar ground boa is blunt, cylindrical and has white scales on the underside, and altogether appears very much like a head. When threatened, the snake coils into a ball, hides its head, leaving the less vulnerable tail exposed to confuse predators.
•  The common egg eater (Dasypeltis scabra) is a highly specialized snake. Although it is not venomous, the markings are sufficiently similar to those of the deadly cobra or viper that a potential predator will think twice before attacking. The egg eater can also expand its jaws to mimic the larger head of the venomous. To consume an egg, the jaws can expand to four or five times the size of the egg. Once engulfed, the egg is pierced by two specialized vertebrae. Other modified bones in the vertebral column stabilize it, prevent its slipping out of the mouth or further into the snake. Yet another set of unique vertebrae crush the egg. Once emptied of its contents, the shell is regurgitated.
•  The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepsis) is brown, gray or olive, but never black. It is a particularly dangerous snake, with a bite that kills 95 to 100 percent of victims. The black mamba may also be the fastest snake, reaching speeds of 10 to 12 miles per hour. Other particularly dangerous snakes include the common krait, Russell's viper (both Asian snakes) and the taipan (Australian). Seven of the 10 most deadly snakes live in Australia.
•  Snakes move by relaxing and contracting muscles lengthwise along the body. Sidewinding is a specialized form of motion that allows a snake to travel with speed and relatively little expenditure of energy along loose desert sand. The snake lifts a loop of its body from the surface, using its head and tail. The loop is moved sideways and then back to the ground. This creates the typical series of unconnected parallel tracks.
•  The paired claw-like structures seen on either side of the vent of a snake such as a ball or royal python, are in fact, remnants of the legs present in the animals from which the modern species has evolved.

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Deadly Black mamba

black mamba

The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is the longest venomous snake in Africa, averaging around 2.5 meters (8.2 ft), and sometimes growing up to 4.3 meters (14 ft). Its name is derived from the black colouration inside the mouth rather than the actual colour of the skin which varies from dull yellowish-green to a gun-metal grey. It is the fastest snake in the world, capable of moving at 4.32 to 5.4 metres per second (16–20 km/h, 10–12 mph).

Description
The black mamba's back skin colour is olive, brownish, gray, or sometimes khaki.[5] The adult snake's length is on average 2.5 meters (8.2 ft),[1] but some specimens have reached lengths of 4.3 to 4.5 meters (14 to 15 ft).[5] Black mambas weigh about 1.6 kilograms (3.5 lb).[1] on average. The species is the second longest venomous snake in the world, exceeded in length only by the king cobra.[5] The snake has an average life span of 11 years in the wild.[1]

Habitat
The black mamba has adapted to a variety of climates ranging from savanna, woodlands, rocky slopes, dense forests and even humid swamps.[6] The grassland and savanna woodland/shrubs that extend through central, eastern and southern Africa are the black mamba's typical habitat.[6] The black mamba prefers more arid environments such as light woodland, rocky outcrops, and semi-arid dry bush country.

Behaviour

The black mamba uses its speed to escape threats, not to hunt prey.[1] It is known to be capable of reaching speeds of around 20 kilometers per hour (12 mph), traveling with up to a third of its body raised off the ground.[1] Over long distances the black mamba can travel 11 to 19 kilometers per hour (6.8 to 12 mph), but in short bursts it can reach a speed of 16 to 20 kilometers per hour (9.9 to 12 mph),or even 23 kilometers per hour (14 mph) [8] making it the fastest land snake.[9] It is shy and secretive; it always seeks to escape when a confrontation occurs.[1] If a black mamba is cornered it mimics a cobra by spreading a neck-flap, exposing its black mouth, and hissing.[1] If this endeavor to scare away the attacker fails, the black mamba may strike repeatedly.[1] The black mamba is a diurnal snake. Although its scientific name seems to be indicative of tree climbing, the black mamba is rarely an arboreal snake.[9] These snakes retreat when threatened by predators.

Venom

The venom of the black mamba consists mainly of potent neurotoxins[10]. With a LD50 of 0.25 mg/kg—0.32 mg/kg, the black mamba's venom is virulently toxic.[11] Some of the components of the venom have a much more toxic LD50 value than the venom as a whole, for example α-dendrotoxin (or "Toxin 1") and γ-dendrotoxin (or "Toxin 7") had subcutaneous LD50 values of 0.09 µg and 0.12 µg per gram of white mice, respectively.[12] Although only 10 to 15 mg[13] is deadly to a human adult, its bite delivers about 100–120 mg of venom on average[13], but they can deliver up to 400 mg of venom in a single bite[13]. It is reported that before the antivenom was widely available, the mortality rate from a bite was 100%.[14][15][16][17][1][18] Black mamba bites can potentially kill a human within 20 minutes or less[19][20][13][12] depending on the nature of the bite and the area bitten, but death usually occurs after 30–60 minutes on average, sometimes even taking up to three hours. British wildlife enthusiast Nathan Layton was bitten near Hoedspruit by a juvenile black mamba and died less than 30 minutes after being bitten.[21] The fatality duration and rate depend on various factors, such as the health, size, age, psychological state of the human, the penetration of one or both fangs from the snake, amount of venom injected, location of the bite, and proximity to major blood vessels.[1] The health of the snake and the interval since it last used its venom mechanism is also important. Presently, there is a polyvalent antivenom produced by SAIMR (South African Institute for Medical Research) to treat all black mamba bites from different localities.[18]

If bitten, common symptoms for which to watch are rapid onset of dizziness, coughing or difficulty breathing, and erratic heartbeat.[18] In extreme cases, when the victim has received a large amount of venom, death can result within minutes[1] from respiratory or cardiac arrest.[18] This is especially true if the victim is bitten in the face or chest area, as a black mamba can rear up around one-third of its body from the ground which puts it at about four feet high. When warding off a threat, the black mamba delivers multiple strikes, injecting large amounts of virulently toxic venom with each strike, often landing bites on the body or head, unlike other snakes. Also, the black mamba's venom has been known to cause paralysis.[18] Death is due to suffocation resulting from paralysis of the respiratory muscles.[18]

Many herpetologists, including South African-born herpetologist Austin Stevens, regard the black mamba as one of, if not the most dangerous and feared snakes in the world due to various factors including the toxicity and high yield of its venom, its high level of aggression, its speed, agility, size, and other factors.[22][12] Nevertheless, attacks on humans by black mambas are rare, as the snakes usually avoid confrontation with humans and their occurrence in highly-populated areas is not very common compared with some other species. 
 Toxin

Mamba venom is made up mostly of dendrotoxins (dendrotoxin-k - "Toxin K"[23], dendrotoxin-1 - "Toxin 1"[24], dendrotoxin-3 - "Toxin 3"[25], dendrotoxin-7 - "Toxin 7"[25]), and calciseptine[26]. The dendrotoxins disrupt the exogenous process of muscle contraction by means of the sodium potassium pump. Toxin K is a selective blocker of voltage-gated potassium channels[27], Toxin 1 inhibits the K+ channels at the pre and post-synaptic level in the intestinal smooth muscle. It also inhibits Ca2+-sensitive K+ channels from rat skeletal muscle‚ incorporated into planar bilayers (Kd = 90 nM in 50 mM KCl)[28], Toxin 3 inhibits M4 receptors, while Toxin 7 inhibits M1 receptors.[25] The calciseptine is a 60 amino acid peptide which acts as a smooth muscle relaxant and an inhibitor of cardiac contractions. It blocks K+ induced contraction in aortic smooth muscle and it blocks spontaneous contraction of uterine muscle and portal vein.[29][13] The venom is highly specific and virulently toxic. In an experiment, the death time of a mouse after subcutaneous injection of some toxins studied is around 7 minutes. However, a black mamba venom can kill a mouse after 4.5 minutes.[12]

 Hunting and prey

As stated, the black mamba is diurnal. It is an ambush predator that waits for prey to get close.[8] If the prey attempts to escape, the black mamba will follow up its initial bite with a series of strikes.[8] When hunting, the black mamba has been known to raise a large portion of its body off the ground.[8] The black mamba will release larger prey after biting it, but smaller prey, such as birds or rats, are held onto until the prey's muscles stop moving.[8] They have been known to prey on bushbabies, bats, and small chickens.

black mamba attacking

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KING COBRA

king cobra

The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the world's longest venomous snake, with a length up to 5.6 m (18.5 ft).[1] This species, which preys chiefly on other snakes, is found predominantly in forests from India through Southeast Asia to the Philippines and Indonesia. Despite the word "cobra" in its name, this snake is not a member of Naja ("true cobras") but belongs to its own genus.

Identification

The king cobra is the sole member of genus Ophiophagus, while most other cobras are members of the genus Naja. They can be distinguished from other cobras by size and hood marks. King cobras are generally larger than other cobras, and the stripe on the neck is like the symbol "^" instead of a double or single eye(s) shape that may be seen in most of the other Asian cobras. A foolproof method of identification is if on the head, clearly visible, is the presence of a pair of large scales known as occipitals, at the back of the top of the head. These are behind the usual "nine-plate" arrangement typical of colubrids and elapids, and are unique to the king cobra.

Habitat

The king cobra is distributed across South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the southern areas of East Asia (southern China) where it is not common. It lives in dense highland forests,[1][4] preferring areas dotted with lakes and streams. King cobra populations have dropped in some areas of its range because of the destruction of forests. It is listed as an Appendix II Animal within CITES.[5]

Behaviour

King cobras, like other snakes, receive chemical information ("smell") via their forked tongues, which pick up scent particles and transfer them to a special sensory receptor (Jacobson's organ) located in the roof of its mouth.[1] When the scent of a meal is detected, the snake flicks its tongue to gauge the prey's location (the twin forks of the tongue acting in stereo); it also uses its keen eyesight (king cobras are able to detect moving prey almost 100 m [300 feet] away), intelligence[6] and sensitivity to earth-borne vibration to track its prey.[7] Following envenomation, the king cobra will begin to swallow its struggling prey while its toxins begin the digestion of its victim. King cobras, like all snakes, have flexible jaws. The jaw bones are connected by pliable ligaments, enabling the lower jaw bones to move independently, enabling the King cobra to swallow its prey whole. The expansion of the jaw enables the snake to swallow prey much larger than its head.[1]

King cobras are able to hunt at all times of day, although it is rarely seen at night, leading most herpetologists to classify it as a diurnal species.

South Indian king cobra

Defense

Although the king cobra usually avoids confrontation with humans, it can be aggressive if provoked.[9] If threatened, it rears up the anterior portion of its body when extending the neck, showing the fangs and hissing loudly.[10] It can be easily irritated by closely approaching objects or sudden movements. The snake strikes rapidly and the attack range can be as far as 2 meters. It is also known to advance to the enemy with a certain distance due to its far strike range where people can easily misjudge the safe zone. The king cobra can deliver multiple bites in a single attack but adults are known to bite and hold on.[11] In spite of being a highly dangerous snake, it prefers to escape first unless it is cornered or provoked.[9] Since this species is secretive and tends to inhabit less-populated forested regions and dense jungle, it is rarely encountered.

If a king cobra encounters a natural predator, such as the mongoose, which has resistance to the neurotoxins,[12] the snake generally tries to flee. If unable to do so, it forms the distinctive cobra hood and emits a hiss, sometimes with feigned closed-mouth strikes. These efforts usually prove to be very effective, especially since it is more dangerous than other mongoose prey, as well as being much too large for the small mammal to kill with ease.

king cobra snake attack

 Venom

The venom of the king cobra consists primarily of neurotoxins, but it also contains cardiotoxic and some other compounds.[8] Toxic constituents are mainly proteins and polypeptides.[14]

During a bite, venom is forced through the snake's 1.25 to 1.5 centimeters (0.49 to 0.59 in) fangs into the wound, and the toxins begin to attack the victim's central nervous system. Symptoms may include severe pain, blurred vision, vertigo, drowsiness, and paralysis. Envenomation progresses to cardiovascular collapse, and the victim falls into a coma. Death soon follows due to respiratory failure. Moreover, king cobra envenomation is clinically known to cause renal failure.[15]

A 1990 book makes a passing statement of a LD50 of 0.34 mg/kg for this species[16], however this value is inconsistent with most toxicological studies.[17][18][19] For example, a recent study lists the LD50 of the king cobra venom as 1.6 mg/kg – 1.8 mg/kg[20], making it's venom one of the least potent among the elapids.[15] This value is further backed up by another toxicological study which lists the LD50 of the king cobra at 1.7 mg/kg.[21] A similar mean LD50 value of 1.93 mg/kg was obtained from the venom of five wild caught king cobras in Southeast Asia (Meier et al 1995).[22]

This species is capable of delivering a large quantity of venom, injecting a dose anywhere from 200-500 milligrams on average, but it can potentially deliver much more than 500 mg.[10][16][23] Though the venom is weak compared to most other elapids,[15] it can still deliver a bite which can potentially kill a human due to the massive amount of venom it delivers in a single bite. Mortality can vary sharply with amount of venom involved, most bites involve nonfatal amounts.[24] According to a research report from the University of Adelaide Department of Toxinology, an untreated bite has a mortality rate of 50-60%[25]

There are two types of antivenom made specifically to treat king cobra envenomations. The Red Cross in Thailand manufactures one, and the Central Research Institute in India manufactures the other; however, both are made in small quantities and are not widely available.[26] Ohanin, a protein component of the venom, causes hypolocomotion and hyperalgesia in mammals.[27] Other components have cardiotoxic,[28] cytotoxic and neurotoxic effects.[29] In Thailand, a concoction of alcohol and the ground root of turmeric is ingested, which has been clinically shown to create a strong resilience against the venom of the king cobra, and other snakes with neurotoxic venom.[30]

The haditoxin in the king cobra venom was discovered by Singaporean scientists to be structurally unique and can have unique pharmacological properties.[31] Biochemical studies confirmed that it existed as a non-covalent dimer species in solution. Its structural similarity to short-chain α-neurotoxins and κ-neurotoxins notwithstanding, haditoxin exhibited unique blockade of α7-nAChRs (IC50 180 nM), which is recognized by neither short-chain α-neurotoxins nor κ-neurotoxins.[14]

Reproduction

The king cobra is unusual among snakes in that the female king cobra is a very dedicated parent. She makes a nest for her eggs, scraping up leaves and other debris into a mound in which to deposit them, and remains in the nest until the young hatch.

A female usually deposits 20 to 40 eggs into the mound, which acts as an incubator. She stays with the eggs and guards the mound tenaciously, rearing up into a threat display if any large animal gets too close,[32] for roughly 60 to 90 days.

Inside the mound the eggs are incubated at a steady 28 °C (82 °F). When the eggs start to hatch, instinct causes the female to leave the nest and find prey to eat so she does not eat her young.[33] The baby king cobras, with an average length of 45 to 55 centimeters (18 to 22 in), have venom which is as potent as that of the adults. They may be brightly marked but these colours often fade as they mature. They are alert and nervous, being highly aggressive if disturbed.

king cobra eating snake

Diet
The king cobra's genus name, Ophiophagus, means "snake-eater", and its diet consists primarily of other snakes, including ratsnakes, small pythons and even other venomous snakes (smaller members of its own species, true cobras (of the genus Naja), and even the much more venomous members of the krait family.[8][13] When food is scarce, they may also feed on other small vertebrates, such as lizards, birds, and rodents. In some cases, the cobra may "constrict" its prey, such as birds and larger rodents, using its muscular body, though this is uncommon.[1][13] After a large meal, the snake may live for many months without another one because of its slow metabolic rate.[1] The king cobra's most common meal is the ratsnake; pursuit of this species often brings king cobras close to human settlements.

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Masticophis flagellum

Masticophis flagellum is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snakes commonly referred to as coachwhips or whip snakes, with seven recognized subspecies.

Geographical range

Coachwhips range throughout the southern United States from coast to coast. They are also found in the northern half of Mexico. Typically, they are found in open grassland habitats, but can also be found in lightly forested areas.

Western coachwhip
Masticophis flagellum testaceus

Description

Coachwhips are thin-bodied snakes with small heads and large eyes with round pupils. They vary greatly in color, but most reflect a proper camouflage for their natural habitat. M. f. testaceus is typically a shade of light brown with darker brown flecking, but in the western area of Texas, where the soil color is a shade of pink, the coachwhips are also pink in color. M. f. piceus was given its common name because specimens frequently, but not always, have some red in their coloration. Coachwhip scales are patterned so at first glance, the snake appears braided. Subspecies can be difficult to distinguish in areas where their ranges overlap. Adult sizes of over 160 cm (63 in) are not uncommon.

Behavior

Coachwhips are diurnal, and actively hunt and eat lizards, small birds, and rodents. They tend to be sensitive to potential threats, and often bolt at the first sign of one; they are extremely fast-moving snakes. They are curious snakes with good eyesight, and are sometimes seen raising their heads above the level of the grass or rocks to see what is around them.

Masticophis flagellum, in shed

Myths

The primary myth concerning coachwhips, that they chase people, likely arises from the snake and the person both being frightened, and both just happen to be going the same way to escape. Coachwhips are fast snakes, often moving faster than a human, and thus give an impression of aggression should they move toward the person.

The legend of the hoop snake may refer to the coachwhip snakes.

Another myth of the rural southeastern United States is of a snake that, when disturbed, would chase a person down, wrap him up in its coils, whip him to death with its tail, and then make sure he is dead by sticking its tail up the victim's nose to see if he is still breathing. In actuality, coachwhips are nowhere near strong enough to overpower a person, and they do not whip with their tails, even though it is long and looks very much like a whip. Their bites can be painful, but generally are harmless unless they become infected.

Masticophis flagellum

Masticophis flagellum

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DIRRERENT TYPES OF SNAKES

CORAL SNAKE

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