Snake: Scientific name of Snake – Serpentes
Snakes are elongated, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes. Snakes are reptiles, like turtles and lizards. Early snakes first appeared during the time of the dinosaurs, and they now live on every continent except Antarctica.
Behavior of Snakes
There are different varieties of snake. As you see any Snake what comes in your mind? Obviously you hit it. But most of the snake in wild life are harmless. Snakes are ectoderms, which means that they can’t regulate their body temperature . Instead, they use their environment, basking in the sun to keep warm or slipping underground to cool off. Snakes prefer to avoid people, and will generally only bite when they are picked up, stepped on, or otherwise provoked. Most of snakes are harmless, several species have defensive displays, like exuding a smelly musk or rattling their tails. These harmless behaviors often cause frightened people to kill the snake. Learn what to do instead. snakes do not carry diseases that are transmissible to humans.
snakes do not carry diseases that are transmissible to humans. 270 species of snakes thrive in India’s tropical monsoon climate, though only 60 of them are venomous. Most of India’s population still lives in rural areas, encounters with snakes are quite frequent.
Here are some tips to recognize difference between poisonous and non-poisonous snakes .
Poisonous snake: Most common venomous snake species in India are cobra , saw-scaled viper , Russell’s viper and common krait .
- All poisonous snakes are generally brightly coloured
- Venomous snakes have a very distinctive head,looks like hand or triangular and side portion is wide.
- Cobra group of snakes are Highly Venomous
- Venomous snakes has heat sensitive pit
Non poisonous snake:
- Non Poisonous Snakes are not brightly coloured
- Non Poisonous Snake head is usually narrow and elongated
- Usually Nonvenomous snake do not have Fangs but few snakes do have Fangs
- Pythons are Non Venomous but equipped with rows of teeth
Common non Poisonous Snakes in India– Rat snake, Banded kukri, Bronze back tree snake, Sand boa and Indian Python.
Importance of Snakes in Biodiversity:
Snakes inspire fascination and feelings in a way that no other type of animal can.These long, legless reptiles plays an important role in the natural environment and food webs. Effective hunters and ambush predators, snakes use their highly-developed senses of sight, taste, hearing and touch to locate, recognize and track their prey.
Snakes are an important part of our biodiversity. Snakes and other reptiles make up a significant proportion of the middle-order predators that keep our natural ecosystems working. They are play the important part in the food chain. Without them the numbers of prey species would increase in un control manner and the predators that eat snakes struggle to find food. Then natural ecosystem may disturb. You should aware about in this matter and don’t harm the wild life.
Blog by- Ms. Sonia Saini
Asst. Prof., Department of Science