Portal:Snakes

The Snake Portal

Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (/sɜːrˈpɛntiːz/). Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joints than their lizard ancestors, enabling them to swallow prey much larger than their heads (cranial kinesis). To accommodate their narrow bodies, snakes' paired organs (such as kidneys) appear one in front of the other instead of side by side, and most have only one functional lung. Some species retain a pelvic girdle with a pair of vestigial claws on either side of the cloaca. Lizards have independently evolved elongate bodies without limbs or with greatly reduced limbs at least twenty-five times via convergent evolution, leading to many lineages of legless lizards. These resemble snakes, but several common groups of legless lizards have eyelids and external ears, which snakes lack, although this rule is not universal (see Amphisbaenia, Dibamidae, and Pygopodidae).

Living snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica, and on most smaller land masses; exceptions include some large islands, such as Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, the Hawaiian archipelago, and the islands of New Zealand, as well as many small islands of the Atlantic and central Pacific oceans. Additionally, sea snakes are widespread throughout the Indian and Pacific oceans. Around thirty families are currently recognized, comprising about 520 genera and about 3,900 species. They range in size from the tiny, 10.4 cm-long (4.1 in) Barbados threadsnake to the reticulated python of 6.95 meters (22.8 ft) in length. The fossil species Titanoboa cerrejonensis was 12.8 meters (42 ft) long. Snakes are thought to have evolved from either burrowing or aquatic lizards, perhaps during the Jurassic period, with the earliest known fossils dating to between 143 and 167 Ma ago. The diversity of modern snakes appeared during the Paleocene epoch (c. 66 to 56 Ma ago, after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event). The oldest preserved descriptions of snakes can be found in the Brooklyn Papyrus. (Full article...)

Selected article -

A rattlesnake bite on the foot of a 9-year-old girl in Venezuela

A snakebite is an injury caused by the bite of a snake, especially a venomous snake. A common sign of a bite from a venomous snake is the presence of two puncture wounds from the animal's fangs. Sometimes venom injection from the bite may occur. This may result in redness, swelling, and severe pain at the area, which may take up to an hour to appear. Vomiting, blurred vision, tingling of the limbs, and sweating may result. Most bites are on the hands, arms, or legs. Fear following a bite is common with symptoms of a racing heart and feeling faint. The venom may cause bleeding, kidney failure, a severe allergic reaction, tissue death around the bite, or breathing problems. Bites may result in the loss of a limb or other chronic problems or even death.

The outcome depends on the type of snake, the area of the body bitten, the amount of snake venom injected, the general health of the person bitten and whether or not anti-venom serum has been administered by a doctor in a timely manner. Problems are often more severe in children than adults, due to their smaller size. Allergic reactions to snake venom can further complicate outcomes and can include anaphylaxis, requiring additional treatment and in some cases resulting in death. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Did you know (auto-generated) -

... that following the introduction of the round goby to Lake Erie, the Lake Erie watersnake's population recovered enough to be removed from the U.S. threatened species list?
... that Isabel Cooper painted live snakes while holding them in her hand?
... that the manga series Reptilia was inspired in part by a story from Japanese folklore about a woman who is transformed into a snake, told to author Kazuo Umezu as a child?
... that Vanita Jagdeo Borade has been called the "Snake Woman" for having rescued more than 50,000 snakes?
... that table tennis commentator Adam Bobrow's nickname "Snakeman" comes from a trick shot called "the snake"?
... that Sampson's snakeroot is traditionally used to help knit broken bones and as a salve on wounds, ulcers and boils?

More did you know? -

A snake

...that the saliva of a common garter snake may be toxic to amphibians and other small animals?
... that the rough-scaled sea snake is highly venomous and every scale on its body is adorned with a spine?
... that the Late Cretaceous madtsoiid snake Menarana had several adaptations for head-first burrowing, but its large size may have made burrowing difficult or impossible?
... that mole snakes can inflict serious bite wounds, but nonetheless are said to make good pets?
...that pit vipers and some boas and pythons have specialized facial pits for sensing infrared radiation?

Quality Content

Featured snake-related articles - George Went Hensley - List of snakes of Trinidad and Tobago
Good snake-related articles - Agkistrodon piscivorus - Bitis arietans - Bitis gabonica - Black mamba - Black-necked spitting cobra - Eastern green mamba - Forest cobra - Hydrophiinae - Many-banded krait - Nerodia clarkii - Russell's viper - Snake scales - Vipera berus - Western green mamba

General images

The following are images from various snake-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Crawling prints of a snake (from Snake)
Image 2The garter snake has been studied for sexual selection. (from Snake)
Image 3Eupodophis descouensi (from Snake)
Image 4Golden tree snake climbing a flower (from Snake)
Image 5A neonate sidewinder rattlesnake (Crotalus cerastes) sidewinding (from Snake)
Image 6Australia-Oceania Köppen Map (from Australian snake habitats)
Image 7A "海豹蛇" ("sea-leopard snake", supposedly Enhydris bocourti) occupies a place of honor among the live delicacies on display outside a Guangzhou restaurant. (from Snake)
Image 8The world's most venomous snake, based on LD₅₀, is the inland taipan of Australia. (from Venomous snake)
Image 9Innocuous milk snakes are often mistaken for coral snakes whose venom is deadly to humans. (from Snake)
Image 10Eupodophis descouensi hind leg (from Snake)
Image 11A line diagram from The Fauna of British India by G. A. Boulenger (1890), illustrating the terminology of shields on the head of a snake (from Snake)
Image 12Common Blind Snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus) (from List of snakes of South Asia)
Image 13Snake coiled on a stick in Oklahoma. It was brumating in a large pile of wood chips, found by this landscaper after he bulldozed the pile in late autumn 2018. (from Snake)
Image 14The lateral view of a king cobra's skull showing fangs (from Venomous snake)
Image 15The Binocellate Cobra(naja naja) (from List of snakes of South Asia)
Image 16Tetrapodophis (from Snake)
Image 17The reverse side of the throne of Pharaoh Tutankhamun with four golden uraeus cobra figures. Gold with lapis lazuli; Valley of the Kings, Thebes (1347–37 BCE). (from Snake)
Image 18Common Tree Snake (from Australian snake habitats)
Image 19"The Smoking Snake", insignia of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force in WWII (from Snake)
Image 20Approximate world distribution of snakes (from Snake)
Image 21Imperial Japan depicted as an evil snake in a WWII propaganda poster (from Snake)
Image 22Mouse embryo 12 day post fertilization side by side with Corn Snake embryo 2 days post ovo-positioning. (from Snake)
Image 23A common watersnake shedding its skin (from Snake)
Image 24African egg-eating snake eating an egg (from Snake)
Image 25Diagram illustrating differential somite size due to difference in somitogenesis clock oscillation. (from Snake)
Image 26Eupodophis descouensi (from Snake)
Image 27A red-sided garter snake (from Narcisse Snake Dens)
Image 28Carpet python constricting and consuming a chicken (from Snake)
Image 29Narcisse Snake Dens welcome sign (from Narcisse Snake Dens)
Image 30Medusa (1597) by the Italian artist Caravaggio (from Snake)
Image 31Vipera berus, one fang in glove with a small venom stain, the other still in place (from Snake)
Image 32Close up of a red-sided garter snake
Image 33The skeletons of snakes are radically different from those of most other reptiles (as compared with the turtle here, for example), consisting almost entirely of an extended ribcage. (from Snake)
Image 34Thermographic image of a snake eating a mouse (from Snake)
Image 35A common adder in the coat of arms of the Kyyjärvi municipality (from Snake)
Image 36The Indian cobra is the most common subject of snake charmings. (from Snake)
Image 37Ballcourt marker from the Postclassic site of Mixco Viejo in Guatemala. This sculpture depicts Kukulkan, jaws agape, with the head of a human warrior emerging from his maw. (from Snake)
Image 38Most common symptoms of any kind of snake bite envenomation. Furthermore, there is vast variation in symptoms between bites from different types of snakes. (from Snake)
Image 39Wart snake (Acrochordus granulatus) (from List of snakes of South Asia)
Image 40Snakes composing a bronze kerykeion from the mythical Longanus river in Sicily (from Snake)
Image 41Rod of Asclepius, in which the snake, through ecdysis, symbolizes healing (from Snake)
Image 42Snake meat, in a Taipei restaurant (from Snake)
Image 43An adult Barbados threadsnake, Leptotyphlops carlae, on an American quarter dollar (from Snake)
Image 44Dolichophis jugularis preying on a sheltopusik (from Snake)

Selected image

description

The Grass Snake (Natrix natrix) lying in the intersection of forest roads

Topics

Lists - List of snakes by common name - List of Serpentes families - List of snake genera - List of dangerous snakes

Families - Acrochordidae - Aniliidae - Anomochilidae - Boidae - Bolyeriidae - Colubridae - Cylindrophiidae - Elapidae - Loxocemidae - Pythonidae - Tropidophiidae - Uropeltidae - Viperidae - Xenopeltidae - Anomalepididae - Leptotyphlopidae - Typhlopidae

Anatomy and physiology - Infrared sensing in snakes - Pelvic spur - Snake scales - Snake skeleton

Culture - Snake worship - Serpents in the Bible - Snake handling - Glycon - Wadjet

Subcategories

Category puzzle

Select [►] to view subcategories

Snakes

Snakes by location

Snake common names

Lists of snakes

Alethinophidia

Snake genera

Prehistoric snakes

Scolecophidia

Set index articles on snakes

Snake anatomy

Snake families

Snakes and humans

Venomous snakes

Snake stubs

Related portals

Need help?

Do you have a question about Snakes that you can't find the answer to?

Consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk.

Snakes in the news

No recent news

Things you can do

Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

Stubs : Snake stubs

Help at WikiProjects:

WikiProject Amphibians and Reptiles
WikiProject Science
WikiProject Animals
WikiProject Tree of Life
WikiProject Biology
WikiProject Ecology
WikiProject Medicine/Toxicology

Current snake FACs - none currently

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Commons
Free media repository
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals
Wikidata
Free knowledge base
Wikinews
Free-content news
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations
Wikisource
Free-content library
Wikiversity
Free learning tools
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus

Discover Wikipedia using portals

List of all portals

List of all portals
The arts portal

The arts portal
Biography portal

Biography portal
Current events portal

Current events portal
Geography portal

Geography portal
History portal

History portal
Mathematics portal

Mathematics portal
Science portal

Science portal
Society portal

Society portal
Technology portal

Technology portal
Random portal

Random portal
WikiProject Portals

WikiProject Portals

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.