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Main Characteristics of Snakes

  • There are 4,000 species of snakes. Among them, 700 are venomous.
  • Snakes can be found all over the world, except in the polar regions.
  • They inhabit a variety of living environments both on land and in water.
  • You can even find them in extreme places like deserts and high mountains.
  • In Germany, there are only two venomous snakes: the asp viper and the cross adder.
  • The country with the highest number of venomous snakes is Australia.
  • There, 30 species of venomous snakes can be found.
  • Snakes do not have legs.
  • They use various methods like wavy movements, sidewinding, and crawling.
  • Snakes have a scaly, dry skin.
  • As snakes grow larger, they need to shed their skin. It doesn't grow along with them.
  • Snakes have teeth to hold onto their prey or to inject venom into them.
  • The snake with the longest fangs is the Gaboon Viper. Their fangs can grow up to 5 cm long.
  • Snakes are carnivores. They feed on rodents, amphibians, birds, reptiles, fish, invertebrates, and insects.
  • The most venomous snake is the inland taipan. It can inject 0.004 ounces (100 mg) of venom with a single bite. Just 0.00004 ounces (1 mg) can already be lethal to a human.
  • The fastest snake in the water is the yellow-bellied sea snake. It can reach a speed of 3 feet per second (1 m/s). Although it is half the length of a human, it swims just as fast.
  • The fastest snake on land is the black mamba. It can reach speeds of 10-12 mph (16-19 km/h). In comparison, a jogger runs at a speed of 4-6 mph (7-10 km/h).
  • The shortest snake is the Barbados Threadsnake. It measures only 4 inches (10 cm) in length and weighs 0.02 ounces (0.6 grams).
  • The heaviest snake is the Green Anaconda. One particularly heavy specimen weighed 214 pounds (97.5 kg) and measured 17 feet (5.21 meters) in length.
  • The longest time a snake can survive without food is over 3 years. This refers to the venomous habu snake found in Japan.
  • The snake that can "fly" the farthest is the Asian paradise flying snake. It leaps from tree to tree and glides distances of up to 33 feet (10 meters).

Species List


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