Brown snake with a pattern. Types of snakes and their description with a photo

Imagination by its quantity and variety. Snakes are included in the class of reptiles, scaly order. In the suborder of snakes, different scientists distinguish from 8 to 20 families. This discrepancy is associated with the discovery of new species and difficulties in their classification. The most numerous families are:

Snakes are familiar to many peoples, because they have mastered all the continents, except, of course, Antarctica, since they are cold-blooded. Most snakes prefer warm climates and live at the equator and in the tropics. As you move towards the poles, the number of snakes decreases. And only the common viper is able to live in a cold climate. Snakes live in a wide variety of places. Sea snakes live in the ocean. This is a whole family, most of whose species even bring offspring far from the coast. Some species of already-shaped, aspids, vipers lead a burrowing, underground lifestyle. Snakes have mastered deserts and steppes, forests and mountains, rivers and lakes. Some species of already-shaped, pit-headed, asps, boas lead an arboreal lifestyle. There is even a species of snakes that can fly from one tree to another with a gliding flight - this is a decorated tree snake.

Snakes are rather unusual creatures, with an original appearance and peculiar, enchanting ways of movement. Their amazing behavior and the toxicity of many representatives have always attracted the attention of people. Snakes are the heroes of many myths and legends, often causing superstitious fear. To date, about 3,000 species of snakes have been discovered! Consider the species of snakes famous for some features.

The common snake is the most common species of non-venomous snakes in Eurasia. There is already a distinctive mark on the head - a pair of light spots. An ordinary one lives where it is humid, there are reservoirs, it basks in the sun for a long time, deftly climbs trees. It swims and dives well, it can stay under water for a long time. When a person approaches, it tries to hide, hisses, but rarely bites. If you pick him up, he can stain the "invader" with belching and fluid from the cloaca, and then very skillfully pretends to be dead. Feeds on newts, frogs, toads. The toad does not run away from the snake, but tries to scare it - it swells up, rises as high as possible, because it is difficult to swallow a large toad, and the poison of its skin is harmful to the snake. But these tricks do not always save the toad.

The reticulated python is the longest snake recorded by scientists at a length of 12 meters. These pythons live in Asia. The reticulated python can climb a tree for prey, loves water very much. The mother python is very responsible - she protects and warms her masonry, raising her own body temperature by tensing her muscles. These are, in general, peaceful creatures, but they are able to hunt poultry, piglets. And here is his close relative - tiger python, reaching 8 meters, often lives in the homes of India, helping to fight rodents.

Anaconda is the heaviest snake, its weight can reach two centners! This snake is very strong, because there are no large bones in its body, and such a decent weight falls mainly on the muscles. The nostrils of the anaconda are closed with special valves, so that it can stay under water for a long time. It was once called the water boa. The anaconda gives birth to live babies - it is ovoviviparous. Many Indian tribes value the meat and skin of the anaconda.

Poisonous snakes

The common viper is the most common venomous snake in Russia and the most famous in Europe. It lives from forest-steppe to forest-tundra natural area, in the taiga zone. Vipers often live in pairs on the territory of 2-4 hectares. However, dozens of individuals can gather for wintering, forming "snake foci". Two factors contribute to this. Firstly, it is not so easy to find a reliable shelter, and secondly, together it is easier for them to keep warm. In especially severe winters, cold-blooded animals can die en masse, which almost never happens with vipers. Even a temporary cold snap will not take them by surprise - they will hide in advance in their winter shelters below the freezing zone. Vipers can hibernate for six months, waking up in early spring. They bask in the sunlight at dawn and dusk, which helps them digest food, but they avoid direct rays. Young vipers feed on insects, while rodents predominate in the diet of adults. The bite of an ordinary viper is not fatal for a person, the first one never attacks, but hisses and makes false attacks in order to scare away. The viper has tubular poisonous teeth, in a calm state they lie in the mouth parallel to the palate. The teeth are mobile - the mouth opens, and they become perpendicular to the palate. Since they are large enough, this snake strikes them like a knife. The venom paralyzes the snake's prey and speeds up the digestion process.

Sand efa is the owner of one of the most valuable poisons, it is used to create not only serums, but also medicines. On the sand, as if specially for snake catchers, she leaves her “autograph” - separate lines with a hook at the end, located parallel to each other, but at an angle to the line of motion. Sand is a poor support for the snake's body, so such a "lateral move" has developed. The snake pulls up back body and throws it forward and sideways, leaning on its side and not touching the sand with the middle part of the body, pulls up the front part. The movement itself is asymmetrical, in order to make the load on the muscles the same, the snakes crawl forward with one side or the other. Efa is small (a little over half a meter), her threat pose is two moving half-rings and a hiss. The attack can be so lightning fast that even experienced catchers do not always cope with this snake.

The king cobra is one of the most famous snakes, it is also the largest of all poisonous ones - up to 5.5 meters. The diet of this cobra includes snakes of other species. Threat posture is a raised front of the body and a puffed-up hood. By biting, the cobra injects a significant amount of poison, which is potent. The quantity and quality of this poison can kill an elephant. However, she can regulate its secretion and, biting a person, covers the ducts of poisonous glands. Scientists suggest that the cobra saves poison for real prey. A swift bite for a cobra is impossible - the teeth are short, in order to pierce them deeper and inject the poison, one has to repeatedly clench the jaws. Cobras make their nest on a mountain of leaves. Future offspring are often looked after by a couple, they immediately attack a potential enemy of their masonry.

The very word "snake" causes awe, and a real encounter with some species does not bode well. Beauty bordering on mortal danger. Gracefulness with seeming drowsiness and slowness. During evolution, they acquired a lot of incredible abilities, which significantly distinguishes them from other living creatures of the earth's fauna. Let's overcome fear, and in our original terrarium the most beautiful snakes of the planet are collected. As in any terrarium, we will make plates of snake species and their names with a photo.

The most beautiful snakes on our planet:

Texas White Snake / Elaphe obsolete lindheimeri

The second name of the snake is the white rat snake, and it lives in the vast territories of North America. Settles in river valleys, wet forests. Can live near cities.

In length, such a snake reaches 1.8 m. The color, as can be seen from the species name, is white, but black and bright orange individuals can be found. It feeds on rodents and is excellent at catching lizards.

They are non-venomous, but have an aggressive disposition. The bite is very painful. Sharp teeth penetrate deep into the body, causing the wound to bleed for a long time. It is required to immediately treat the bite site to avoid infection.

King Cobra / Ophiophagus hannah

The largest poisonous snake belongs to the asp family, and it settled in the countries of Southeast Asia. They prefer to hide in caves and deep burrows, but they can also live on.

The average length reaches 2-4 m, but there are specimens over five meters. So, in the London Zoo there lived a cobra, which grew to 5.71 m. The color is dark brown, but there are also individuals with a greenish-yellow tint. The cobra has a hood that distinguishes it from other snakes.

When meeting with a cobra, experts advise a person to sit at the level of the snake's eyes, breathe evenly and try not to move. She will consider the person harmless and eventually crawl away.

Lizard Snake / Malpolon monspessulanus

A rather large snake, growing up to 1.8 m, is widely settled in the Mediterranean region, Asia Minor and the Middle East. In Russia, it is found in the Caucasus.

Adults are olive brown with a characteristic dark stripe. Young snakes are lighter. They have dark, almost black small spots on the upper surface of the body. The muzzle is slightly rounded.

At the moment of danger, it tries to hide in a hole or under stones, and when there is no such possibility, it behaves aggressively. It inflates the body, hisses loudly and can jump up to one meter to bite.

Sand Epha / Echis carinatus

You can meet a small snake in countries Central Asia, in Southeast Asia and the USA. It grows no more than 75 cm. In spring and autumn it leads a nocturnal lifestyle, and in summer period active during the day.

On the sides they have a light zigzag strip, and the body itself is all in dark almost diamond-shaped spots. It moves along the sands in a kind of lateral course. First throws the head to the side, and then pulls the body.

In India they are called rana, and in the USA they are called saw-scaled viper. It feeds on rodents, can hunt centipedes and lizards. But, whatever its name, it is a very poisonous reptile.

Rough Tree Viper / Atheris squamigera

The photo shows a poisonous snake from a large family of vipers that lives in Africa. Adults grow no more than 78 cm, and females are much larger than males.

The inhabitants of the African continent have a variety of colors. There are completely yellow, green, blue, there are with a reddish tint. Choose mainly moist forests, hiding among stones and thickets.

A strong poison has a hematological effect. Rarely attacks a person, but two deaths from the bite of a tree viper have been recorded in history.

Garter snake / Thamnophis sirtalis

These small snakes with different colors are also called garden snakes. They feel great both among the plains and high in the mountains.

Settled from Mexico to the northern regions of Canada. They lead a daily lifestyle, and grow no more than 80 cm. Females are slightly larger than males. The only species of couchi gigas can reach a record height of 1.4 m.

It is easy to identify them by the stripes located along the entire body. Some species have up to 8 such longitudinal stripes. They feed on tadpoles, frogs, hunt salamanders and ground lizards. In total, more than 40 subspecies of garden snakes are distinguished in zoology.

Green Mamba / Dendroaspis viridis

In tropical rainforests you can meet one of the most dangerous snakes living nature. But it's better to bypass it. Fast-acting poison causes tissue necrosis and leads to paralysis.

Mamba has a graceful physique. The body is a bright yellow-green color. There are individuals whose tail is completely yellow. The belly is white or with a light yellowish tinge.

Leads a terrestrial and arboreal lifestyle. It hunts during the day, but can crawl out of the shelter at night. This is an agile and fast snake, capable of developing great speed when moving.

Anaconda / Eunectes murinus

Among the dangerous giant scaly inhabitants of the planet, one of the most beautiful is the anaconda. For the first time, Europeans saw this huge creature in 1553.

The main color of the anaconda is grayish-green with two rows of dark spots. There are rows of small yellow spots on the sides. The body is massive, which is why it has practically no enemies in wildlife. Few dare to fight such a giant.

It feeds on mammals, and when settling near a human dwelling, it attacks domestic animals. Many legends are associated with it, on the basis of which works of art and films were made.

Horned Viper / Cerastes cerastes

An unusual snake with two growths on its head in the form of horns lives on the Arabian Peninsula and in North Africa. Not found only in Morocco.

The color is sandy-yellow with characteristic spots all over the body. This color is in harmony with the sandy desert, because she manages to hide easily. Hunts small mammals and.

The ancient Egyptians knew about the horned snake. Her image can be found on the walls of the tombs, and the ancient Greeks introduced her name into their alphabet with the letter "phi".

South China Striped Krait / Bungarus multicinctus

The range of a beautiful snake extends to Taiwan, the southern regions of China, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Thailand.

The body is thin with a small head. Krayt is poisonous, and grows no more than 1.5 m. Although individuals up to 1.85 m are found in wildlife. The black body is covered with white transverse stripes. It feeds on rodents, eats insects, lizards.

Lives among stones, sometimes rising to a height of 1,500 m above sea level. The contrasting black and white snake is easy to see, but it's best to avoid this dangerous reptile.

Coral Snake / Micrurus

The multi-colored reptile has a characteristic coloration of red, black, yellow and orange rings. Varieties of colors depend on the species and habitat.

Distributed in North and Latin America, from Uruguay to the southern regions of the United States. They have deadly poison. After a bite, if an antidote is not administered and help is not provided, a person can die within 24 hours.

Handsome asps feed on small rodents, insects, lizards. They can hunt amphibious inhabitants of the forests. In nature, there are several non-poisonous species that have adapted in color to their poisonous counterparts.

Striated King Snake / Lampropeltis triangulum

In our terrarium at topcafe, the algae family is represented by a beautiful snake with white stripes over a bright orange body.

This is a vivid example of mimicry in wildlife, when its color resembles coral asps. They grow no more than 1.5 m, and live in the Western Hemisphere. This species is widely distributed in Canada, Mexico, Uruguay.

One of the most beautiful species is the king milk snake, which lives in Florida and New Jersey. Life expectancy is not more than 10 years. Can live longer in captivity. Feeds on lizards, eats large insects. It crawls out to hunt at dusk, and during the day it prefers to hide in a shelter.

Spectacled Cobra / Naja naja

The dangerous snake is also called the Indian cobra, and adults grow up to two meters in length. Lives on quite large area, from the countries of Asia Minor to the Philippines.

The cobra is colorfully painted. The color can be varied, but the main color is fiery yellow, sometimes with blue tint. Characteristic drawings on the head and hood. The pattern on the head resembles glasses, which gave the specific name.

It seems slow to its liking, but when necessary it can swim quickly and crawl nimbly along the branches of trees. It is this species that fakirs often use in their circus and street performances. But before that, they are deprived of sharp teeth.

Blue Racer Snake

Unusual scaly reptile with the same unusual name given to her by the man. The species is on the verge of extinction.

It got its name from the characteristic soft blue color of the body, as well as the speed of movement. It has a rather aggressive disposition, and when meeting with a person, it tries to bite. But most of the time he spends in hiding, trying not to catch the eye.

Like most reptiles, it eats insects, lizards, and gladly destroys bird nests.

Corn Snake / Pantherophis guttatus

A red snake with dark rounded spots lives among deciduous forests as well as on rocky slopes. The snake is distributed throughout the American continent.

The color is different, but most often with bright reddish hues. On the abdomen is a characteristic mesh white-black pattern. Can settle in farm fields, in abandoned buildings.

It has a good-natured character, and often ends up in houses as a pet. Caring for such an animal is easy and pleasant. The main thing is to clean the aquarium and feed it in time.

Rainbow Boa / Epicrates cenchria

A beautiful non-venomous snake lives in the jungle South America. It swims superbly, and therefore settles near water bodies. A particularly large population lives in the Amazon.

The main background of the body is brown with dark annular spots. In the rays of the sun, the scales give off a beautiful metallic sheen. The body is massive, grow in length no more than two meters. In nature, two subspecies are distinguished.

If you look at photos of boas from different habitats, the color is completely different. There are individuals who have spots with a purple overflow on their pale-yellow body. There are also pink spots.

Hieroglyphic python / Python sebae

Pythons are large snakes, and such a handsome man can grow more than six meters. At the same time, its weight reaches 100–120 kg. They live just south of the Sahara in the subtropical and rainforest and savannah.

characteristic on the head dark spot and a stripe, and the whole body is covered with bizarre patterns, reminiscent of mysterious writing. It leads a nocturnal lifestyle, crawling out to hunt at sunset. They reproduce by laying eggs. In one clutch there can be from 40 to 50 eggs. Very rarely 100.

Among its main enemies, in addition to humans, are the Nile crocodiles and lions. Hyenas and mountain eagles also pose a danger to them.

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Outcome

It is difficult to choose which snake is the most beautiful in the world, because each of our topcafe list has its own charm and originality. But, as the famous Russian writer Nikolai Leskov said, the best snake still remains a snake. But to the question of why the snake is dreaming, any dream book will answer that to any kind of evil. The editors of TopCafe ask you to write in the comments which beautiful snakes do you like more? Perhaps we missed someone by not including them on our list?

Below are some more beautiful photos of snakes of various types:

On this we say goodbye to you! Best wishes!

To be afraid of snakes - do not go into the jungle. Mowgli. :)

A selection of beautiful photos of snakes - poisonous and not so - from all continents.

Keeled grass already. The snake is non-venomous, and in the photo, the snake yawns after a hearty meal to set its jaw in place and restore breathing.

Jameson's mamba, a graceful green snake under two meters long, whose venom has a nerve-paralytic effect. Muscles fail respiratory system and the victim slowly but surely suffocates. Then the snake eats it. Lives in Africa. There is also a black mamba, its length is 4 meters, which is just as poisonous as the green one, but they are more afraid of it. There is a belief that if a black mamba crossed the path, expect death. Or she will crawl and bite, or you will simply die from an accident. It is believed that mamba bites are fatal, but this is not true. If you take the serum within an hour after the bite, then survival is guaranteed. It is almost impossible to run away from the snake, the mamba moves at a speed of 11 km/h.

Mamba Jason. Photo by Matthias Klum for National Geographic

Rainbow boa, lives in South America, especially a lot of boas in the Amazon. It feeds on small animals, the largest animal it can suffocate is a large rat. If they feel danger, they can bite, but they are not poisonous.

Non-venomous Mexican king snake from the family of already-shaped. Lives in Mexico, sometimes found in Texas.

Grape (sharp-headed) snake, lives in Venezuela. Since it is very beautiful and non-poisonous, it is often kept in terrariums. The snake bite is toxic but not fatal. The main thing is to take action in time.

The weevil lives in North and South America. It is completely safe for humans. Timid and shy, at the slightest danger they release a smelly liquid and crawl away. In general, these are such reptiles "skunks".

Yellow bellied snake. Her official name is a two-colored bonito, lives in salty sea water in water areas. Very poisonous, lives on Far East. This is the only representative of its kind, it absorbs air with the whole body, rarely gets out. It hides in algae, from where it emerges, bites the victim, stuns it with its tail, and then strangles and eats. In general, these are three in one, a kind of sea cobra-boa constrictor, and even a dangerous fighter.

Rainbow shieldtail. A very rare snake in South America. In total, three specimens were caught, very little is known about snakes of this species, it is not even clear whether they are poisonous or not, but in general shieldtails are mostly non-venomous. In the sun, the skin of the rainbow shieldtail shimmers like a precious sapphire.

Texas snake or white rat snake. As the name implies, it lives in Texas, as well as in Mexico. Not dangerous, not poisonous, nobly beautiful. An ideal specimen for keeping in a home terrarium.

Snake (rat snake) Baird. Very beautiful chameleon snake. On pebbles and sand it has a reddish-rusty color, and on the ground it becomes steel-colored, the scales are cast with polished metal. Very rare color.

red tide

Changes color

metal shimmer

Coral albino snake found in Texas, a rare subspecies of coral snakes. Poisonous. The color is as if Russian patterns are embroidered on the skin.

Coral snake living on the Hindustan peninsula. A rare case of mimicry, when the color of a coral snake is longitudinal, not transverse.

The red-headed is an extremely beautiful and poisonous snake that inhabits Vietnam, the islands of Malaysia and Indonesia. Very venomous, may eat other snakes. It is similar in color to a two-striped glandular snake, in which the upper stripe is not blue, but dark blue, almost black. Also poisonous, and also very dangerous. He also eats snakes.

Carpet python. Beeline-style snake, not otherwise. And why the company did not choose such a logo for itself, it would be fun. Lives in Australia and Indonesia. It is not poisonous, but can easily suffocate.

Mellendorff snake, a non-venomous snake common in Southeast Asia.

The rainbow snake lives in the southeastern United States, feeds on marine life and small amphibians. Non-aggressive, but if it feels danger, it can bite. Not poisonous.

The king collared snake lives in the USA and Mexico. Typically, these snakes are gray with dark or cream spots on the underside that turn bright red and orange at the tail.

The common garter snake has the rudiments of a true live birth. The Californian subspecies of this snake is critically endangered.

Snakes, scientifically speaking, are a suborder of the class of reptiles of the scaly order. Snakes can be found on all continents of the Earth, except for cold Antarctica.

Among the snakes there poisonous species but most snakes are not venomous. Venomous snakes use their venom primarily for hunting, and in self-defense, they use it only when absolutely necessary.

Many non-venomous snakes first suffocate their prey (a snake and a boa constrictor, for example), and only swallow the prey whole.

Anaconda

The largest snake in nature is the anaconda.

Again, scientifically speaking, anacondas are a genus of snakes consisting of several species. And the largest snake species is the giant anaconda, the photo of which you see above.

The largest giant anaconda caught weighed 97.5 kg with a length of 5.2 meters. This snake was caught in Venezuela in the wild jungle. Residents of remote villages claim to have seen larger anacondas, but there is no evidence of the existence of larger specimens.

Like the other three anaconda species discussed below, the giant anaconda spends most of its time in the water. Anacondas prefer bodies of water with no current or with a weak current. They are found in lakes, oxbow lakes, quiet rivers the Amazon and Orinoco basins.

Anaconda does not move far from water. Basically, anacondas crawl ashore to bask in the sun.

As we wrote earlier, anacondas belong to the subfamily of boas. Now let's talk about boas.

Boa

Boas are mostly large ovoviviparous snakes. The subfamily of boas is mainly known for the genus of common boas. The most typical representative of this genus is the common boa constrictor of the same name. Individuals of this species reach 5.5 meters in length.

Boa constrictors strangle their prey by wrapping rings around it.

Boas of this species can have an unusual color, given that they are very unpretentious in keeping, they are often kept in terrariums.

But in terrariums it is popular to keep another type of boas - dog-headed boas.

Dog-headed boas are beautiful red-orange when young and bright green when mature. The length of this type of boas does not exceed three meters.

Another representative of boas with a bright color is the rainbow boa.

This type of boa constrictor is also popular with those who like to keep snakes at home.

Cobra

Some of the most famous snakes are cobras. Science identifies 16 species of cobras, many of which are quite large.

Cobra has an amazing skill, she can raise her body to a vertical position. If the cobra is large, then in this position it can be on a par with a person.

Cobras are poisonous snakes. Their bite can be very dangerous to humans.

Cobras are heat-loving snakes, they never live in countries where snow falls in winter.

Vipers

Vipers are the inhabitants of our latitudes. Vipers are poisonous snakes, the mention of which causes fear in people.

Vipers can have a very varied coloration. Each subspecies can be very different in appearance from other subspecies, while all subspecies of vipers have a characteristic zigzag on the back.

Vipers are active during the day, they love the sun and spend a lot of time basking in the sun.

If the viper smells a person, she prefers to leave. These are completely non-conflict snakes, and if you do not touch them

Already

One of the most peaceful snakes of our nature is already. This snake is easily recognizable by the yellow spots on its head.

Already.

They are no longer poisonous and there is no reason to be afraid of them. The snakes live on the banks of calm water bodies, such as lakes and swamps, backwaters and oxbow lakes.

Already.

It is worth noting that there is a subspecies of snakes that lives far from water bodies.

Copperheads

Copperheads are small snakes that live on the edges of forests. Copperheads feed mainly on lizards, sometimes insects.

Copperhead.

Although copperheads have poisonous teeth, their size is too small and their mouth is not capable of grabbing a person. Except for the finger. But even in this case, their bite does not pose a serious danger.

Outwardly, the copperhead looks like a small viper. The rhombuses and zigzag patterns on the back of the copperfish are very similar to those of the viper.

Polozy

Snakes are a generalized name for several types of snakes.

In our area, the Caspian snake is known - it is a fairly large snake, it is not poisonous, but very aggressive.

Caspian snake.

It is because of the aggressiveness that they do not like snakes. Although they do not pose a danger to life, and when meeting with them, you can simply go on your way.

On the islands of Japan, you can find island snakes, which are distinguished by an unusual color. This species is a resident of the sea coast.

We will end our story with a description of one of the largest snakes on the planet - a python.

The python can reach a length of four meters, which is about a meter less than the anaconda, but still impressive.

Despite their large size, pythons are very agile and smart predators. Outwardly, they could be attributed to boas, but pythons are a separate genus of snakes.

Pythons are native to Asia and Australia, and can also be found in parts of Africa. Pythons always live near bodies of water, although their life may not be connected with water. There are species of pythons that spend most of their time in the crowns of trees.

cat snakes

Cat snakes - a genus of snakes small size, which are distant relatives of snakes. The genus consists of 12 species that are distributed in Africa, southern Europe and southwestern Asia.