SNAKES 3-27-06

Stealths of the Shadows

Safety in the field is imperative. Never step over a log. Snakes often rest coiled up next to objects, and you may get bitten when your foot startles them.

Instead, always step on logs then take a stride off.

In Sri Lanka, cobra charmers are plentiful. BTW, just where is that big snake going???

Typical cobra stance photo by Thomas Eimermacher

Most snakes crawl on the ground or climb trees.

But, in the tropics, some snakes fly!Chrysopelea from SE Asia (National Geographic).

Fer-de-lance, called a Tommygoff in Belize. Bothrops asper.

Can you tell why it is called a Lance-head?

Note how the Tommygoff looks like a pile of leaves?

Look again.

And look again.

We walked right by this one – the third person in line saw it. Cockscomb, 2005.

These Fer-de-lances are from Trinidad.

Tommygoff in Rabinowitz’s wrecked airplane. Orlena Tampira & Ryan Englebrecht

looking into the hole (bottom left is what they saw; Dr. Bob leaning inside plane to take the photo of the 6 ft fer-de-lance on the right).

Dead Tommygoff found on the highway by Sydnoid.

Bothriopsis bilineata - Perú

Eyelash Palm-Pitviper, Bothriechis schlegelii - Belize

Photos by Marceau Ratard

Eyelash Palm-Pitviper, Bothriechis schlegelii, juvenile. This species often rests flat against

tree trunks in Belize forests. photo by Thomas Eimermacher

Cantil, Agkistrodon bilineatus - Belize

Cantil head shots.

What is this?

A hawk moth caterpillar, Hemeroplanes

ornatus photo from

Natural History Magazine

Puff Adder, Bitis arietans - Africa

Saw-scale Viper, Echis coloratus – Note that it is lying with its sides curved & in contact. This allows it to rub its sides together and make a loud hissing sound. Africa

African Horned Viper, Cerastes cerastes: Convergent with the American Sidewinder Rattlesnake due to use of desert habitat; nestles down in the sand and ambushes prey.

Velvety-Green Night Adder, Causus resinus – Africa - not all vipers look like venomous snakes.

Bibron’s Burrowing Asp, Atractaspis bibronii – Africa – feed on rodents in burrows; have the ability to move the fangs out of the mouth, pointing to the rear, an adaptation for envenomating a number of mice as they scurry away and past the predator in the burrow. Don’t try to pick them up behind the head – they can bite backwards! Photo by Harry W. Greene.

HOW CAN ONE TELL A CORAL SNAKE FROM ITS “MIMICS”?

In the U.S. and Belize, remember this poem: Red and yellow kill a fellow, red and black friend of Jack. This means that if red rings touch yellow rings, it is venomous; if red rings touch black rings, it is not venomous.

Warning: This does not work everywhere – check out some of the venomous coral snakes in the following slides.

Are all red, yellow (tan), and black non-venomous snakes actually mimicing venomous coral snakes?

That is the theory, but there is a strong possibility that this color combination is cryptic. Remember, they mostly live underground. Also, when lying still, they tend to be obvious, but when they are 1) in the shade or 2) begin to move, they are extremely cryptic.

Non-venomous Milk Snake, Lampropeltis triangulum, from Cockscomb, Belize – 2002.

False Coral, Erythrolamprus mimus, a mildly venomous coral snake mimic.

Calico False Coral Snake, Oxyrhopus petola – a non-venomous nocturnal snake - Belize

Guatemalan Neck Band Snake, Scaphiodontophis annulatus – how did this evolve? - Belize

Scaphiodontophis juvenile from Cockscomb, Belize.

Large Coral Snake, Micrurus lemniscatus – Trinidad (by John Moyle)

Maya Coral Snake, Micrurus hippocrepis – Cockscomb, Belize

Spix’s Coral Snake, Micrurus spixii – South America

Aquatic Coral Snake, Micrurus surinamensis – displaying - Amazon Basin

Black Mamba, Dendroaspis polylepis – note the venom drops – Africa. The pink skin is possibly the result of a viper bite.

In the south Pacific, there is an octopus that mimics a sea snake

Mussurana, Clelia clelia: As an adult, mussurana’s eat snakes; as juveniles, they eat lizards (see a specimen extruding from a wound in this dead specimen’s side). As an adult it is very dark, but as

a juvenile, it looks a bit like a coral snake.

Black-striped Snake, Coniophanes imperialis - Belize

Scorpion-eating snake, Stennorhina freminvillei

Big-headed snake, Imantodes cenchoa - Cockscomb

Rain Forest Cat-eyed Snake, Leptodeira frenata - Tikal

Northern Cat-eyed Snake, Leptodeira septentrionalis - Belize

Cat-eyed Snake, Leptodeira septentrionalis, eating the eggs of the Red-eyed Frog.

Mexican Parrot Snake, Leptophis mexicanus - Belize

Sydney captured a Green Parrot Snake, Leptophis ahaetulla (non-venomous) along the Sibun River as we floated out of the cave.

Dr. Bob gets nailed by a Green Parrot Snake (non-venomous, of course).

Puffing Snake, Pseustes poecilonotus - Belize

Puffing Snake defensive posture – puffing up to look bigger and looking like a twisted vine or stick.

Puffing snake mouths (note the open epiglottis on the left – allows the snake to breath while swallowing prey)

Green rat snake, Senticolis triaspis, Belize

Speckled racer, Drymobius margaritiferus, Belize

Indigo Snake, Drymarchon corais – northern Mexico.

Indigo Snakes, or Crebos, are tan in Belize: Dr. Bob (l) & Alexandro Ack (r).

Coffee Snake, Ninia sebae, a reclusive soft-bodied invertebrate eater - Belize

Coffee snake, Ninia atrata, from Trinidad.

Brown Vine Snake, Oxybelis aeneus – note the open mouth threat display - Belize

Green Vine Snake, Oxybelis fulgidus – a lizard eater that often extends and vibrates its tongue as a lure for its prey – Belize.

Asian Vine Snake, Ahaetulla prasinus- note the horizontal pupils.

Oookie!!!!

Of course you’ll have a chance to try this!

Hydrodynastes gigas – South America

Liophis anomalous - Argentina

Cloudy Snail-Sucker Snake, Sibon nebulata - Belize

Snail-eating Thirst Snake, Dipsas brevifacies, a snail eater from Belize

Philodryas laevisquama, a new species from Bolivia by Dirk Embert

Philodryas arnaldoi, a very rare racer of the Araucaria forests of southeastern Brazil. By Marcos Di-Bernardi

Philodryas baroni, an arboreal snake of Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia that is dichromatic.

Philodryas chamissonis, a common racer of central Chile.

Philodryas cordata, a racer from a tepui in Venezuela.

Philodryas mattogrossensis, a racer of the grasslands of central Brazil.

Philodryas olfersi, Brazil and most countries in South America.

Philodryas patagoniensis, a very common grassland snake from Brazil through Argentina.

Philodryas psammophideus andensis, a new subspecies from Bolivia.

Philodryas simonsi (l) and P. tachymenoides (both of montane Perú) by Harald Nicolay

Philodryas viridissimus – an Amazonian snake that might prefer the canopy. by Dick Bartlett

Thamnodynastes sp.- South America

Tachymenis peruviana (l) and Tomodon dorsatus – both are being placed in Thamnodynastes. South America Tomodon photo by Marcos Di-Bernardo.

Hemipenis of Philodryas chamissonis. Note the ornamentation: spines, calyces (pits), sulcus spermaticus (left figure; lipped grooves that carry sperm), shape, lobes, etc.

Hemipenis of Philodryas nattereri, sulcate surface on the left.

Hemipenis of Philodryas patagoniensis, sulcate surface on the left.

Hemipenes of two species of Thamnodynastes – unique in their variation.

Hemipenes can make good hats, too!

Tropidodryas striaticeps – Brazil. This aggressive snake has an interesting tail tip (attracting prey?) and enlarged scales on its rear-lateral dorsal scales (for rubbing and making sound).

Some snakes, especially those with brightly colored bellies, will hide the head and lift the curled tail when confronted by a predator.

Some snakes will avoid predation by “playing dead” (letisimulating).

Brahminy Blind Snake, Ramphotyphlops braminus – Pan-Tropical

Leptotyphlops albifrons - Trinidad

Anaconda, Eunectes murinus - Venezuela

Who is winning?

Anacondas mating – often, more than one smaller male is in pursuit! The female is the biggun in the middle. National Geographic Magazine

Emerald Tree Boa, Corallus caninus - note the heat receptors on the lips – South America

Cook’s Tree Boa, Corallus ruschenbergii - Trinidad

Rainbow Boa, Epicrates cenchria - Venezuela

Burmese Python, Python molurus – SE Asia

Tony Garel’s supersized Burmese Python – Belize Zoo.

Ball Python, Python regius - Africa

Boa constrictor, Tikal

Everyone loves to hold a wild boa!

Dr. Bob’s boa has lots of large teeth!

Cloaca. No more snakes here!