Pet Monologues

vine snake - Ahaetulla nasuta

inland taipan - careful! most venomous snake in the world

can anyone identify this snake?

Snakes, like other reptiles, have a skin covered in scales. Snakes are entirely covered with scales or scutes of various shapes and sizes. Scales protect the body of the snake, aid it in locomotion, allow moisture to be retained within, alter the surface characteristics such as roughness to aid in camouflage, and in some cases even aid in prey capture (such as Acrochordus). The simple or complex colouration patterns (which help in camouflage and anti-predator display) are a property of the underlyingskin, but the folded nature of scaled skin allows bright skin to be concealed between scales then revealed in order to startle predators.

Scales have been modified over time to serve other functions such as ‘eyelash’ fringes, and protective covers for the eyes[2] with the most distinctive modification being the rattle of the North American rattlesnakes.

Snakes periodically moult their scaly skins and acquire new ones. This permits replacement of old worn out skin, disposal of parasites and is thought to allow the snake to grow. The arrangement of scales is used to identify snake species.

Snakes have been part and parcel of culture and religion. Vivid scale patterns have been thought to have influenced early art. The use of snake-skin in manufacture of purses, apparel and other articles led to large-scale killing of snakes, giving rise to advocacy for use of artificial snake-skin. Snake scales are also to be found as motifs in fiction, video games and films.

The function of scales
The scales of a snake primarily serve to reduce friction as it moves, since friction is the major source of energy loss in snake locomotion. The ventral (or belly) scales, which are large and oblong, are especially low-friction, and some arboreal species can use the edges to grip branches. Most snakes have at least some large scales (called ’shields’) on their head, which can be used to distinguish different species.

Snakes pick up vibrations from both the air and the ground, and can differentiate the two, using a complex system of internal resonances, perhaps involving the scales.

Distinguishing between venomous and non-venomous snakes
Finding out whether a snake is venomous or not is correctly done by identification of the species of a snake with the help of experts, or in their absence, close examination of the snake and using authoritative references on the snakes of the particular geographical region to identify it. Scale patterns help indicate the species and from the references, it can be verified if the snake species is venomous or not.

A point to note is that such identification requires a fair degree of knowledge about snakes, their taxonomy, snake-scale nomenclature as well as familiarity and access to authoritative scientific texts on snakes.

In certain regions, experts use presence or absence of certain scales to distinguish between non-venomous and venomous scales, with well-understood exceptions. For example, in relation to venomous snakes of Myanmar, the distribution of snakes permits the use of the presence or absence of loreal scales to distinguish between relatively harmless Colubrids and lethally venomous Elapids.

The rule of hand for this region is that the absence of a loreal scale between the nasal scale and pre-ocular scale indicates that the snake is an Elapid and hence lethal.

Please note that this rule-of-hand applies to terrestrial venomous snakes only and that vipers are an exception since they cannot be so classified due to the large number of small scales on the head. Subsequently a further check is to be carried out in the case of identified Colubrids to exclude known poisonous members of their family such as Rhabdophis species.

In South Asia, it is advisable to kill the snake which has bitten a person and carry it along to the hospital for possible identification by medical staff using scale diagrams so that an informed decision can be taken them as to whether and which anti-venin is to be administered.

Speaking about venomous snakes let’s talk about the Inland Taipan
The Inland Taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus), also known as the Small Scaled Snake and Fierce Snake, is native to Australia and is the most venomous snake in the world. The Fierce Snake or Inland Taipan is a species of Taipan belonging to the Elapidae family.

A single bite from the Inland Taipan contains enough venom to kill as many as 100 human adults, or 250,000 mice. The average venom yield of this snake is 44 mg, with a 110-mg being the largest recorded yield. Its venom is 50 times more toxic than that of the Indian Cobra and 650 - 850 times more toxic than that of a Western- or Eastern Diamondback. The Inland Taipan has an extremely neurotoxic venom which can cause death to an adult human in as little as 45 minutes.

Although highly venomous it is a relatively timid snake provided that it is left alone. Even so, if it is suspected that a bite from this snake has occurred, medical attention should be sought immediately. Although known as the most venomous land snake in the world, there have been no documented human fatalities. All known bites have been treated using antivenom.

The Inland Taipan is dark tan in color, ranging from a rich, dark hue to a brownish olive-green (depending on season). Its back, sides and tail may be different shades of brown and grey, with many individual scales having a wide blackish edge. These dark-marked scales occur in diagonal rows so that the marks align to form broken chevrons of variable length that are inclined backward and downward. The lowermost lateral scales often have an anterior yellow edge. The dorsal scales are smooth and without keels.

The round-snouted head and neck are usually noticeably darker than the body (glossy black in winter, dark brown in summer), the darker colour allowing the snake to heat itself while only exposing a smaller portion of the body at the burrow entrance. The eye is of average size with a blackish brown iris and without a noticeable coloured rim around the pupil. It has twenty-three rows of mid-body scales, between fifty-five and seventy divided subcaudal scales, and one anal scale. The Inland Taipan averages approximately two metres (about 6.6 feet) in length, although larger specimens have been found.

via wikipedia Head of Ahaetulla nasuta Photograph by L. Shyamal, Wynaad 2006 note: this post can be see at Friday Ark #177