Did You Know?

1. There are about 4000 thousand different species of snake divided into 30 different families.

2. Snakes are reptiles just like lizards. All reptiles are ectothermic (the old and factually wrong term is cold-blooded) which means their body temperature is dependent on external sources.

3. Only about 70% of snakes lay eggs. Others have live offspring. Especially colder climates where eggs would not survive low temperatures prefer live births.

7. Snakes don't have eardrums. They hear through their bellies which are extremely sensitive to vibrations in the air and on the ground. Some of the snakes have infrared receptors which they use to locate warm-bodied animals.

8. Snakes vary in size a lot. The smallest species like the Barbados thread snake measure just up to four inches while the record-breaking reticulated python can grow up to 15 meters. The heaviest snakes are anacondas which can reach up to 250 kg! The size of the snake defines the size of its prey. If it fits the snake's mouth it's good to go.

9. While crawling is the signature sign for snakes, several species are good swimmers but some snakes can also fly! These are poisonous tree snakes living in Southeast Asia which actually glide from the branches with maneuvring and flattening their bodies to improve their gliding abilities.

10. Snakes are often associated with death and rebirth due to their skin changing. A rod of Asclepius, an old Greek deity related to medicine and healing with a snake entwined around a stick is the best-known symbol of health care.

11. There are about six hundred species of poisonous snakes with about two hundred being dangerous to men. Methodologies to compare the toxicity of snakes are different and pretty complicated but there is a consensus that the most venomous snake is Inland Taipan from Australia. The majority of the most poisonous snakes live in Australia but the most dangerous is probably black mamba from Africa. It's the fastest land snake able to achieve 20 km / h, very aggressive, and with a large quantity of poison extracted in one bite (such quantity can kill 20 men!). Another important fact is that black mambas always extract poison while most poisonous snakes have a large probability of so-called dry bites where poison (energetically demanding to create) is not injected into the victim.

12. The extreme fear of snakes is called ophidiophobia or ophiophobia. Experts believe that fear of snakes is deeply ingrained in humans due to evolution because snakes (and reptiles) were the virtually only predators to mammals for a very long time.

13. Snakes are present in virtually all world mythologies and there are many legends and fairy tales with snakes in important roles. The snake in the Garden of Eden is probably the most well-known of all. We can recognize it as an echo also in somehow surprising places like in the fairy tale about Hansel and Gretel. The scene where the kids come to the gingerbread house mimics the scene of temptation in the Garden of Eden with the children obviously as Adam and Eve, the witch as the snake, gingerbread as the apple, Hansel's reply to the witch's question is mimicking Adam's, the cage as the punishment as the expulsion from Paradise, etc.

14. Due to their special tubular structure snake's organs behave differently than most other animals. Paired organs like kidneys are not placed side by side but front and back, hearts can move through the body to avoid being damaged with swallowed pray and they can activate just some parts of the lungs while blocking others when, for instance, they are strangling their pray.

15. Through evolution snake's lungs deformed. The left half is notably smaller or missing and has no role in the breathing process. Everything is done by the right part.

16. All snakes are carnivorous predators. They play a crucial role in the balance of different ecosystems controlling the overpopulation of rodents, birds, insects, and other species, including snakes.