Create a list of articles to read later. You will be able to access your list from any article in Discover. The largest snakes in the world belong to the python and boa families. Which family contains the biggest depends on whether you are measuring these reptiles by weight or length. While man-eating snakes are exceptionally rare although it has been known to happen , there are some truly huge species slithering about on our planet.
The reticulated python Malayopython reticulatus is the longest snake in the world, regularly reaching over 6. The longest reticulated python ever recorded was found in and measured in at a staggering 10 metres - that's more than half the length of a bowling lane and makes this snake longer than a giraffe is tall. Reticulated pythons live in southeast Asia and while they are typically found in rainforests, woodland and grasslands, their habitat preference seems to depend on their location.
In Myanmar, these non-venomous snakes have only been found in pristine forest, whereas in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysian Borneo they've also been recorded in sewers. Reticulated pythons are known to climb trees by firmly wrapping their bodies around the trunks and using muscular upward force. The longest and heaviest snake to ever be held in captivity was a female reticulated python called Medusa.
Held in the USA, Medusa reached 7. Green anacondas Eunectes murinus are also exceptionally long snakes. But they have also been subject to exaggerated length measurements in the past, with snakes of over 24 metres allegedly sighted.
In reality, the green anaconda rarely exceeds 6. King cobras are the longest venomous snakes in the world. This one is showing off its length in a raised, defensive posture. In , a 5. Captured and kept at London Zoo , it eventually grew to 5.
Over five metres is unusual for king cobras, although even their average length of 3. These snakes best show off their length when they're feeling defensive or need to see above tall grass or bushes.
They will raise the front of their body up to about one metre off the ground and can even chase threats while in this posture. As an additional scare tactic, they will hiss and flatten their neck ribs into a hood, giving them the classic cobra shape.
There have been several species of snakes discovered that are mostly scaleless, but even those have scales on their bellies. Snakes also have forked tongues, which they flick in different directions to smell their surroundings. That lets them know when danger—or food—is nearby. Snakes have several other ways to detect a snack. Openings called pit holes in front of their eyes sense the heat given off by warm-blooded prey.
And bones in their lower jaws pick up vibrations from rodents and other scurrying animals. When they do capture prey, snakes can eat animals up to three times bigger than their head is wide because their lower jaws unhinge from their upper jaws.
About once a month snakes shed their skin, a process called ecdysis that makes room for growth and gets rid of parasites. They rub against a tree branch or other object, then slither out of their skin head first, leaving it discarded inside-out.
Most snakes lay eggs, but some species—like sea snakes—give live birth to young. Very few snakes pay any attention to their eggs, with the exception of pythons, which incubate their eggs. There are roughly a hundred snake species listed by the IUCN Red List as endangered, typically due to habitat loss from development. Like all reptiles, they are considered tetrapods, meaning four-limbed animals. However, snakes do not have legs but evolved from four-legged ancestors. Although some legless lizards, which have also lost their legs through evolution, look exactly like snakes, they are not species of snakes.
However, some evidence indicates that snakes may have originated from some species of lizards including the Varanids in the Cretaceous Period. They further belong to class Reptilia where together with the lizards form the order Squamata. All the modern snakes are grouped into suborder Serpentes. The suborder is further divided into two infraorders; Scolecophidia which comprises mainly of the blind snakes and Alethinophidia which include the non-blind snakes.
The corn snake can get up to 6 feet in length and is native to the southeast and central United States. Snake anatomy and diet vary tremendously based on the habitat. There are big constrictor snakes like the anaconda from South America or venomous snakes like cobras or mambas. Some have more fangs than others.
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