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SNAKES By: MEECHAIEL K. CRINER
WHAT ARE SNAKES • While this is not a simple question its good to think of a snake as a lizard without legs. They are cold-blooded creatures, meaning that their body temperatures are determined by their surroundings. Ok so that's the simple answer.Snakes are grouped in the class Reptilians with lizards, turtles and crocodiles. Yet, snakes are quite different from these other species so they are grouped in the order Squamata, which only includes their close relatives the lizards. The following is a quick rundown of snake taxonomy.
How they were born • Snakes mate so they can have new babies. Some snakes lay eggs. Snake eggs are not hard like bird eggs. They are soft like leather. The baby snakes break out by using a special egg tooth. They lose the egg tooth after they are born.Some snakes (like copperheads, boa constrictors, rattlesnakes, and garter snakes) give birth to live babies. They do not lay eggs.Once baby snakes are born, they must eat so they can grow.
What happens to their skin • Snakes shed their skin by brushing against something hard and rough, like a rock, and creating a rip in their skin. Usually, this rip is initiated in the nose and mouth area. A snake continues to work on this rip until it can shed its skin completely. Snakes shed their skin rather frequently. Many snakes shed more than once per year with some species shedding on a bi-monthly basis. • Snakes shed when they grow too big for their skin, comparable to the way humans outgrow clothing. Humans shed skin cells too. However, instead of losing skin cells as one continuous and noticeable piece, humans lose numerous, tiny skin cells each day. No one really notices this shedding, as human skin cells are small enough to escape observation. • Interestingly, snakes shed their old skin when their new skin is formed beneath it. The new skin has the same patterns and colors as the old skin that is ready for shedding. When the old skin is shed, however, it doesn’t look exactly the same as its replacement. It takes on a nearly transparent appearance. • Snakeskin shedding is not always without incident. It is possible for things to go wrong for the snake. For example, if snakes shed when the humidity in the air is too low, the skin can be too dry to shed. Portions of the old skin that remain attached can harbor parasites or provide a breeding ground for diseases. Furthermore, if the tip of the tail fails to shed correctly, it can cut off the snake’s blood flow over time and actually cause the end portion of the tail to come off. • It is possible to identify a snake by the skin it leaves behind. To do so, an individual would simply have to collect as much of the snakeskin as possible and take it to a science museum, a zoo, a science center, or an individual with in-depth knowledge of snakes. To preserve the snakeskin while in transit, it is best to place it in a protective container.
Mating season • Mating season for most snakes begins in mid-spring. Unlike most other creatures, snakes have no rituals or competitions involved in the process of mate selection. When male snakes are ready for reproduction, they approach any other snakes they encounter. They use their tongues to detect pheromones given off by other snakes to determine the sex, species and reproductive readiness of the potential mate. If the other snake is another male, a brief fight generally ensues. If the other snake is a female of the same species and is ready to reproduce, the male will begin the process of mating.
The Reproductive Act • Females are resistant to mating from the beginning and throughout the process. Male snakes must hold females down with their heads and coil their tails around the female's. The female will continuously try to slither off, dragging the male along as he attempts to line up their cloacae. When successfully aligned--an effort that can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days--the male penetrates the female with one of two penises (known as hemipenes), which then engorges to prevent being shaken out. At this point, the female ceases to resist, and both snakes lie still for the duration of the mating, which typically lasts about an hour.
How they mate In snakes and lizards, males have a pair of intermittent organs called hemipenes, protractible saclike diverticulitis at the entrance of the cloaca. During copulation, the retractor muscles of the hemipenes relax, turning the sacs inside out and allowing the flow of semen along a groove into the female's cloaca. Only one hemipenes is inserted in the female's cloaca during copulation.The female snakes resist mating so the males hold the female down with their head and coil their tail around the female. When he is aligned right he penetrates the female with one of two penises.
How do they eat. The jaws do not dislocate, however."One of the enduring myths about snake feeding mechanisms is the idea that the jaws detach," explained Patrick T. Gregory, a biology professor at the University of Victoria. "In fact, they stay connected all the time."The two lower jaws move independently of one another (see image), Gregory said. The quadrate bone is not rigidly attached to the skull, but articulates with the skull at one end and is therefore freely moving."The two mandibles are not joined at the front by a rigid symphysis, as ours are, but by an elastic ligament that allows them to spread apart," Gregory said. Flaunting proper table manners, a snake takes its time muscling food down its throat, walking its skull over dinner and slathering it with saliva sauce. Snakes Swallow Longer Snakes, Too How the common king snake can ingest other snakes that equal or exceed its own length was long a mystery. But scientists now think they know some of the reptile's super-sizing tricks. Kate Jackson of the University of Toronto and colleagues used an array of video and still images to get a play-by-play look at king snakes (Lampropeltis getulas) as they devoured corn snakes (Elaphe guttata) that were at least as long. After the king snake constricted and subdued its prey, it began the exhaustive “transport cycle,” to get the slithering snack into its belly. Called a pterygoid walk, the king snake opened up its jaw and alternately ratcheted toothy parts of its upper jaw over the surface of the prey, in turn “walking” its mouth over and around the prey. To help pull in its prey, the king snake compressed its own vertebral column into a series of concertina-like waves that shortened and lengthened its body. The king snake forced the prey’s vertebral column to bend into waves and compress as if an accordion. Even with eyes bigger than its stomach, the king snake could package its meal to ensure a perfect fit inside its gastrointestinal tract. With all that work, most of the king snakes regurgitated partially digested prey. Just one snake-snacker completely digested its prey, a feat that took 15 days!
How they move • Snakes have four ways of moving around. Since they don’t have legs they use their muscles and their scales to do the “walking”. • Concertina method: this is when snakes bunch themselves up and then throw themselves forward. • Serpentine method: This motion is what most people think of when they think of snakes. Snakes will push off of any bump or other surface, rocks, trees, etc., to get going. They move in a wavy motion. They wouldn’t be able to move over slick surfaces like glass at all. • Sidewinding: This method is similar to an inchworm’s movement. The snake will lift the middle of its body up and then push it down forcing its head to move forward. • Rectilinear Method: This is a slow, creeping, straight movement. The snake uses some of the wide scales on its belly to grip the ground while pushing forward with the others.
The snake myth Medusa, one of the three Gorgons, daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. She was the only one of the Gorgons who was subject to mortality. She is celebrated for her personal charms and the beauty of her locks. Neptune became enamoured of her, and obtained her favours in the temple of Minerva. This violation of the sanctity of the temple provoked Minerva, and she changed the beautiful locks of Medusa, which had inspired Neptune’s love to serpents. According to Apollodorus, Medusa and her sisters came into the world with snakes on their heads, instead of hair, with yellow wings and brazen hands. Their bodies were also covered with impenetrable scales, and their very looks had the power of killing or turning to stones. Perseus rendered his name immortal by his conquest of Medusa. He cut off her head, and the blood that dropped from the wound produced the innumerable serpents that infest Africa. The conqueror placed Medusa's head on the shield of Minerva, which he had used in his expedition. The head still retained the same petrifying power as before, as it was fatally known in the court of Cepheus Some suppose that the Gorgons were a nation of women, whom Perseus conquered.
How did Medusa became so bad and gluy • Medusa was a chthonic (subterranean) monster in Greek mythology, prominent in the chronicles of Zeus' son Perseus. Medusa was one of the three Gorgons, sisters born to the gods Phorcys and Ceto. Medusa was famed for her beauty and charm, which caused the sea god Poseidon (Neptune) to become enamored with her. She desecrated Athena's temple by lying with him there. In retribution, the outraged Athena turned Medusa's beautiful locks into snakes and made her face horrible to look upon.
Powers • The three Gorgons had a legendary gaze, capable of turning whoever looked upon them into stone. This power continued even after their heads were severed. However, Medusa was mortal, unlike her sisters Stheno and Euryale.
Death • Medusa's death came at the hand of Perseus. Perseus had to produce the head of Medusa to save his mother, Danae, from King Polydectes. Athena and Hermes aided Perseus by giving him winged sandals, a reflective shield and a curved sword. Using the shield as a mirror, Perseus was able to avoid Medusa's direct stare and severed her head with the sword. From her corpse came the winged horse Pegasus and the giant Chrysaor; her blood became snakes that populated Africa. After Medusa's beheading, her head was given to Athena, who incorporated it into her shield. Zeus and Athena both used Medusa's head as a protective pendant.
