04.03.2020

What is the speed of the snake? The fastest snake in the world Average speed of movement of a poisonous snake

When something happens too quickly, we say that we didn’t even have time to blink an eye. A person blinks in 202 ms; a rattlesnake's throw lasts no more than 90 ms. For a long time Texas rattlesnake Crotalus atrox- the pride and favorite object of study of American biologists - was considered a champion in lightning speed of a throw. This opinion was formed back in the 19th century, although no one has bothered to check it since then. In 1954, the throwing speed of rattlesnakes was measured using high-speed photography and found to be somewhat lower than thought, but the primacy of these reptiles was still unchallenged until chance intervened.

Louisiana State University assistant professor Brad Moon tasked his graduate student David Penning with determining whether a snake's throwing speed depends on its size. The graduate student got to work (he was helped by student Baxter Souvel) and discovered an amazing thing: gray climbing snakes Pantherophis obsoletus, with whom young herpetologists worked, the throwing speed was no less than that of a rattlesnake. At first Penning decided he had made a mistake and checked his calculations many times. Having made sure that there was no mistake, the researchers began targeted experiments, in which, in addition to 14 predatory but non-poisonous snakes, representatives of the viper family took part: 6 water snakes Agkistrodon piscivorus and 12 Texas Rattlers ( Biology Letters, 2016, 20160011, doi:10.1098/rsbl.2016.0011 ).

For measurements, the reptile was placed in a terrarium with a scale grid, into which a soft-stuffed glove was inserted on a wooden rod. The snake attacked this glove, and the researchers filmed everything that happened on a video camera that took 250 frames per second. Each snake was forced to make four to eight throws. Based on the video recordings, we calculated the distance between the snake’s muzzle and the target before the attack, the duration of the throw, the maximum speed and acceleration. The calculation results are presented in the table. For comparison, the researchers added literary data about other representatives of the viper family. From the table it follows that the gray snake attacks faster than many poisonous snakes.

Snake Throw Parameters

View	Acceleration, m/s 2	Speed, m/s	Distance, cm	Duration, ms
Gray climbing snake Pantherophis obsoletus	191	2,7	17	75
Aquatic Cottonmouth Agkistrodon piscivorus	175	3,1	14	66
Texas rattlesnake Crotalus atrox	157	2,7	11	69
Noisy Viper Bitis arietans	72	2,6	21	87
Bothrops Bothrops sp.	-	1,23	12,6	81
Shendao Cottonmouth Gloydius shedaoensis	-	1,32	13	-
White-lipped keffiyeh Trimeresurus albolabris	62,1	1,52	12	85

All three species studied hunt small, nimble mammals and suffer from attacks by predators: raccoons, red-tailed hawks, foxes and coyotes are not averse to preying on snakes. To feed and survive, these snakes must act very quickly. It is not surprising that their throwing parameters are similar, only Texas rattlers attack from a closer range. The maximum speed values during the attack ranged from 2.1 to 3.53 m/s, and acceleration - from 98 to 279 m/s 2 .

If the snake misses, it does not pursue the prey; it is more profitable for it to bite the victim before it starts to run. It takes 14 to 151 ms for a mammal to activate skeletal muscle, and at least 60 to 395 ms to make a noticeable movement. The 50–90 ms that the snake spends on the throw should be enough for it to attack: the animal has not yet had time to really understand anything, but it has already been bitten. However, in natural conditions everything is more complicated than in an experimental terrarium, and snake hunting is not nearly as effective as theoretical calculations suggest. A snake or rattlesnake often has to rush at an animal that has already begun to move, and manages to overtake it thanks to the acceleration that the snake develops. It is the magnitude of this acceleration, and not the fact that the gray snake is not inferior in attack speed to rattlesnakes, that is of the greatest interest.

The maximum accelerations that the researchers observed during the experiments - 274 m/s 2 for the snake and 279 m/s 2 for the rattlesnake - are approximately an order of magnitude greater than the acceleration that the black-tailed hare develops in a jump, and 30% more than in the kangaroo rat, in which, perhaps, such a reaction was formed during evolution precisely under the threat of a snake attack.

It is not only the snake’s ability to accelerate so quickly that is amazing, but also its amazing endurance. People cannot withstand such overloads. Pilots of jet fighters taking off from aircraft carriers experience accelerations of 27–49 m/s 2 . Without a special suit, they lose consciousness at accelerations slightly above 50 m/s 2 . Even in a special anti-gravity suit, pilots cannot rise from a sitting position at an acceleration of 30 m/s 2 and are unable to move their limbs at 78 m/s 2 . Snakes do not have a spacesuit, their head is far enough from the heart, which makes blood supply difficult; with such an acceleration, the blood flow to the brain can stop completely, but the snake is obviously saved by the short duration of the throw.

IN last years snake attacks have attracted the attention of many researchers. They find out which muscle activity allows fairly heavy snakes to rush at a target with such speed, how rapid braking at the end of an attack and the inevitable collision with the victim affects them. It turned out, by the way, that the speed of a throw determines a lot, but not everything. It is also important to attack from a certain angle and close your mouth in time ( Journal of Experimental Zoology A, 2005, 303A, 476–488, doi:10.1002/jez.a.179 ). The aquatic muzzle, which leads a semi-aquatic lifestyle and hunts both fish and small rodents, operates more successfully on land, although the attack speed in both environments is the same - the maximum acceleration reached approximately 75 m/s 2 . The difference is that on the ground, when attacking, a snake raises its head much higher, opens its mouth wider and slams it shut faster.

Snakes after all amazing creatures. It turns out we haven't studied them very well. Some will be more interested in the behavioral features that made snakes such successful hunters, while others will be more interested in their ability to withstand monstrous overloads without visible consequences.

Ecology

The animal world has its own champions.

Find out the answers to the questions about who flies, swims, runs or crawls the fastest in the animal world.

Here you can learn about the fastest representatives of their kind in the animal world.

The fastest bird is the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus)

This bird of prey from the falcon family, can be seen on almost all continents, with the exception of Antarctica.

In nature, there are about 17 subspecies of peregrine falcons.

On our planet this is not only the most fast bird, but also the fastest living creature.

According to experts, in a fast diving flight, a peregrine falcon can reach speeds of up to 322 km/h.

But it is worth noting that in horizontal flight the peregrine falcon yields first place to the swift, whose horizontal flight speed can reach 111 km/h.

Fastest horse - English racehorses

On this moment These purebred riding horses are considered the fastest. If you choose a specific representative, then the fastest one is the purebred stallion Beach Rackit.

He was able to set an absolute record among domestic breeds. During a race in Mexico over a distance of 409.26 meters, Beach achieved maximum speed equal to 69.69 km/h. In general, the average speed of English racehorses is 60 km/h.

The fastest fish is the sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus)

This sea fish from the order Perciformes, lives in all oceans of the Earth, preferring tropical, subtropical and temperate waters.

It is worth noting that the sailboat is an active predator and is capable of reaching speeds of up to 100 km/h.

During experiments at the Long Key fishing camp, Florida, USA, this fish was able to swim 91 meters in 3 seconds, which is equal to a speed of 109 km/h.

The fastest animal (land animal) is the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)

The cheetah is the fastest land animal. It differs from other cats in that it does not hunt prey, sitting in ambush, preferring to pursue it.

First, the cheetah approaches its prey at a distance of about 10 meters, without particularly trying to be secretive, and then tries to catch potential prey in a short race. During the race, he can reach speeds of up to 110-115 km/h, while reaching a speed of 75 km/h in 2 seconds. It is also worth noting that the cheetah runs in jumps 6-8 meters long.

The fastest dog is the Greyhound

In general, opinions about which dog is the fastest are divided. Some say that this is an English hunting greyhound that boasts very fast running over short distances, which gives them the ability to catch a hare.

If we talk about the wild dog, then it capable of reaching speeds of up to 55 km/h and chasing its prey to the point of complete exhaustion.

And yet officially, the most high speed among dogs was recorded on March 5, 1994 in Australia, when a greyhound named Star Title was able to accelerate to 67.32 km/h.

The fastest cat is the Egyptian Mau

This short-haired, medium-sized cat breed boasts high-energy cats that love movement and play. That's why Egyptian Mau has a flexible and muscular shape.

In Egyptian, "mau" means "cat". This cat can reach speeds of up to 58 km/h. In addition, Mau have excellent vision, hearing and smell.

The fastest snake is the mamba

The officially recorded speed of this snake is 11.3 km/h, and that's on the ground. In the branches, the mamba is even faster.

In addition, it is one of the most poisonous snakes on Earth, and in Africa there is no other snake that is as feared as the mamba.

The fastest turtle is the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)

Among reptiles, this is the fastest - in water it can reach a speed of 35 km/h.

Such a turtle weighs 450 kg, and its body length can vary from 1.8 to 2.1 meters.

However, in 1988, a male leatherback turtle was found in Harlech, UK, measuring 2.91 meters in length and weighing 961.1 kg.

The fastest insect

In this case, it is worth dividing into speed on the ground and in the air. The fastest insect on earth is the American cockroach. Its speed reaches 5.4 km/h. It is worth noting that in 1 second he is able to run a distance that is 50 times the length own body. Compared to a human, this corresponds to a speed of approximately 330 km/h.

The insect that holds the record in the air is the dragonfly, namely Austrophlebia costalis, which can reach speeds of up to 52 km/h in flight. Since they exist different ways speed measurements, experts cannot definitely say who is faster, dividing between dragonflies, hawk moths and horse flies.

The snake attacks so quickly that it manages to bite its victim four times in a split second. If a person moved with the same acceleration, he would simply lose consciousness.

The Texas rattlesnake, lurking among the sands and meadows of southern California (USA), is one of the most patient predators in the world.

These snakes typically spend their lives alone, lying in wait for their next meal.

They can wait a long time. If necessary, they can go without food for up to two years, but as soon as they get the chance, they become one of the most dangerous and skillful hunters on the planet.

And, like all snakes, their main weapon is not size or strength, but speed.

According to a study published in March 2016, a snake bite takes between 44 and 70 milliseconds.

For clarity, it takes a person about 200 milliseconds to blink. It turns out that during this time a particularly ruthless snake is capable of biting him as many as four times.

This is an almost unimaginable speed: it turns out that snakes bite much faster than we can move.

In fact, if we moved as fast as snakes, we would simply faint.

“In most cases, potential prey has no chance of surviving,” says David Penning, an employee at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (USA).

He spent several months observing rattlers, as well as a wide variety of venomous and harmless snakes, using a high-speed camera.

"These predators are able to reach their target and strike before the prey even realizes it is under attack."

It's not just rattlers that can move that fast. The total number of snake species on the planet is estimated at 3.5 thousand - from tiny vipers to huge pythons - but very few of them have been studied.

However, even if we take only those species that have already been studied, it is obvious that very many are capable of developing such amazing acceleration.

This is due to the unique physiology of snakes, which has been perfected over millions of years.

Firstly, snakes are extremely muscular. While the human body has 700-800 muscles, snakes - even the smallest ones - have from 10 to 15 thousand.

How this abundance of muscles allows the snake to move at such breakneck speeds is still unknown.

Some people believe that they compress and accumulate energy to throw, and then straighten out like a spring.

However, snakes have even more interesting feature, which baffles scientists.

Because these reptiles attack at such speed, enormous forces are applied to their bodies - ones that would completely immobilize almost any animal.

Penning discovered that at the moment of throwing the snake experiences a force 30 times greater than the force of gravity.

At the same time, the most trained fighter pilots feel that their arms and legs stop obeying them even under an overload that is 8 times greater than the force of gravity, when performing rapid stunts in the air.

Under 10 times overload more power attraction, they quickly lose consciousness.

“It is known that chameleons and some salamanders, when attacked, rapidly extend their tongue towards the prey, and the acceleration in this case can be much greater than that of a stinging snake,” explains Penning. “However, the main difference is that in this case only the tongue moves, not the brain."

The brain is simply not able to withstand high acceleration.

"The brain is an incredibly delicate organ that is hypersensitive to acceleration and impact," says Penning. "That's why American football players wear helmets and why concussions are considered serious injuries."

When a fighter pilot is exposed to high acceleration, blood flows to the legs, depriving the brain of vital oxygen.

If this happens too quickly, the blood does not have time to return back to the brain, and the person loses consciousness.

However, snakes manage to cope with this difficulty and maintain complete control over the situation, while moving with much greater acceleration and striking their prey with crushing force. This is partly due to the structure of the snake's skull.

“The snake’s skull is incredibly dynamic and flexible,” says Penning. “Having so many different joints gives the snake flexibility and maneuverability.”

Penning believes the difference is the same as "hitting a bag or hitting a brick wall."

According to him, “the wall stands still and takes the entire blow, and the bag moves, as if distributing the shock.”

Scientists are now trying to figure out how the skeleton and nervous system snakes.

They are going to use the knowledge gained to protect a person in situations where his body is subjected to a large overload.

The idea that studying snake attack tactics will help us design cars that better protect people from impact may seem funny. But it is much closer to reality than one might expect.

"We're now trying to figure out exactly what happens when a snake strikes its prey," Penning said.

“Snakes are able to extend their heads, freeze, immediately shift into a defensive position, and then repeat these movements over and over again.”

“The question is what helps them endure such stress relatively painlessly, and whether their secret can be used in the future for the benefit of humanity,” he concludes.

Tags:

MOSCOW, January 13 - RIA Novosti. For the first time, biologists have accurately measured the speed at which a viper or rattlesnake throws out its head and bites its prey. The snake accelerates to 100 kilometers per hour in just 79 milliseconds, according to Scientific Reports magazine.

“In nature, all encounters between predators and prey are unique - they are much more diverse than what we can see when they interact in the laboratory. Modern technologies"allowed us to understand what determines a successful hunt or escape from a predator, and move closer to uncovering the evolutionary factors that drive predators and their prey," said Timothy Higham from the University of California, Riverside.

Since the Middle Ages and even earlier eras of the viper, rattlesnakes and other representatives family Viperidae are considered a symbol of lightning-fast reaction, ultra-high speed and almost guaranteed accuracy of the victim's attack.

All these snakes hunt small mammals and reptiles from ambush, jumping out at great speed, opening their mouths 180 degrees and literally “driving” their fangs into the flesh of the victim. Higham and his colleagues decided to study this process in detail by traveling to the Mojave Desert in the southwestern United States, where rattlesnakes live in abundance.

Scientist: a chameleon's tongue accelerates to “hundreds” in a hundredth of a secondThe tongue of microchameleons turned out to be one of the fastest and most powerful objects in the living world - it accelerates to 100 km per hour in a hundredth of a second, survives overloads of 260 free fall accelerations and produces approximately 14 kilowatts of energy per kilogram of mass.

Having placed camera traps, the scientists connected them to a computer and centrally monitored the hunting of snakes, whose favorite prey are American kangaroo jumpers (Dipodomys merriami) - large rodents similar to jerboas and moving along the sand in the same “jumping” manner.

To photograph the snakes, scientists used high-speed infrared cameras capable of receiving 500 frames per second in three-dimensional format, as well as special thermal “illumination” systems.

Observations immediately dispelled one of the myths: it turned out that snakes quite often miss, flying over or not reaching the rodent, especially if it managed to notice the predator at the last moment. On the other hand, it turned out that snakes actually move very fast.

Scientists have dispelled the myth about the existence of “singing” vipers in AmericaMythical “singing” vipers, the existence of which is often talked about by residents Latin America, in fact are tree frogs croaking inside the hollows in the trees.

On average, a snake bites a rodent within 60-70 milliseconds after it comes within the throwing radius. During this time, the snake's head flies about 12-16 centimeters, moving at a speed of three and a half meters per second and accelerating its movement by 170-506 meters per second per second. This corresponds to a g-force of 50g - the maximum a person can experience - and is approximately the same speed as the deployment of an airbag in a car.

Despite such impressive speeds and acceleration, the hunt of snakes for rodents ended in success only in half of the cases - in the rest, the jumpers managed to react to the snake’s throw and escape using the muscular “springs” in their legs. In some cases, even this was not required, since the snake made a mistake in calculating the “ballistics” of the throw and missed.

As Higham explains, an evolutionary "arms race" forced jumpers to learn to store energy in the tendons and release it sharply in critical situations. When a snake lunges at a rodent, it quickly jumps up greater height, and the viper flies through the place where he stood 30 milliseconds ago.

The snake attacks so quickly that it manages to bite its victim four times in a split second. If a person moved with the same acceleration, he would simply lose consciousness.

The Texas rattlesnake, lurking among the sands and meadows of southern California (USA), is one of the most patient predators in the world.

These snakes typically spend their lives alone, lying in wait for their next meal.

They can wait a long time. If necessary, they can go without food for up to two years, but as soon as they get the chance, they become one of the most dangerous and skillful hunters on the planet.

And, like all snakes, their main weapon is not size or strength, but speed.

For clarity, it takes a person about 200 milliseconds to blink. It turns out that during this time a particularly ruthless snake is capable of biting him as many as four times.

This is an almost unimaginable speed: it turns out that snakes bite much faster than we can move.

In fact, if we moved as fast as snakes, we would simply faint.

“In most cases, potential prey has no chance of surviving,” says David Penning, an employee at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (USA).

He spent several months observing rattlers, as well as a wide variety of venomous and harmless snakes, using a high-speed camera.

"These predators are able to reach their target and strike before the prey even realizes it is under attack."

However, even if we take only those species that have already been studied, it is obvious that very many are capable of developing such amazing acceleration.

This is due to the unique physiology of snakes, which has been perfected over millions of years.

Firstly, snakes are extremely muscular. While the human body has 700-800 muscles, snakes - even the smallest ones - have from 10 to 15 thousand.

How this abundance of muscles allows the snake to move at such breakneck speeds is still unknown.

Some people believe that they compress and accumulate energy to throw, and then straighten out like a spring.

However, snakes have an even more interesting feature that baffles scientists.

Because these reptiles attack at such speed, enormous forces are applied to their bodies - ones that would completely immobilize almost any animal.

Penning discovered that at the moment of throwing the snake experiences a force 30 times greater than the force of gravity.

Under the influence of an overload of 10 times the force of gravity, they quickly lose consciousness.

The brain is simply not able to withstand high acceleration.

When a fighter pilot is exposed to high acceleration, blood flows to the legs, depriving the brain of vital oxygen.

If this happens too quickly, the blood does not have time to return back to the brain, and the person loses consciousness.

“The snake’s skull is incredibly dynamic and flexible,” says Penning. “Having so many different joints gives the snake flexibility and maneuverability.”

Penning believes the difference is the same as "hitting a bag or hitting a brick wall."

According to him, “the wall stands still and takes the entire blow, and the bag moves, as if distributing the shock.”

Scientists are now trying to figure out how the snake's skeleton and nervous system behave in such extreme circumstances.

They are going to use the knowledge gained to protect a person in situations where his body is subjected to a large overload.

The idea that studying snake attack tactics will help us design cars that better protect people from impact may seem funny. But it is much closer to reality than one might expect.

"We're now trying to figure out exactly what happens when a snake strikes its prey," Penning said.

“Snakes are able to extend their heads, freeze, immediately shift into a defensive position, and then repeat these movements over and over again.”

“The question is what helps them endure such stress relatively painlessly, and whether their secret can be used in the future for the benefit of humanity,” he concludes.

Tags: snake interesting nature speed swiftness

Comments:

oppps.ru

The fastest snake - 24SMI

In this material, the most fast snake on the planet - a black mamba. We will tell you about the places where the snake lives, what speed it develops, and what size it has. Also, do not forget that, in addition to its speed skills, the black mamba has a real predator instinct, which helped it adapt to almost any habitat. The black mamba is also one of the most poisonous and deadly snakes, which the inhabitants of Africa fear like fire.

The snake got its terrifying name because of its mouth cavity, which is completely covered in black. The rest of the snake's body is colored yellow-green or metallic gray tones.

Meeting a black mamba is not at all difficult if you are an inhabitant of the southeastern part of Africa. The black mamba is found throughout almost the entire territory of southeast Africa, except Namibia and South Africa. Because of its innate survival instincts, the black mamba has been able to adapt to all kinds of climate conditions. Its favorite habitats are savannas, forests, rocks and even swamps.

Most of the land in Africa is occupied by areas devoted to Agriculture, therefore the black mamba is often found in ordinary fields and is not at all afraid of people. The snake is even able to climb to the very top of the reeds to bask in the sun after a cold night.

Therefore, it is not surprising that most attacks on humans by black mamba occur in rural areas. Frequent cases The attacks are due to the fact that most of even the largest fields in Africa are still processed manually. On average, about 20 thousand people die from the bite of a black mamba in southeast africa. Moreover, the largest number of victims occurred due to the banal stupidity of people who thought that catching and killing a black mamba would not be difficult.

The black mamba is the fastest snake in the world, capable of reaching speeds of up to 25 km/h (about 6.5 meters per second). As you may have guessed, to escape from a snake you will have to work hard. But often the black mamba does not use its speed for pursuits, because it mainly hunts, sitting deep in ambush and hiding. The snake needs such a high speed of movement in space in order to escape from various threats. After all, somehow only a snake senses even the slightest threat to its life; it immediately retreats several hundred meters.

2.5 meters is the average length of a black mamba. Less commonly, you can find longer specimens, the length of which can reach 4.5 meters.

The most terrible enemy of the black mamba is the mongoose. Not only are these cute animals quite agile and love to feast on snakes, but they are also not affected by the venom of the black mamba. Therefore, snakes are a favorite delicacy of mongooses. But, it’s true, mongooses mostly kill young and inexperienced snakes, while they prefer to interact with adult representatives much less often. But then wild boars They are quite brave and prefer to fry both of them.

The black mamba is aggressive not only during the hunt, but can also attack for no particular reason. When attacking, the mamba rests its entire body on the tip of its tail, thereby the front part of its body to make a lightning-fast throw in the direction of the chosen victim. To dodge such an attack, you must either have the same incredible reaction, or simply be born with a shirt on.

Mamba venom is extremely toxic. It contains neurotoxins, cardiotoxins, dendrotoxins and muscarinic cholinergic receptor blockers. In just one bite, a snake can inject 100 to 150 mg. poison, while the lethal dose for humans is approximately 10 mg. To put it simply, if the antidote is not administered in the first minute after the bite and the victim is not provided with the necessary medical care, then he cannot avoid death.

You can hear a lot of horror stories and legends about the black mamba, but real cases featuring this snake in leading role, much more terrifying. For example, one day a black mamba managed to get through a chimney into a hut in which seven people were calmly resting after a hard day at work. Perhaps the people would have been able to escape if one of them had not stepped on the snake’s tail. Defending itself and fleeing the threat, the snake bit everyone in the hut several times. The irony is that in the dark room the snake was not even visible, and people could not understand who was biting them.

Despite its “cold-bloodedness,” the black mamba still prefers to avoid direct contact with people, and most often attacks to protect itself.

Unfortunately, an antidote for black mamba bites is not yet widely available. Therefore, there are still a lot of deaths from snake bites every year. But at least now there's a possibility fatal outcome does not constitute a 100% guarantee, as was previously the case before the advent of the vaccine.

24smi.org

Record-breaking snakes: the very best | Let's sit and talk

The Year of the Snake is approaching eastern horoscope, and why not dedicate today’s post to him? Let's sit and talk about what types of these mysterious animals exist on our planet, what conditions they live in, what they eat, how they reproduce. There are many varieties of them, some live underground, others under water. Some are poisonous, others are not, of various colors and sizes, viviparous and those that lay eggs.

But today let’s remember the record-breaking snakes: the very best.

The longest snake is the anaconda boa constrictor. It lives in the swampy banks of the Amazon and feeds on fish, small animals and birds. The maximum length of the boa constrictor that was recorded reached 11.43 m; it was this “snake” that was included in the Guinness Book of Records.

And in Egypt, during excavations, the remains of an ancient snake were found - the Giant African python, its estimated length was 11.8 m.

And only recently, in 2002, a reticulated python was found on the island of Sumatra, its length was 14.85 m and its weight was 447 kg. Now he lives in a menagerie on the island. Java is proudly called Guihua.

The most big snake, which lives in captivity, is currently in the terrarium of the New York Zoological Society, this is a Giant (green) anaconda, 9 m long and weighing 130 kg.

The largest venomous snake is the king cobra, it lives in India and Indochina. The length of these reptiles can reach up to 5.5 meters. They very often live near humans, the reason for which was deforestation tropical forests. Cobra, oddly enough, feeds on other types of snakes. There are times when she can attack them when they are already hunting prey.

The smallest snake is the Brahmin blind snake or blind snake (more like a well-fed earthworm), lives on the island of Nosy Be, near Madagascar.

The length of this little one is only 10 cm. This snake shares primacy with the two-lined narrow-mouthed snakes. It can only be found on the islands of Martinique, Santa Lucia and Barbados in the Caribbean Sea. The “shortest” snake of this species had a length of 108 millimeters.

The shortest venomous snake is the African viper. It lives on the coast of Namibia in sand dunes. Its length is on average 20-23 cm. It has a very unusual way When hunting, the snake buries itself in the sand, with only its eyes and the tip of its tail sticking out, which serves as bait. These reptiles obtain the necessary moisture from their victims. They also lick condensation off themselves, which allows them to survive in such harsh conditions without water.

The thinnest snake is the common belt snake. Its length is 2 meters, while its thickness is 1-2 cm. The snake looks quite unusual - the head is much larger than the body. They live exclusively in trees and feed on snails and slugs. Their hunting weapons - sharpened fangs - are safe for humans.

The fastest snake on the planet is the black mamba, which lives in Africa. It is almost impossible to escape from this snake; its speed is on average 11 kilometers per hour, and on flat terrain, with short throws, the speed can reach 16-19 km/h.

In addition, the black mamba has earned the title of the most poisonous land snake on the planet, sharing it with the Taipan, whose bites kill 80% of victims (and one dose of its venom can kill 100 people).

The most a large number of The king cobra secretes 6 ml of venom at a time.

The most poisonous sea snake is the Belcher's sea snake. With one bite, the poison released can cause death in 250 thousand mice.

The most accurate snake on the planet is the ringal. She lives in South Africa and India. She can spit poison at her victim from a distance of 5 meters, and she aims at the victim's eyes. Another snake that “shoots” venom over long distances is the African spitting cobra; its spit flies 2-3 meters.

The most common snake is the common viper, which, moreover, is not afraid of cold weather.

This snake is the only one that can be found in the north (even beyond the Arctic Circle).

The oldest snake is considered to be a common boa constrictor named Popeia (Popeye), he died at the Philadelphia Zoo on April 15, 1977. and lived 40 years and 3.5 months.

The longest-starving snake, the Habu viper snake, lived without food for 3 years and 3 months (almost like in a fairy tale, only a very sad one).

There are also types of snakes that can be called “flying” - these are tree snakes. They live in the tropics and are amazingly clever at maneuvering between trees and can even go around them. The S-shape gives them this ability, and they seem to glide through the air.

There is a snake on our planet with the highest ability for thermoregulation - this is the hieroglyphic python, it lives throughout Africa. The female wraps her body around the eggs in a spiral, and the female’s body temperature becomes 7 degrees higher than environment.

And the absolute record, which applies to all snakes, is the number of vertebrae. Snakes are the vertebrates that have the maximum number of vertebrae – up to 435.

In conclusion, I would like to say that no matter what the snake is, small or large, poisonous or not, it must be treated with respect and caution.

P.S. The frightening ability of some snakes to absorb prey significantly larger than their own size. See photo.

posidim-pogovorim.ru

(updated: 17:49 01/13/2017)

MOSCOW, January 13 – RIA Novosti. For the first time, biologists have accurately measured the speed at which a viper or rattlesnake throws out its head and bites its prey. The snake accelerates to 100 kilometers per hour in just 79 milliseconds, according to Scientific Reports magazine.

"In nature, all encounters between predators and prey are unique - they are much more varied than what we can see when they interact in the laboratory. Modern technology has allowed us to understand what exactly determines a successful hunt or escape from a predator, and to get closer to uncovering evolutionary factors , driving predators and their prey," said Timothy Higham from the University of California, Riverside.

Since the Middle Ages and even earlier eras, vipers, rattlesnakes and other representatives of the Viperidae family have been considered a symbol of lightning-fast reaction, ultra-high speed and almost guaranteed accuracy of attack on the victim.

Scientist: a chameleon's tongue accelerates to “hundreds” in a hundredth of a second

To photograph the snakes, scientists used high-speed infrared cameras capable of receiving 500 frames per second in three-dimensional format, as well as special thermal “illumination” systems.

Scientists have dispelled the myth about the existence of “singing” vipers in America

On average, a snake bites a rodent within 60-70 milliseconds after it comes within the throwing radius. During this time, the snake's head flies about 12-16 centimeters, moving at a speed of three and a half meters per second and accelerating its movement by 170-506 meters per second per second. This corresponds to a g-force of 50g - the maximum a person can experience - and is approximately equal to the speed at which an airbag in a car deploys.

As Higham explains, an evolutionary "arms race" forced jumpers to learn to store energy in their tendons and release it sharply in critical situations. When the snake lunges at the rodent, it quickly jumps to a great height, and the viper flies through the place where it stood 30 milliseconds ago.

The ancestors of snakes had four legs and lived in burrows, scientists have found.

In the near future, the authors of the article plan to conduct similar experiments with the participation of other vipers and rodents, which will show whether the rattlesnake is the record holder for speed of movement and acceleration, or whether it has worthy competitors among its relatives.

ria.ru

Here is a black mamba - the fastest snake in the world. Its movement speed reaches 23 kilometers per hour or 6.4 m per second, but only over short distances. True, the reptile uses its speed more often to escape from enemies, since it hunts while sitting in ambush, waiting for its prey.

Mamba is found from Senegal to South West Africa. Lives on the ground among bushes and grass. It crawls onto trees extremely rarely, as it is poorly adapted to life on them. At the same time, it often settles in fields among deep thickets. Since the lands are often cultivated by workers, and even manually, they are attacked by a snake. Almost no one survives.

The average length is 2.5-3 m, although sometimes specimens up to 4.5 m long are found in nature. Young animals are greenish in color, while adults are painted black or Brown color, the abdomen is white or light brown. It is famous for its aggressive character - it usually attacks first. Leaning on its tail, it raises the front part of its body and makes an instant throw towards its victim, immediately inflicting a bite.

Snake venom is incredibly toxic. Contains dendrotoxins, cardiotoxins, neurotoxins, voltage-gated potassium channel blockers nerve fibers and muscarinic cholinergic receptor blockers. In one bite it injects about 100-150 mg of poison, into in rare cases- up to 400 mg. Moreover, the lethal dose for humans is only 10-15 mg, and for an animal it is even less. If the antidote is not administered within the first minute, the likelihood fatal outcome can reach 100 percent.

samie-samie.ru

Fast news today

For the first time, biologists have accurately measured the speed at which an adder or rattlesnake throws out its head and bites its prey, finding that the snake accelerates to 60 mph in just 79 milliseconds, according to a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports.

“In nature, all encounters between predators and prey are unique - they are much more diverse than what we can see when they interact in the laboratory. Modern technology has allowed us to understand what determines a successful hunt or escape from a predator, and to get closer to uncovering the evolutionary factors that drive predators and their prey,” said Timothy Higham from the University of California, Riverside (USA).

Since the Middle Ages and even earlier eras of human existence, vipers, rattlesnakes and other representatives of the viper family (Viperidae) have been considered a symbol of lightning-fast reactions, ultra-high speed and almost guaranteed accuracy of hitting the victim.

All these snakes hunt small mammals and reptiles from ambush, jumping out at them with great speed, opening their mouths 180 degrees and literally “driving” their fangs into the flesh of the victim. Higham and his colleagues decided to study this process in detail by traveling to the Mojave Desert in the southwestern United States, where the famous rattlesnakes live.

Having placed camera traps throughout the desert, scientists connected them to a computer and centrally monitored the movements and hunting of snakes, the favorite prey of which are American kangaroo jumpers (Dipodomys merriami) - large rodents similar to jerboas, moving along the desert sands in a similar “jumping” manner.

To photograph the snakes, scientists used high-speed infrared cameras capable of receiving 500 frames per second in three-dimensional format, as well as special thermal “illumination” systems. When the snake began to hunt, the computer alerted Higham and his team, and the scientists began to “manually” monitor how the vipers tried to catch the jumpers. Scientists have made it easier for snakes by scattering plant seeds around them that their victims eat.

These observations dispelled one of the myths associated with vipers - it turned out that they quite often miss, flying over or missing the rodent, especially if he managed to notice the predator at the last moment before the rattlesnake leaps. On the other hand, it turned out that vipers really move very quickly and bite with enormous power.

On average, a snake strikes a rodent within 60-70 milliseconds after the jumper enters the strike radius. During this time, the snake's head flies about 12-16 centimeters, moving at a speed of 3.5 meters per second and accelerating its movement by 170-506 meters per second squared. This equates to 50g of force, the maximum a person can experience, and is about the same rate as how fast airbags in a car are deployed.

Despite such impressive speeds and acceleration, the snake’s hunt for rodents ended in success only in half of the cases - in 50% of cases, the jumpers managed to react to the snake’s jump and escape using peculiar “springs” in their legs. In some cases, this was not even necessary, since the snake made a mistake in calculating the “ballistics” of the jump and did not reach the jumper.

As Higham explains, an evolutionary "arms race" forced jumpers to learn to store potential energy in their tendons and release it in critical situations. When a snake jumps on a rodent, the jumper suddenly jumps up to a great height, and the viper flies through the place where it was standing 30 milliseconds ago.

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What is the most dangerous snake on the planet?

In fact, all snakes begin hunting from the first minutes of life. Having hatched, young snakes immediately go hunting... And the fastest and also one of the most poisonous snakes is the mamba, the terrible snake of Africa. Neither cobras nor vipers are feared here as much as these thin-bodied tree snakes; there have been cases when people died 20-30 minutes after its bite. Ordinary venomous snakes crawl at a speed of about 1 km per hour. The mamba has a simply dizzying speed for a snake, recorded by a stopwatch - 11.3 km per hour! But to the question of which snake is the most dangerous in the world, there is no definite answer. The most poisonous snakes in the world - Australian tiger snake, taipan, deadly snake, king cobra, African mamba, American rattlesnake, cascavella and some sea snakes. Laboratory experiments and tropical everyday life convince us of this: 50-80% of those bitten by these snakes die if medical care is not provided. When biting an ordinary viper - only 5 - 8%, and our most poisonous snakes, viper and cobra - 10-20%. But snakes with highly toxic venom are not always the most dangerous. Here it is also necessary to take into account the dose of injected poison, the depth of penetration of the poisonous teeth (whether they bite through clothes or shoes), whether the snake is aggressive, or in a hurry to crawl away, bites immediately or with warning, how well its color camouflages, whether it is active during the day or at night, as is often the case. . . For example, boomslang venom is five times more toxic than cobra venom, but the poisonous teeth are hidden deep in the mouth, so the chance poisonous bite decreases. Sea snakes would be very dangerous if it were not for a small dose of venom, short teeth and a peaceful disposition (they bite reluctantly, like bungars, cobras, Gaboon and noisy vipers). The bushmaster has long teeth (up to 4 cm!) and a decent dose of poison, and the poison is powerful, but this snake is extremely rare, even in the Amazon River valley, where its main habitats are. But the jararaka, the most numerous snake in Brazil, is responsible for up to 90% of all snake bites in this country, but its venom is quite weak. There are 410 species of venomous snakes on earth, which is more than 1/6 of all snakes in general! Among them are marine species - 49 species, vipers - 58 species. There are 122 species of pitheads (here are our copperheads, jararaks, bushmasters and rattlesnakes). Aspids (cobras, mambas, taipans, tiger and death snakes) - 181 species. And two types of African cobras - the collared and black-necked - can spit! The spit, of course, is poisoned, it contains 4 mg of poison. It flies out of the holes of the poisonous teeth and flies 2-3 meters. There can be a whole line of 30 spits in a row! Usually the cobra aims at the eye of an approaching person or animal. It hits right. True, sometimes he shoots poison by mistake at shiny buttons, buckles, watches... :)

digger worm

My neighbor from the floor, damn it!

Black Mamba ( Dendroaspis polylepis) - one of the most dangerous, fast and fearless snakes in Africa. It belongs to the genus mambas (Dendroaspis), which is Latin for “tree snake”. The black mamba is the holder of first place in the speed of movement among snakes; at short distances it reaches speeds of up to 20 km/h. It also has the strongest neurotoxic poison and is one of the twenty most poisonous snakes on the planet. Due to its bad character and full use of its physical capabilities, the black mamba is not kept in the collections of terrariumists, although perhaps there are fearless people who keep this snake at home. The black mamba can be found in the zoo's terrariums. Experts consider these snakes to be interesting to study and observe.

Taipan or Fierce Snake Distribution: Central Australia Habitat: Inhabits dry plains and fields. Food: Eats small mammals and frogs. The strength of the poison is such that in one bite it can kill about 100 adults or 250,000 thousand mice. Maximum dose (per bite) 100 mg.

King Cobra

green mamba... it's more dangerous than black...

It's called MOTHER-IN-LAY

The most dangerous ANACONDA

Australia lives the MOST POISONOUS SNAKE ON EARTH!! ! Here it is, the Taipan or coastal taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus) and the Fierce (ferocious) snake (Oxyuranus microlepidotus). The dimensions of the taipan are very impressive - up to 3-3.5 m, and the poisonous teeth are more than a centimeter long. In terms of quantity and strength of venom, the taipan surpasses all snakes in Australia; a horse dies from its bite within a few minutes, and several known cases of people being bitten by a taipan invariably ended in their death. The taipan is very aggressive: at the sight of danger, it curls up, flattens its body, vibrates the end of its tail and, raising the front of its body high, makes several lunges in the direction of the enemy. Unlike other snakes, which crawl away after biting the victim, the taipan clings to the victim and bites it repeatedly, injecting venom. Very often, it does this so quickly that victims do not even have time to react before being bitten several times. Most of the venom enters the victim's body during the first bite. The strength of the poison is such that in one bite it can kill about 100 adults or 250,000 thousand mice. Maximum dose (per bite) 100 mg. A person bitten by a taipan can die in just a few minutes; Thus, in the state of Queensland, where taipan bites are most often recorded, every second person bitten dies. The venom glands of the taipan contain an average of 120 mg of poison; maximum - 400 mg. Taipan venom has predominantly neurotoxic (respiratory paralysis) and coagulopathic (impairs blood clotting) effects. Before the development of an antidote to it (in 1955), more than 90% of cases died from a taipan bite