The Ultimate Snake Trivia Quiz

Sometime during the late Jurassic period, the earliest forms of snakes evolved from lizards. It wasn’t until roughly 80 million years later, during the Paleocene period, however, that modern snakes appeared. This is the time period that fossils of the Titanoboa, a genus of snakes that regularly reached lengths of over 40 feet are dated to.

Considering the fact that there are very few terrestrial vertebrates living in Antarctica, it’s not surprising that snakes don’t make the cut! Snakes are found on every other continent, as well as on many islands. Sea snakes, which spend most or all of their time in water, can also be found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

The question of, "How can snakes hear?” has for a long time been a baffling one since the reptiles have neither external ears nor internal eardrums. In fact, many believed they could not hear at all, but according to recent research, a snake’s jawbone can pick up vibrations (a prey’s footsteps, for example) through the ground. These vibrations are sent to the inner ear and then transmitted to the brain.

Pythons, pit vipers and some species of boas have grooves on their snout known as pit organs. These organs help them to sense the radiant heat of nearby prey or predators up to a meter away!

Because they lack a diaphragm, snakes’ hearts can move around! This is helpful in making sure the heart doesn’t get damaged when large prey which the snake has swallowed is moving through the esophagus.

Keratin is the same substance found in human nails, as well as hair, wool, horns and claws of some other mammals. The keratin in snakes’ scales are of a harder variety, however, and is also found in reptile shells and bird beaks.

Shedding (a.k.a. molting) in snakes typically takes a week or two. Snake scales don’t shed one by one, but as a whole outer layer. Scales serve many purposes in snakes, from helping them to move to camouflage and moisture retention.

The scales found on a snake’s belly are known as ventral scales and aid in locomotion. They are longer than the scales on the rest of the snake’s body and are usually oblong in shape. Some tree-dwelling snakes can also use these scales to get a good grip on branches!

The scientific name for this kind of motion is lateral undulation. Most terrestrial movement of snakes is by lateral undulation, and it’s the only way snakes move underwater! The other 4 ways snakes move on land are: concertina, rectilinear, sidewinding and slide-pushing.

Gliding snakes (a.k.a. flying snakes) are of the genus Chrysopelea and “fly” from branch to branch. These snakes are no amateur flyers; some can glide through the air for hundreds of feet and even have the ability to turn in midair!

The are four species of the anaconda, all of which live in South America and all of which are aquatic, spending most of their time in water. They are also quite large and in fact, the species known as the green anaconda is the heaviest snake in the world. The green anaconda ranks second in terms of length, with only the reticulated python being longer than it.

By some estimates, less than 10 percent of all species of snakes are venomous. Among them, the inland or western taipan has the deadliest venom of any snake in the world. The king cobra, however, is the longest venomous snake and the saw-scaled viper is the one whose bite leads to the most deaths in humans.

Pythons and anacondas dominate the list of longest, largest and heaviest snakes in the world. The reticulated python, whose natural habitat is in South and Southeast Asia, takes the top spot as the longest snake in the world. It is also ranks third on the list of heaviest snakes.

The green anaconda, which is sometimes called the giant anaconda, is the heaviest snake in the world. It is a non-venomous constrictor which kills its prey by squeezing it to death. The green anaconda is aquatic and so is sometimes referred to by the name"water boa."

The Barbados threadsnake is both a type of blind snake and worm snake. It is the smallest snake in the world, with adult specimens growing to just over 4 inches in length. It is found in the eastern section of the small Caribbean island of Barbados, but is current listed as critically endangered due to loss of its forest habitat.

The black mamba is one of four known species of mamba snakes, all of which are native to the sub-Saharan region of Africa. Among the mambas, the black mamba is the most venomous as well as extremely fast. A black mamba is not typically black in color, getting its name, instead, from the color of the inside of its mouth –dark gray to almost black.

In a snake charming performance, it is the swaying motion of the snake charmer (and not the music he plays) which causes the snake to rise out of it basket. The snake is unaffected by the music, since snakes do not have external ears to hear it.

There are many myths and legends concerning snakes around the world. One of these is that snake are omniscient (or all-knowing). This belief comes from the fact that a snake’s eyes are always open since it has no eyelids.

The large number of snake species can be divided in several categories based on their characteristics, such as venomous and non-venomous. Snakes can also be categorized according to where they live, with terrestrial (on the ground), arboreal (in trees), aquatic (in water) and burrowing (in burrows), being the major groups.

The snake’s ability to open its mouth to as much as 150 degrees allows it to consume food much larger than its head. That food might be eggs swallowed shell and all; prey which has been killed by constriction or by venom; or live prey which is later killed inside the snake by its digestive processes.

Several species of snakes kill their prey by constriction – squeezing it so tightly that blood flow is cut off from the prey’s vital organs. Constrictors are usually non-venomous, such as pythons and anacondas, but there are some (mildly) venomous snakes, like the brown tree snake, which also use constriction.

Polycephaly (having more than one, usually two, heads) is not a condition unique to snakes – other animals, including humans, can be polycephalic. Snakes, however, exhibit the condition more than most other animals. Two-headed snakes tend to live longer in captivity than they do in the wild, and it is not uncommon for the two heads to attack each other.

Snakes and lizards share a common ancestry, and it is believed that the earliest snakes had, at least, a pair of hind legs. There is also a (disputed) snake fossil which shows both forelegs and hind legs. Scientists suggest that since the earliest snakes were burrowing animals, they “lost” their unneeded legs through the process of evolution.

Generally speaking, bigger snakes live longer in the wild than smaller snakes do. It is not uncommon for members of the boa family (anacondas and pythons, for example) to live up to 50 years. Medium sized snakes usually have a lifespan of 10 to 25 years and small snakes only live between 5 and 10 years in the wild.

The snake’s nose or nostrils are used for breathing, not smelling. Snakes use their moist, forked tongue to “smell” the scents carried in the air or in water, and on the ground. It is how they detect the presence of predators and prey in their environment.

Shedding of the skin in young snakes helps to accommodate the body’s rapid growth. As a result, a young snake may shed its skin as many as four times in a single year, whereas an older snake might shed just once annually. Furthermore, snakes do not shed their skins during periods of dormancy.

Snakes are usually called cold-blooded, ectothermic or poikilothermic. All of these terms refer to the fact that snakes rely on the environment to warm up their bodies and maintain a satisfactory internal temperature and metabolic activities. This is why snakes will spend some time each morning basking in the sunlight.

It is estimated that between 7,000 and 8,000 snakebites occur each year in the US. Of that large number, only about 5 turn out to be fatal and are mostly the result of bites from rattlesnakes. It is the copperhead snake, however, which accounts for most of the incidents of snakebites.

The inland taipan is native to the central-east areas of Australia. It is also called the western taipan or the fierce snake. It grows to about 5.5 feet in length and can inject enough venom in a single bite to kill a human within hours if medical treatment is not administered.

Snakes and lizards are classified together as squamates or scaled reptiles. In fact, snakes are descendants of lizards which through evolution have become elongated, and have lost their limbs, eyelids and external ears - among other changes. It must be noted that there are some species of especially burrowing lizards which are legless or which possess only one pair of legs.

While many people assume that any snake which bites is venomous, the estimates of the percentage of venomous snake species are usually between just 10 and 25 percent. Furthermore, venomous snakes will sometimes give “dry” bites, that is, bites in which no venom is injected into the victim.

The Kapuas mud snake is found on the island of Borneo in a protected area known as the Heart of Borneo. It is mildly venomous and has the ability to spontaneously change color – a skill which is highly unusual among snakes.

There is plenty of symbolism associated with snakes in Japanese culture. These include “protection” perhaps from the fact that snakes eat pests, such as mice. They also symbolize rebirth and health, in part due to their shedding of old skin for new. In general they are thought to represent good luck and in particular, financial fortune.

The fear of reptiles is known as herpetophobia while the fear of snakes, in particular, is known as ophidiophobia. One study which involved showing 6-month-old babies pictures of snakes and spiders mixed in with pictures of flowers and fish seems to suggest that humans have an innate fear of both snakes and spiders

The brahminy blind snake is a non-venomous burrowing snake. It is small, thin and colored purple, shiny silver gray or charcoal gray – characteristics which often lead people to mistake it for an earthworm. The brahminy blind snake is native to Africa and Asia, and holds the distinction of having an all-female population.