What is Snakes and what are those types
Most snakes do not spend much of their time doing anything but resting. A snake’s primary activity is concerned with either thermoregulation or finding live food, which often involves passive waiting rather than active searching. The thermoregulation problem varies with latitude and altitude. The actions and reactions of a snake in temperate North America are distinct from those of one living in the American tropical lowlands but are similar to those of another living at higher altitudes in the Andes of Ecuador. No matter where they live, snakes are subjected to pressures from the living (biotic) parts of the environment as well as from the physical, nonliving (abiotic) parts. But the amount or degree of challenge to the snake from different segments of the environment changes drastically depending upon the region it inhabits. An individual living in the hot, humid tropics of Africa, with comparatively constant temperatures close to optimum throughout the year and ample moisture from both rainfall and the surroundings, faces environmental problems that are overwhelmingly biotic, involving competition with other members of its own species for food, the challenge from other species of snakes and perhaps other vertebrates for possession of the ecological niche, and constant pressure of the predators that find it a tasty morsel. On the other hand, the common adder, or European viper (Vipera berus), living north of the Arctic Circle in Europe, is the only snake present in the area and lives practically unchallenged in its niche. However, its survival is challenged continually by its physical environment, and death from overheating, freezing, or dehydration is a repetitive threat. These differences between animals from different parts of the world are reflected in their life histories, and it is neither possible nor legitimate to speak of the “life history of the snake” unless one speaks of only a single region or species.
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Snake
QUICK FACTS
RELATED TOPICS
Reptile
Brown tree snake
Rattlesnake
Water snake
Boa
Sea snake
Cat snake
Titanoboa
Cobra
King cobra
Dormant periods
In the tropics, life continues at approximately the same activity level throughout the year. The only break in the rhythm comes in the dry season—and this only when the dry season is not just a period of slightly less rainfall. At such times, snakes may enter a short period of dormancy, which is at least in part a consequence of the effect that the dry season has upon their prey. This dormant period is similar to hibernation in winter by temperate-area snakes, although little is known about physiological changes that may or may not take place in tropical dormancy. At higher latitudes and altitudes, during periods of maximum stress (which for most snakes are the cold months), the animals must seek out a place where they can be completely inactive and nonreactive, where their inability to respond to the stimulus of danger is compensated for by the absence of danger, and where the surrounding extremes of low temperature and low humidity remain within tolerable limits. Such places are few and far between, and good hibernacula (dens used for hibernation) are recognized over generations and are utilized year after year, with snakes of several different species often sharing a den. It is likely that snakes, like sea turtles, can migrate by using celestial or geomagnetic cues. Scent trails, most commonly laid down by females during the breeding season, are also used. Many of the changes that occur in the individual snake after arriving at the hibernaculum are direct results of its dependence upon the environment. As the body cools, the heartbeat and respiration slow almost to a stop, and there is no muscular activity, little digestion, and no defecation. Physiological changes that are not correlated with or responsive to the surroundings also take place, but not to a degree comparable to those occurring in a hibernating mammal, and there is no “alarm system” to stir the snake into activity if a tolerance limit is passed. In such a case, the snake simply dies.
At the end of the cold season, the snake is totally dependent upon the changes in its surroundings to bring it back to activity; it cannot rouse itself. The stimuli are felt by all almost simultaneously, and snakes emerge by the dozens or even by the hundreds from some denning places. In some species, copulation takes place immediately after enough of the sun’s rays have been absorbed to permit the development of an interest in the surroundings; in others, copulation is the final act before entering hibernation, and the sperm remain dormant in the hibernating female. Fertilization of the egg can take place immediately after copulation, but, in at least some species, the female can store the sperm for several years, using them to fertilize successive batches of eggs.
Interactions between individuals
Snakes in both tropical and temperate regions tend to be solitary in their habits. The denning and mating aggregations are, for the most part, the only social events of the season. Sea snakes (subfamily Hydrophiinae) differ in this respect, sometimes being seen traveling in large troops, which seems to indicate an urge to aggregate. Female sea snakes also congregate in large numbers in seawall caves at parturition time, but this may have no social significance, since it seems to be a consequence of availability of a safe place for the young to be born rather than aggregational behaviour per se. There is some tendency for females of certain species in temperate areas to use a single site for egg deposition. Hunting of food is strictly an individual act for snakes; there are no known instances of cooperative hunting, as seen in some mammal and bird species. Hiding places and basking sites are occasionally shared; this again is a consequence of availability, and in the tropics, where hiding places abound, it is rare to find more than one snake at a time under a log or a rock. Except for these few weak instances, there is no development of social behaviour in snake populations—no establishment of social hierarchies, no territoriality, and perhaps no dominance. While combat dance (see below) certainly establishes a dominant individual temporarily, there is no indication that awareness of this dominance is retained by either snake. A dominance that must be reestablished at every encounter does not contribute to a social structure.
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