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Squamata (/ s k w æ ˈ m eɪ t ə /, Latin squamatus, 'scaly, having scales') is the largest order of reptiles, comprising lizards (including snakes).With over 12,162 species, [3] it is also the second-largest order of extant (living) vertebrates, after the perciform fish.
Snakes are elongated, limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (/ s ɜːr ˈ p ɛ n t iː z /). Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joints than their lizard ancestors, enabling them to swallow prey much larger than their ...
Many snakes are able to obtain their prey through constriction. This is done by first biting the prey, then coiling their body around the prey. The snake then tightens its grip as the prey struggles, which leads to suffocation. [33] Some snakes have fangs that produce venomous bites, which allows the snake to consume unconscious, or even dead ...
Snakes can be caring, cuddly companions, according to one Florida family. Socratis Christoforu has always had an appreciation for snakes, telling SWNS he started observing and catching the ...
Snake scales are not discrete, but extensions of the epidermis—hence they are not shed separately but as a complete outer layer during each molt, akin to a sock being turned inside out. [61] Snakes have a wide diversity of skin coloration patterns which are often related to behavior, such as the tendency to have to flee from predators.
Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν herpetón, meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (including snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodilians, and tuataras).
Snakes are fearsome creatures that you wouldn’t consider to be prey for other predators – but there are some animals that regularly dine on snakes! Birds of prey are able to drop down on ...
Alongside these groups, Mosasauria, an extinct group including large marine reptiles primarily known from the Late Cretaceous, has been placed as part of the group.It has often been supposed that mosasaurs are most closely related to snakes, with the group containing the two dubbed Pythonomorpha, however, other studies have quesitioned this, finding that the closest relatives of mosasaurs are ...