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Ophidiophobia (/ ə ˌ f ɪ d i oʊ ˈ f oʊ b i ə /), or ophiophobia (/ ˌ oʊ f i oʊ ˈ f oʊ b i ə /), is fear of snakes. It is sometimes called by the more general term herpetophobia, fear of reptiles. The word comes from the Greek words "ophis" (ὄφις), snake, and "phobia" (φοβία) meaning fear. [1]
Many empirical studies have found evidence for the theory. Primates, including humans, are able to quickly detect snakes. [6] [7] Some studies have found that humans can detect snake images before subjective visual perception. [8] However, the pre-conscious detection of snake stimuli is still under debate by the scientific community. [9]
Herpetophobia [1] is a common specific phobia, which consists of fear or aversion to reptiles, commonly lizards and snakes, and similar vertebrates as amphibians. It is one of the most diffused [ 2 ] animal phobias , very similar and related to ophidiophobia .
It's science: Being scared of snakes and spiders is innate behavior.
Disruptive patterns can also conceal specific features. Animals such as fish, birds, frogs and snakes can readily be detected by their eyes, which are necessarily round and dark. Many species conceal the eye with a disruptive eye mask, sometimes contrasting with a stripe above the eye, making it seem just part of a dark area of background.
Garter snakes can bite or strike humans if they feel threatened. Small garter snakes eat prey such as slugs and earthworms, but larger garter snakes eat birds, fish, amphibians and rodents.
The anthropologist Lynne Isbell has argued that, as primates, the serpent as a symbol of death is built into our unconscious minds because of our evolutionary history.. Isbell argues that for millions of years snakes were the only significant predators of primates, and that this explains why fear of snakes is one of the most common phobias worldwide and why the symbol of the serpent is so ...
This is because even a small degree of protection reduces predation and increases the chance that an individual mimic will survive and reproduce. For example, many species of hoverfly are coloured black and yellow like bees, and are in consequence avoided by birds (and people). [5]