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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.
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.
Parthenogenesis is a mode of asexual reproduction in which offspring are produced by females without the genetic contribution of a male. Among all the sexual vertebrates, the only examples of true parthenogenesis, in which all-female populations reproduce without the involvement of males, are found in squamate reptiles (snakes and lizards). [1]
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 ...
The snake-loving family hopes their devotion to reptiles and openness to sharing snakes with the world inspire others to rethink their views of the slithering animals.
While many of these "stem-snakes" are known from Mesozoic fossils, some of them may be descendants of the earliest true snakes rather than more primitive lineages. Below is a cladogram modified from a study by Wilson et al. (2010), which found many stem-snakes of other studies to be true snakes instead.
In total, the officers killed 34 snakes, the snake group said in a statement. Daniel Parker, a spokesman with the Reptile Keepers, said the boa was pregnant with 32 babies, which were about a ...