Transcript Simply Snakes - University of Mississippi

Simply Snakes
Jill Frank
February 2007
North Mississippi GK-8
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Snakes are Vertebrates
 Vertebrates are animals with backbones.
Your backbone is the bumpy bone that runs
along your back.
 There are several vertebrate classes





Fish
Amphibian
Reptile
Bird
Mammal
Snakes are Reptiles!
 Which class do snakes belong to?
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Why are snakes reptiles?
 Snakes breathe air.
 Snakes are ectothermic (cold-blooded)their body temperature depends on the
environmental temperature.
 The body of a snake is covered in
scales.
 Many snakes lay eggs.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Are snakes slimy?
 Snakes are not slimy.
 Their body is covered in shiny scales
that make them look wet.
 They have modified scales on their
belly that aid in movement.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Why do snakes shed their
skin?
 The scales that cover the snake’s body
do not grow with the snake.
 In order to grow, the snake needs to
get rid of the old, small skin, and
develop new skin.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
A Snake Shedding its Skin
Rubber Boa
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Do snakes lay eggs?
 Yes, some snakes do lay eggs.
 The eggs are soft shelled.
 Sometimes snakes can have twins
where two babies are in one egg.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Can snakes hear?
 Snakes do not have ears, so they
cannot hear.
 However, snakes can feel vibrations on
the ground that accompany many
sounds.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Why do snakes stick out
their tongue?
 Snakes have nostrils which they use to smell.
 Snakes can also stick out their tongue in order
to help them smell.
 Snakes catch smells on their forked tongue
which they bring into their mouth where there
are openings to a special smelling organ.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
How do snakes catch their
food?
 Some snakes grab their prey and
immediately try to swallow it. Their
backwards pointing teeth help keep the
prey in their mouth.
 The snake will swallow its prey whole.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
How do snakes catch their
food?
 Some snakes grab their prey, coil
around it, and squeeze it until it dies.
 Then, the snake will swallow it whole.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
How do snakes catch their
food?
 Some snakes have special teeth, called
fangs, through which they inject venom
into their prey when they bite it.
 Then, the snake swallows the prey
whole.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
How do snakes move?
 Undulation-body moves from side to side.
 Concertina-tail grasps the ground and the
head is extended, then the head grabs the
ground and pulls the tail.
 Rectilinear-body is straight and inches like
a caterpillar.
 Sidewinding-snake moves
very quickly and in a
sideways direction.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
What is the smallest snake?
 Blind Thread Snake
 Lives in the Caribbean.
 Could slither through the center of a
pencil if the lead were removed.
 Grows to less than 10 cm in length.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
What is the longest snake?
 Reticulated Python
 This snake lives on the continent of South
America.
 Can grow to lengths of 33 feet.
 Although the longest, the python is not the
largest. The green anaconda can be twice
the weight of a similar length python.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Snake Adaptation-Camouflage
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Snake Adaptation-Camouflage
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Snake Adaptation-Camouflage
This is the snake’s head.
Can you see it now?
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Which habitat would be best
for each snake?
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Snakes Common to
Mississippi
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Common Garter Snake
 Lives in marshes, meadows, woodlands, and
hillsides.
 Has dark colored body with three light
colored stripes.
 Can grow to lengths of 137 centimeters.
 Can live up to 2 years.
 Eats earthworms, snails, insects, small fish.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Southern Hognose Snake
 Lives in sandy or pine woods.
 Has a yellow to light brown body with
red specks.
 Can grow to lengths of 56 centimeters.
 Can flatten their heads and hiss.
 Eats toads and lizards.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Green Water Snake
 Lives along the coast of the Gulf of
Mexico.
 Has a greenish or brownish body, with no
real distinctive markings other than dark
speckling.
 Can grow to lengths of 50 inches.
 Eats fishes, frogs, and tadpoles.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Corn Snake
 Lives in wooded groves, rocky hillsides,
meadowlands, and abandoned buildings.
 Has an orange or brownish-yellow body, with
large, black-edged red blotches down the middle
of the back.
 Can grow to lengths of 182 centimeters.
 Eats mice, rats, birds, and bats.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Copperhead
 Lives in wetlands and rocky forested hillsides.
 Has copper-colored heads, and reddish-brown,
coppery bodies with chestnut brown
crossbands.
 Can grow to lengths of 30 inches.
 Eats mice, small birds, lizards, other snakes.
 Has fangs that inject venom.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Cottonmouth
 Lives in swamps, streams, marshes, and
drainage ditches.
 Has a dark olive or black body.
 Can grow to lengths of 74 inches.
 Eats fish, frogs, lizards, small turtles, baby
alligators, birds, and other snakes.
 Has fangs that inject venom.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8
Pigmy Rattlesnake
 Lives in rocky and partially wooded hillsides, pine
woodlands, along riverbanks, and marshes.
 Has a gray, brown, or black body, sometimes even
pinkish or reddish.
 Can grow to lengths of 61 centimeters.
 Eats mice, lizards, snakes, frogs, insects, spiders.
 Has specialized scales on the tail that are used as a
rattle.
 Has fangs that inject
NSFvenom.
North Mississippi GK-8
Eastern Diamondback
Rattlesnake
 Lives in flatwoods, and occasionally will swim to
islands off the Florida coast.
 Can grow to lengths of 8 feet.
 Body is olive or brown with a brownish gray banded
tail.
 Eats mice, rabbits, and squirrels.
 Has specialized scales on the tail that are used as a
rattle.
 Has fangs that inject venom.
NSF North Mississippi GK-8





























References
Animal Diversity Web. 2006. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/
Annotated Budak. 2005. Smilax. Accessed 9 February, 2007 http://budak.blogs.com/the_annotated_budak/2005/07/index.html
Barbados Free Press. 2006. Barbados big snake hunt. Accessed 9 February, 2007.
http://barbadosfreepress.wordpress.com/2006/05/31/barbados-big-snake-hunt/
Canadian Museum of Nature. 2006. Nature of the Rideau River. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://nature.ca/rideau/b/b4b-e.html
Caribbean Herpetological Society. 2006. Thread snake. Accessed 9 February, 2007.
http://www.corriebusinessgroup.com/PetDepot/HS/photos.php
Caribbean Island Terrestrial Habitats. 2005. Seasonal habitats. Accessed 9 February, 2007.
http://scitec.uwichill.edu.bb/bcs/courses/Ecology/BL21C/ECOL2453_sc/Seasonal_communities.html
College of Staten Island. Frank Burbrink. Accessed 9 February, 2007.
http://163.238.8.180/~fburbrink/Field%20Work/SE%202005/index.htm
Crowley Museum and Nature Center. Reptiles. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.crowleymuseumnaturectr.org/reptiles.htm
Cummins, R. Hays. 2002. Tropical ecosystems. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/html/2tropecoimages.html
Dorling Kindersley. 2004. Desert reptiles. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.dorlingkindersleyuk.co.uk/static/cs/uk/11/licensing/children.html
Ecology Asia. 2007. Sunbeam snake. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/sunbeam_snake.htm
Florida and Georgia Snake and Lizard Photos. 2005. Florida water snakes. Accessed 9 February, 2007.
http://www.southalley.com/album_nerodia2.html
Henderson State University. 2004. Nature trivia, hognose snake. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.hsu.edu/content.aspx?id=1193
Florida Museum of Natural History. 2000. Green water snake. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herpetology/FLGUIDE/Nerodiacyclopion.htm
Iowa State University. Hognose snakes. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.public.iastate.edu/~curteck/hognose.htm
Means, Bruce. 2003. Around the world 2001. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.brucemeans.com/photo_world_2001a.htm
Microscopy-UK. 2004. Red-tail boa constrictor. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.microscopyuk.org.uk/mag/artnov04macro/pwsnake.html
Missouri Department of Conservation. 2004. Snakes of Missouri. Accessed 23 July 2006. http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/herpetol/snake/
Nature’s Almanac. 2004. How to hatch reptile eggs. Accessed 23 July 2006.
http://www.naturealmanac.com/archive/hatching_reptile/index.html
Nova Scotia Snakes. More snake facts and pictures. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/nature/snakes/sfacts.htm
Reptile Review. Snake pictures. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.reptilereview.com/snakes.htm
Rubber Boa. 2001. Shedding. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.rubberboas.com/Content/shedding.html
Silver Clay Serpentarium. Rat snake photo gallery. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.scserp.com/SCS_Photo_Gallery_Rat_Snakes.htm
Timber Rattlesnake. Accessed 9 February 2007. http://www.timberrattlesnake.net/
US Army Installation Management Agency. Venomous snakes. Accessed 9 February, 2007.
http://www.stewart.army.mil/dpw/wildlife/venomous_snakes.htm
University of Georgia. 2005. Crotalus adamanteus. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://pick4.pick.uga.edu/mp/20p?res=640&see=I_AD49
Venomous Snakes of Texas. 2007. Western cottonmouth. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.texas-venomous.com/leucostoma.html
Warwick Mills. 2006. Hunting clothes tested with live snakes. Accessed 9 February, 2007. http://www.warwickmills.com/Hunting-ClothesTesting.html
Wikipedia. 2007. Snakes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake
NSF North Mississippi GK-8