Snake facts

●    They may not have legs, but snakes can still move very quickly. Black mambas can slither at speeds up to 19km/h, while sidewinder rattlesnakes can reach speeds of up to 29km/h.
●    Serpents can smell in stereo, thanks to their forked tongues that they use to collect chemicals from the environment. Some vipers also have pit holes, small openings on their faces that sense heat the same way we sense colours, basically providing them heat vision.
●    A snake's scales aren’t separate pieces of their outer body but are one single piece of skin folded several times.
●    Serpents don’t chew, rather they swallow their prey whole. Some species can consume animals as large as an alligator.
●    Of all the 4000+ snake species in the world, only around 600 are venomous and roughly 200 are toxic enough to hurt humans.

This is still hotly debated among experts. Snakes are thought to have evolved from ancient lizards some 170 million years ago and then lost their legs in what scientists have called “one of the most dramatic transformations” in the evolutionary history of vertebrates.¹

Genetic research suggests the original snake ancestor was something like a long, lanky predator lizard with tiny back legs and even toes.² This creature lived in the warm forests of Laurasia, the continent that split into today’s North America, Greenland, Europe, and Asia.

The oldest official fossil records we have of ancient snakes date from 167 million years ago and were found in the UK, Portugal and the US.³ However, no snake fossils have been found from the era between 140 and 100 million years ago and genetic data shows they experienced a boom in diversification and adaptation around 125 million years ago so the jury is still out on when exactly snakes fully lost their limbs.⁴ The fossil record shows us that Najash rionegrina, an Argentinian snake from around 92 million years ago, still had limbs but Dinilysia patagonica, a snake from more or less the same period, 85 million years ago, did not.⁵ To this day, some snakes technically still have legs – boas and pythons still have small, remnant leg bones, buried under their muscle.⁶

There are more than 4,000 species of snakes, which are split into two main categories: "worm-like" snakes and "true" snakes.⁷ There are over 30 different families of snakes, each with its own unique characteristics.⁸ For example, boas and pythons are constrictors, vipers (such as rattlesnakes) and elapids (including cobras and mambas) are venomous, and colubrids (including tree snakes) are predators that don't tend to use venom.⁹

Snakes can live on land and in water, and can be found almost everywhere in the world except for Antarctica and islands, including Ireland, Iceland and Greenland, as well as many Atlantic and Pacific islands.¹⁰ That isn’t to say that all islands don’t have snakes, however. The tiny Brazilian island of Ilha da Queimada Grande, for instance, has a snake for every square metre of land and the highest concentration of venomous snakes on the planet.¹¹

These reptiles have adapted to all sorts of habitats: some make their homes in misty rainforests and tropical jungles, others in the dunes of the desert, and swamps, cities, grasslands, pastures and mountains.¹² They can live underground or in trees, and may call both freshwater and saltwater home.¹³ Most snake species, however, live in warm tropical climates.

Yes, snakes, like all reptiles, are cold-blooded. This means their metabolism cannot generate the heat needed to keep their bodies warm and regulate their temperature, so they have to get their warmth from their surrounding environment.¹⁴ This is why cold-blooded animals struggle to survive in cold climes, and go dormant and take refuge for long periods of time during winter.¹⁵

Snakes may come in one main shape, but they can come in all sorts of sizes. The Barbados threadsnake is so named because it's as tiny as a thread, growing to around just 10cm, while reticulated pythons have been recorded at up to 10m in length – that’s longer than a giraffe is tall.¹⁶

The largest snake that ever lived is the now-extinct Titanoboa, which measured about 15m long and just under 1m wide.¹⁷

Snakes have evolved to display a range of colours so spectacular that some scientists say they “rival even birds in both the brilliance of the colours and the imagination of the patterns”.¹⁸

While some species are soft shades of black, brown, green and earth colours to provide effective camouflage, others sport bright reds, yellows, oranges and blues mainly to attract potential mates and to show predators they’re not to be messed with.¹⁹ But that doesn't mean all brightly coloured snakes are dangerous. Some innocuous snakes have evolved gaudy colours to pretend they’re vicious – like the non-venomous scarlet kingsnake, whose colouring mimics the super-toxic coral snake.²⁰

A species' pattern serves a similar purpose: snakes can have dots, checkers, blotches, marks and vertical or horizontal stripes. Studies show there are correlations between a snake's design and their behaviour too.²¹ Large, slow snakes that ambush-hunt tend to have blotched patterns, perhaps because these are most effective at camouflaging them when they're still, while vertical lines are most common in small and fast snakes that actively hunt, suggesting stripes hide snakes best while they’re on the move.

In 2020, researchers in Vietnam discovered a rare iridescent snake species.²² The Brazilian rainbow boa and the iridescent shield-tail snake also have shimmery scales, probably to confuse their predators.²³

No, snakes aren’t slimy at all – in fact, they’re skins are dry and cool, either fully or partially covered in scales. A snake's scales can be smooth or coarse to the touch, and may be shiny or have pits, ridges and keels.

Snake scales are one solid piece of skin folded up many times rather than individual scales as on a fish.²⁴ They aren't one uniform size on any individual snake, and also grow with the reptile. Snake scales are made of keratin, just like our fingernails, and are therefore much harder than skin. This is an advantage, as it makes snakes tougher, protects them from wear and tear, and allows them to slither on all sorts of surfaces without losing grip.²⁵

Some snakes, including some gopher snakes, garter snakes and ball pythons, have a genetic mutation that makes them appear scaleless.²⁶ However, while most of their bodies are smooth, they still have tight-gripping scales on their bellies.

Because a snake’s skeleton is basically one long spinal cord with a tail, they have more vertebrae than any other living animal – between 100 and 400 along their bodies and 10 to 200 in their tails.²⁷ Constrictor species – i.e., those that immobilise prey by wrapping themselves around them – tend to have more vertebrae than others.²⁸

Scientists have been able to identify the genes responsible for snakes evolving so many vertebrae, including Oct4 and Gdf11.²⁹ When researchers in Portugal implanted them in mice embryos, the mice were born with bodies that were much longer than normal.

Without legs and arms, snakes have mastered  several different strategies to get from A to B.³⁰

With their serpentine locomotion method, snakes make a series of S-shaped coils to move forward while pushing against the floor. Despite how it may seem, this method is just as energy-consuming as getting around on four legs.³¹ Snakes can also use concertina locomotion, when they open and close up and down like an accordion rather than side to side.

Black mambas are thought to be among the fastest species of snake, and can slither at up to 19km/h and at an average of 11km/h over long distances.³² Rattlesnakes and rat snakes can strike at up to 3m per second.³³

Snakes that live in the desert or on super slippery surfaces often move sideways by throwing their heads in the direction they want to travel and letting their bodies follow.³⁴ This is how the sidewinder rattlesnake moves, using its especially evolved scales to provide superior grip.³⁵ This species has been measured travelling at up to 29km/h.³⁶

These methods of locomotion aren't only used to move across the land – they can propel them across vertical surfaces too. Snakes can crawl up trees using tiny projections of bark to hoist them up, and one snake has even been observed lassoing itself on to a light pole.³⁷

Some snakes can even fly – kind of. Flying snakes flatten their bodies as much as possible to form a parachute-like air trap under their bellies, then wiggle in their characteristic S-shape to glide through the air.³⁸

Yes, some snakes can have two heads, thanks to a genetic mutation known as bicephaly. However, bicephaly is rare and it is also a big hindrance to survival in the wild: most bicephalous snakes do not survive long.³⁹ As each head has a brain of its own, they often fight over which way to go and who gets to snag the prey.

While snakes don't have external ears, they are not deaf. They hear soundwaves by placing their jawbones on the ground and listening to the vibrations through the surface – that’s how desert horned vipers can hear the footsteps of mice coming their way across the sand.⁴⁰ In 2023, research on 19 different species found that they can also capture vibrations from the air, at a frequency between 0 and 450Hz, roughly equivalent to a human scream, the study researchers say.⁴¹

A forked tongue – a trait shared with many other reptiles – helps a snake to smell their surroundings. As the tongue flickers left and right, it picks up pheromones from the ground and the air. Snake tongues don’t have taste or smell receptors, so this chemical information is analysed on the roof of their mouth. A forked tongue allows snakes to collect the chemicals from two places at the same time, so they can smell in stereo.⁴²

Serpents do have nostrils, but these are used for breathing rather than smelling. Pit vipers also have nostril-like holes on their faces known as pit holes. These can detect the heat of warm-blooded animals and send it to the same part of the brain that is in charge of vision, basically giving them heat vision.⁴³

No, snakes don't have eyelids; they can't blink and also sleep with their eyes open. To protect against scratches and debris, snakes have a brille, a thin, clear membrane-like scale that covers their eyes.⁴⁴ Snakes that live in water or underground have much thicker brilles than those that live in trees. In diurnal snakes that hunt in bright daylight, this membrane has a yellow lens that filters out harsh ultraviolet rays, working in a similar way to sunglasses.⁴⁵

Not all snakes have slitted pupils.⁴⁶ Snakes that live underground barely have any eyes, for example, and snakes that live in trees tend to have bulging eyes for good aerial vision. 

Those species that do have vertical pupils usually do so because they’re better adapted for a wide variety of light conditions, working well both in the day and during the night. Slitted pupils are most common in snakes that ambush their prey, rather than stalk it, probably because this adaptation means objects at a distance appear sharper and allow the snake to easily spot its prey from afar.⁴⁷

Animals shed their skin all the time, but most tend to do so a little at a time, like humans do. Shedding helps the body to grow (snakes continue to grow their entire lives, even if just a tiny bit), adjust, heal from wounds and get rid of parasites and bacteria.⁴⁸

Snakes shed their skins in one go, approximately once a month – a process known as moulting.⁴⁹ The snake’s eyes will start going milky as its outer layer becomes loose, and the snake will rub itself against a rock or a tree trunk to loosen the rest of the skin and slither out of it head-first, leaving the dry envelope behind.⁵⁰

Snakes are largely solitary animals: they live alone, hunt solo and don’t tend to have prolonged relationships, hierarchies and social structures. It's thought that snakes only come together for mating or denning, when snakes huddle together in one spot throughout the cold winter months to stave off the low temperatures and wait for spring.⁵¹ Some scientists think this winter sleepover only happens because of a lack of suitable locations rather than because the snakes are actively seeking companionship. However, some studies suggest there might be some tight-knit, familial relationships among denners too.⁵² Overall, denning makes it easier to find a partner when springtime mating season comes around. In Manitoba, Canada, tourists gather to watch more than 70,000 red-sided garter snakes slither out of their dens in unison each spring.⁵³

A growing body of research suggests there might be a glimpse of sociality among these animals too.

Sea snakes, for example, are often seen hanging out and travelling in large troops.⁵⁴ When researchers ran an experiment on 25 adult southern Pacific rattlesnakes, they found that snakes who were faced with stressful stimuli close to another snake had lower heart rates than those forced to weather the stress alone.⁵⁵ Another similar experiment showed that when 40 garter snakes were forced to spend time together in an enclosure with few hiding spots, not only did they bond and form groups, they also returned to the same cliques if separated from their peers.⁵⁶ Follow-up experiments revealed that females also act as leaders that tie the groups together, and older females tended to be friends most frequently.⁵⁷ Genetic research has shown that pregnant female rattlesnakes prefer to hang out with closely related snakes rather than snakes who aren’t kin.⁵⁸ Cuban boas have also been observed coordinating their ambush positions in the entrance of caves to grab the most bats.⁵⁹

Snakes can be both poisonous and venomous, but are more likely to be venomous. However, the vast majority are neither.

Being poisonous is helpful defence against predators. Some garter snakes in North America are poisonous because they hold on to the toxic chemicals of the rough-skinned newts they eat and, in turn, become poisonous themselves.⁶⁰

Many more snakes are venomous, which is helpful when hunting prey. Venomous snakes inject venom (which is modified saliva) into their prey by biting into them with sharp, hollow fangs. Elapids such as cobras and viperids such as vipers and rattlesnakes hunt in this way. The toxins venomous snakes inject into their victims have slightly different targets and powers.⁶¹ For instance, vipers preying on small mammals with fast metabolisms use venom that causes blood clots and clogs the cardiovascular system (haematoxic). Cobras that prefer to snack on cold-blooded prey, or arthropods with barely any blood, tend to deliver venom that disrupts the prey’s nervous system directly (neurotoxic).⁶²

Some snakes can make the best of both worlds, and use the techniques in unison, like Australian taipans, which inject their prey with have both neurotoxic and haematoxic venom.⁶³

However, although all snakes are predators, fewer than 600 species are venomous and roughly 200 are toxic enough to hurt humans.⁶⁴ Snakes that don't use venom tend to use constricting techniques, squeezing their prey to death.

All snakes are predators, which means they are all carnivorous, eating everything from small mammals to amphibians, reptiles, fish, birds and even other snakes. Arthropods – such as spiders, ants, soft-bodied earthworms and centipedes – are another favourite snack.

Some snakes hunt their prey, while others use ambush techniques. The spider-tailed horned viper from Iran lures in birds by making figures-of-eight with its tail, which has pairs of long, thin, spike-like scales that make it look like a crawling spider in a superb example of mimicking.⁶⁵

Some snakes, like the species of African dasypeltis known as the common egg eater, are specialised in eating bird eggs.⁶⁶ They use bones at the back of their throats to crush the egg's outer shell and spit it out once they’re done.

Snakes can't chew, so instead they swallow their prey whole. In some cases, this means eating something as large as a deer or an alligator in one single gulp. A 1.5m alligator has been pulled out of the stomach of a 5.5m Burmese python.⁶⁷

To pull off such feats, snakes rely on their exceptionally versatile skulls, which contain 30 bones that can move independently of one another. They don’t dislocate their jaws like common myth suggests. Their lower jaws can open further than most animals' and is actually split midway between the left side and right side, remaining connected by what scientists call “spectacularly stretchy skin” and rubber band-grade tendons that allow the mouth to open as wide as their own head.⁶⁸ Different species of snake have different skull shapes especially adapted for their preferred type of prey.

Once the prey has been swallowed, the snake’s very acidic stomach breaks down everything, including any feathers, fur, nails and teeth.

Cobras can stand up when threatened, to make themselves look bigger and to fend off danger. They can also flap open their rib muscles and expand their neck area, a phenomenon called hooding, to look larger still and deter predators.⁶⁹ The bright colours in their neck area also serve the purpose of warning that they’re dangerous. While doing all this, they also hiss loudly. Some cobras, known as spitting cobras, can also spray venom from their fangs up to a distance of two metres.⁷⁰

Boas aren’t venomous; instead, they kill their prey by asphyxiating them. To do this, they wrap their chunky bodies in a tight coil around the victim – usually a bird or small mammal – and squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. This process can take up to 45 minutes. Adult boas can weigh more than 45kg and their powerful squeeze can exert 25lb of pressure per square inch.⁷¹

How boas continues to breathe while exerting such pressure was a mystery that long baffled scientists, but in 2022, researchers discovered they are able to shift their breathing to the lower part of their bodies while squeezing with the upper part.⁷² Boas have one long lung that runs for about 30% of their total length and they can control each pair of ribs with meticulous precision.

More than 30 species of snake have evolved to be rattlesnakes; the tips of their tails are made of hollow, loosely connected scales that strike against each other when their bodies vibrate.⁷³ This maracas-like feature evolved because such snakes live in habitats where they're in danger of being trampled by large, heavy, hooved animals. By shaking their tails, they warn everybody that they’re there.⁷⁴

Rattlesnakes shake their tails at a progressively faster rate the closer a danger comes, starting at a low frequency first and increasing by 20 to 30Hz the more threatened they feel.⁷⁵ Interestingly, however, rattlesnakes cannot hear their own rattles.⁷⁶

Not all snakes lay eggs. Approximately 70% do, but the remaining give birth to live young or keep the egg inside their body until it’s ready to hatch and then give birth to live young, in a similar way to sharks.

Female snakes tend to abandon their eggs in dark and damp places alongside the eggs of other snakes.⁷⁷ Newly-hatched snakes are ready to hunt, roam and fend for themselves almost immediately; venomous species are born with venom.

Some species of python seem to be the exception to careless parenting. Studies have shown that southern African python mothers wrap themselves around their eggs to keep them cosy and stick around for a couple of weeks after the snakelets have hatched.⁷⁸

What’s more, snakes don’t need a partner to mate – females have been shown to reproduce asexually. This is thought to happen when a serpent female doesn’t have access to a suitable mate and needs to use her finite supply of eggs before it’s too late. A 2016 research paper suggested that solo reproduction might be common in more snake species than previously believed, even when suitable mates are around, making it potentially an important aspect of how snakes evolved.⁷⁹

While snakes are phenomenal predators, with highly specialised hunting techniques, most snakes won't attack a human unless they feel threatened, so most of the time they are inoffensive.

However, in many parts of the world, interactions between humans and snakes are common and hard to prevent – particularly in the field of south Asia. According to the World Health Organization, each year around 5.4 million people are bitten by snakes around the world, 2.7 million by venomous species.⁸⁰ Since snakes have limited amounts of venom, they don’t want to waste it on something that isn’t prey, so they’ll often give a dry bite.⁸¹

Around 137,000 people die from snake bites annually, and three times that number sustain permanent injuries or have to have a limb amputated.⁸²

Across the world, experts are hard at work developing policies and technologies to mitigate snake-human conflicts and keep both people and reptiles safe, living in harmony and sharing the environment responsibly.⁸³ Maintaining a thriving snake population is key to healthy biodiversity at large. As predators, they keep populations and food chains in many ecosystems well-balanced.

Featured image © David Clode | Unsplash

Fun fact image  © mainak.ju | Instagram

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