Wednesday, January 21st
Our January meeting will feature the club's annual Photo Contest, and Board Elections.
If you'd like to enter the contest, simply come to the meeting with a photo of a reptile or amphibian that YOU have taken. You can enter as many as you'd like. Winners will receive a year's membership.
Meetings start promptly at 8pm in the Alumni Room of Medaille College.
Snake Information
Photo Courtesy of Dawn Dolpp
There are over 2500 different types of snakes in the world, and only about 300 of those are venomous. Snakes are limbless reptiles with highly evolved skulls to accommodate their feeding style. Snakes swallow their prey whole. Snakes are also wide-spread throughout the world and are found on every continent except Antarctica. In temperate regions they will hibernate throughout the winter in underground burrows and live off of fat reserves.
Snakes lack eyelids. A snake's eyes are protected by a specialize clear scale called a brille. The brille is shed with the rest of the skin as a snake grows larger. Snakes shed their skin in one piece by rubbing their snout on something rough to split the old skin apart and then will slowly crawl out of the old skin.
Snakes also do not have external ears or eardrums. They can feel vibrations from the ground through their jaws to their ear. It is also believed that they may be able to hear some airborne sounds, but not very well.
A snake's skull is elastic with elastic ligaments holding the skull and teeth in place. The lower jaw consists of two separate parts held together with ligaments. This allows the snake to be able to swallow prey many times the size of it's skull without any ill effects.
Snakes will either constrict or envenom their prey. Constrictors kill their prey by suffocating their prey. They will strike their prey with their jaws and coil around their prey. Every time the prey item inhales the snake squeezes a bit tighter and does not allow the prey to exhale. No bones are broken during this process. When the snake can no longer feel a heartbeat it lets go of the prey and begins to eat.
Venomous snakes inject their prey with venom through modified teeth known as fangs. Most venomous snakes have fangs in the front of their mouth while some snakes have rear fangs. Venom is modified saliva and in addition to killing the prey it also aides in digestion of the prey. There are two basic types of venom. Hemotoxic venom attacks the blood and organs of the prey item. Neurotoxic venom affects the neurological system of they prey and can cause seizures or death. Some species of venomous snakes have a combination of both types of venom.
Help further herpetology research and education by donating to the Marvin R. Aures Herpetological Grant