Snakes Wallpaper, #10087

Snakes Wallpapers.
A snake is an elongate reptile of the suborder Serpentes. Like all reptiles, Snakes are covered in scales. All Snakes are carnivorous and can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids, limbs, external ears, and vestiges of forelimbs. The 2,700+ species of Snakes spread across every continent except Antarctica ranging in size from the tiny, 10 cm long thread snake to pythons and anacondas at 9 m (30 ft) long. In order to accommodate Snakes' narrow bodies, paired organs (such as kidneys) appear one in front of the other instead of side by side. The snake is one of the most feared animals because of a lack of understanding of the animal. While many species of snake can be dangerous to humans if mistreated, more people die every year from lightning strikes than from snake bites.While venomous Snakes comprise a minority of the species, some possess potent venom capable of causing painful injury or death to humans. However, venom in Snakes is primarily for killing and subduing prey rather than for self-defense. Snakes may have evolved from a lizard which adapted to burrowing during the Cretaceous period (c 150 Ma), though some scientists have postulated an aquatic origin. The diversity of modern Snakes appeared during the Paleocene period (c 66 to 56 Ma).All Snakes are strictly carnivorous, eating small animals including lizards, other Snakes, small mammals, birds, eggs, fish, snails or insects. Because Snakes cannot bite or tear their food to pieces, a snake must swallow its prey whole. The body size of a snake has a major influence on its eating habits. Smaller Snakes eat smaller prey. Juvenile pythons might start out feeding on lizards or mice and graduate to small deer or antelope as an adult, for example.