Did you know that there are more than 4,000 species of snakes on our planet, and that they live almost everywhere?
These slithering reptiles have been around for some 100 million years. But what else do we know about them?
Museum experts Taylor West, Dr David Gower, Patrick Campbell, Dr Marion Segall and Dr Jeff Streicher, share some of the must know facts about snakes.
Discover the smallest and biggest snakes in the world, how these animals move, their sensational senses and how their venom can be a killer but also a cure.
Want to find out more about snakes? Look out for our new book Snakes: Their diversity, ecology and behaviour. [ Ссылка ]
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00:00 We learn about the variety and diversity of snakes including size, colour, environments, origin and their identifying features: skin, scale, elongate, limbless, no ears and no eyelids.
01:19 Skeleton: Taylor West explains how a snake can move so flexibly, it's all down to their incredible bone structures and the fact that they are pretty much all vertebrae and ribs.
02:09 How fast do snakes move? We hear about the varying techniques for catching pray and how fast or slow do they move to be successful predators.
02:46 Senses: David Gower tells us about snake senses and how they are similar to humans in many ways but also how they have extra senses that help them to survive. We learn about hearing, and their abilities to sense vibrations and movement. We also find out about sight and how some snakes use chemical detection for awareness instead of sight, usually by sensing through their forked tongues or specialised pit organs. We also learn about their lack of eyelids and why they have glassy eyes. David tells us about the incredible range of light perception they have, including infra red, which humans feel as warmth.
05:30 How long do snakes live? We find out about the longevity of snakes and which snake lived the longest.
05:48 Skin: Patrick Campbell explains the multifunctional purposes of snake skin. The shape, size and texture of scales are described. How their eyes have a transparent scale over them called a brille or spectacles. What purpose the scales have for movement, water protection and even how they create a snakes pattern or colour. Patrick tells us about skin shedding too and why this is necessary. Some snakes even have modified scales, shaped like other creatures to attract attention and to catch prey. Patrick also tells us how humans are affecting the wild snake populations by using their skins for leather goods.
08:29 How deep do aquatic snakes dive?
08:52 Teeth and feeding: Marion Segall explains the incredible versatility of snake skulls and how snakes have evolved to be successful predations despite their limitations. Snakes are carnivores, they swallow their prey whole without chewing and their stomach digests all manner of organic material. Marion also tells us about snake teeth, how they have adapted to eat prey by gripping, and preventing escape for the snakes unfortunate dinner.
12:27 What's the biggest prey? We find out about the largest meals.
12:42 Venom: Jeff Streicher explains about the variety of venoms a snake can have and how they use them to capture food or prevent predation. How they create these venoms or even absorb toxins. Jeff warns of the danger to humans from snake toxins but also of how through research certain elements of these snake toxins can also be beneficial to people with chronic conditions.
14:52 How deadly is snake venom? We discover the extent of a single bite and how many people could die from the venom.
