Snake phobia is definitely common occurrence, but the ability to distinguish between poisonous or non-poisonous remains a rarity. Snake identification is considered necessary for people sharing their habitat with all sorts of snake species, particularly when their bite is a threat to human life. The length, the body and the head shape, the color and patterns, the texture of the scales as well as the size and form of the eye pupil are snake identification elements that serve for more than classification. Familiarity with these traits becomes a necessary prevention measure and authorities advise that people learn how to distinguish between the snake varieties.
The length or the size of the snake gets one's attention as a major snake identification factor. The danger often is present small-sized species that are difficult to distinguish in the environment.Since snakes swallow prey without chewing it, once it gets in the digestive system it is only natural that it will modify the body shape: thus any slender snake could look a bit stout; consequently always judge the color pattern too before making any identification. Then, the snake identification as poisonous or non-poisonous can be tricky when considering the head and neck shape; though the majority of venomous species have a triangular head shape, round heads make exception that confirm the rule.
Depending on the pattern and color, snakes could be striped, multicolored, blotched, banded, mono-colored or the only color variations are visible in the head and tail area. It is generally known that snake identification usually considers the nature of the pattern in finding out the poisonous or non-poisonous feature of a species; generally speaking, snakes with intricate patterns or vivid colors are venomous, but exceptions do exist. Nature has its way of signaling danger to other creatures sharing the same habitat, but sometimes the bright colors could be just a smart way of getting cover in the background and not be easily found as prey. Some of the bright green snake species living in the canopies of rain forests depend on camouflage to survive.
For scientific purposes snake identification requires the analysis of the scales specificity; such a check cannot be performed individually, as special protection equipment and lots of professional training is necessary to stay unharmed and not harm the animal either. The scales could be smooth, shiny and rounded or diamond shaped; the latter have a duller look and are specific to snakes living on rough terrains and dusty arid areas. Last but not least, an analysis of snake eye pupil is also used for snake identification since the cat-like vertical pupil indicates a venomous predator. The exception to this general rule is the coral snake, that has round pupils though it is a poisonous species, otherwise, most dangerous species show the elliptical pupil shape.
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