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Unless startled or injured, most snakes prefer to avoid contact and will not attack humans. With the exception of large constrictors, nonvenomous snakes are not a threat to humans. The bite of a nonvenomous snake is usually harmless; their teeth are not adapted for tearing or inflicting a deep puncture wound, but rather grabbing and holding.
Modern snakes are thought to have evolved from either burrowing or aquatic lizards during the mid-Cretaceous period, and the earliest known fossils date to around 112 Ma ago. However, the relationship between modern snake and more primitive snake ancestors, many of which retained hind limbs, is less clear.
The origin of the reptiles lies about 320–310 million years ago, in the swamps of the late Carboniferous period, when the first reptiles evolved from advanced labyrinthodonts. [2] The oldest known animal that may have been an amniote , a reptile rather than an amphibian , is Casineria [ 3 ] [ 4 ] (though it has also been argued to be a ...
Snakes originated about 120 million years ago. Early snakes had vestigial limbs, with the oldest-known fully limbless snake living around 85 million years ago, according to George Washington ...
These diseases may be transmitted to humans through excreted waste, open wounds, and contaminated water. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] A 2013 study found that Reptile-Associated Salmonella (RAS) is most common in young children who had been in contact with invasive pythons, with symptoms including " sepsis , meningitis , and bone and joint infection".
The boa constrictor is a large snake, although it is only modestly sized in comparison to other large snakes, such as the reticulated python, Burmese python, or the occasionally sympatric green anaconda, and can reach lengths from 3 to 13 ft (0.91 to 3.96 m) depending on the locality and the availability of suitable prey. [16]
The brown tree snake is a nocturnal and arboreal species that uses both visual and chemical cues when hunting, either in the rainforest canopy or on the ground. [3] It is a member of the subfamily Colubrinae, genus Boiga, which is a group of roughly twenty-five species that are referred to as "cat-eyed" snakes for their vertical pupils. [4]
The snake marks the third animal species named after Ford. He also inspired the name of an ant, called Pheidole harrisonfordi, and a spider, Caledonia harrisonfordi. (Getty)