Snakes: Introduction, Identification of poisonous & non-poisonous snakes, Poison

apparatus, Venom and its effects

Introduction:
Snakes evolved from lizards during the Cenozoic era some 65m years ago. Lizards, in turn, originated in
the early Mesozoic era about 200 million years ago.
Hindus, Warranmungas of Australia, Red Indians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, all regarded snakes to be
divine in origin. To the ancient Greeks and Romans, snakes were the guardians of graves and dwellings.
Snakes are worshipped in India, Papua, Japan, China, Africa and other places. However, this divine
practise is to save the snakes.
The offerings to snakes are usually materials that the snakes themselves cannot eat. These offerings attract
rats, mice and other rodents which are the natural prey of snakes. Therefore, in a roundabout way snake
worship is a way of helping them to help us get rid of rodent pests.
Nagarapanchami, a Hindu festival which is usually celebrated during July- August is the day for the
worship of snakes in the west and southern part of India. It coincides with the hatching season of snake
eggs.
Snakes live on trees, in deep underground, in freshwater bodies and even in oceans. They may eat rats,
birds, fishes and even other snakes and sometimes big mammals like deer. A snake may be brightly
coloured and long or dull brown and short.
The largest snake is the non-venomous anaconda of South America which grows to an extent of 9mts in
length and can swallow a deer easily. In India, the reticulated python is the giant among snakes. It grows to
about 8mts in length. King cobra can grow to about 5mts and is often as thick as a fat man’s arm. At the
other extreme is the tiny worm snake (typhlops). It is hard to believe that it really is a snake and is often
mistaken for an earthworm.
Snakes never stop growing, but they grow faster in the first two years of their lives. As children always
grow out of clothes and shoes, snakes also need new skin once in a while. The outer thin layer of the skin
becomes too tight, so they grow a new one and crawl out of the old. This is known as ‘​Shedding​’ or
‘​Sloughing​’. This phenomenon made the Greeks believe that snakes live forever.
Snakes do not have keen eyesight and are often not able to recognize objects which are near. When hunting
for food, they use their sense of smell which is sharp. Interestingly, the main organ of smell is not the nose
but the tongue.
People believe that snakes can hear and even respond to music. Seeing snakes swaying to the snake
charmer flute is certainly not true that snakes are dancing to the music. The snake is terrified by seeing the
giant man with his strange instrument and is keeping an eye on his movements. Snakes and other reptiles
have only a single middle ear bone called columella(homologous to mammalian ear ossicle called stapes),
which is in direct contact with the quadrate bone of the skull (Quadrate bone ​forms the upper part of the
jaw joint. The lower jaw articulates at the articular bone, located at the rear end of the lower jaw. The
quadrate bone forms the lower jaw articulation in all classes except mammals​). This quadrate bone picks up
the vibrations made on the ground by the movement of animals and humans.
Snakes mate only with their species. During the breeding season, snakes leave a trail of scent on the ground
from their musk glands which help the males to find the females. Sometimes several males can be seen
chasing the local beauty.
Some snakes lay eggs (oviparous) like the cobra, some give birth to young ones (Ovoviviparous) like
vipers, sea snakes, vine snakes, sand boa. Nature’s timing is perfect and the eggs usually hatch during the
early rains when tadpoles, fishes and insects are in plenty.
Some people eat snakes. There are restaurants in Hong Kong where you can choose the one you want from
a cage-full of live snakes, your choice is then killed and cooked.
Just as every mosquito bite doesn’t cause malaria, so is every snakebite which does not cause death or
poisoning.
There are about 300 species of snakes in India (2,700 species in the world), of which 20% of them, about
60 of them are venomous. If we consider the list of snakes whose venom is fatal to man, the list can be
narrowed down to just four. Leading the list is the popular cobra followed by the Krait, then Russell’s viper
and finally the saw-scaled viper. All these are terrestrial snakes. Among the snakes in the ocean, the most
fearsome is the long-beaked sea snake. None of the Indian freshwater snakes is venomous.

Identifications of poisonous and non-poisonous snakes

​Tail

Laterally compressed & oar like Cylindrical & pointed Blunt at the tip
- Sea snakes -Terrestrial snakes
Ex: Hydrophis
Poisonous- Neurotoxic Poisonous/non-poisonous Non-poisonous
Ovoviviparous

Ventrals ​ (Belly scales)

Small & continuous with dorsals Broad & extend the entire Moderate but does not
extend
belly region the entire belly
-Non-poisonous - Poisonous/non-poisonous -Non-poisonous

​Head

Imbricate scales, Triangular head, 3​rd​ supra labial extend 4​th​ supra labial
subcaudals double/single & touch the nostril and largest, hexagonal vertebral
eyeshield at the edges
Ex; Viper Ex: Cobra Ex: Krait
Hemotoxic Neurotoxic Neurotoxic
Ovoviviparous Oviparous Oviparous
Distinguishing between venomous and non-venomous snakes by scales:
There is no simple way of differentiating a venomous snake from a non-venomous one merely by using a
scale character. Finding out whether a snake is venomous or not is correctly done by identification of the
species of a snake with the help of experts, or in their absence, a close examination of the snake and using
authoritative references on the snakes of the particular geographical region to identify it. Scale patterns
help to indicate the species and from the references, it can be verified if the snake species is known to be
venomous or not.
Species identification using scales requires a fair degree of knowledge about snakes, their taxonomy,
snake-scale nomenclature as well as familiarity with and access to scientific literature. Distinguishing by
using scale diagrams whether a snake is venomous or not in the field cannot be done in the case of
uncaught specimens. It is not advisable to catch a snake to check whether it is venomous or not using scale
diagrams. Most books or websites provide an array of traits of the local herpetofauna, other than scale
diagrams, which help to distinguish whether a snake in the field is venomous or not.
In certain regions, presence or absence of certain scales may be a quick way to distinguish non-venomous
and venomous snakes but used with care and knowledge of exceptions. For example, in Myanmar, the
presence or absence of ​loreal scales​ can be used to distinguish between relatively harmless ​Colubrids​ and
lethally venomous ​Elapids​. The rule of hand for this region is that the absence of a loreal scale between
the ​nasal scale​ and ​pre-ocular scale​ indicates that the snake is an Elapid and hence lethal. This
rule-of-thumb cannot be used without care as it cannot be applied to vipers, which have a large number of
small scales on the head. A careful check would also be needed to exclude known poisonous members of
the Colubrid family such as ​Rhabdophis​.
In South Asia, it is advisable to take the snake which has bitten a person, if it has been killed, and carries it
along to the hospital for possible identification by medical staff using scale diagrams so that an informed
decision can be taken them as to whether and which anti-venom is to be administered. However, attempts
to catch it or kill the venomous snake are not advised as the snake may bite more people.

Poison apparatus of snakes:

Poisonous snakes possess poison apparatus consisting of a pair of poison glands, their ducts, fangs &
muscles. Poison glands are located one on either side of the upper jaw, below and little behind the eyes.
They are modified superior labial/parotid glands, which are specialized salivary glands. They are small &
oval in sea snakes but large and tubular in vipers. Each gland is thickly encapsulated with fibrous
connective tissue and by constrictor muscles called temporal/masseter muscles. These muscles stretch
during biting thus squeezing poison into the ducts. Fangs are large, curved, sharp specialized teeth of the
upper jaw/maxilla. They may be tubular (closed type) or grooved (open type). Usually, there is a pair of
functional fangs. Also, reserve fangs & developing fangs may be present behind the functional fangs.
These fangs function as hypodermic needles. The groove or canal is connected to the poison gland through
the poison duct and opens at the tip of the fang. The fangs are small in sea snakes but quite long in vipers.
Structurally, fangs are classified into three types. They are solenoglyphous, proteroglyphous &
opisthoglyphous

Solenoglyphous fangs​:
Snakes belonging to the viper family (Viperidae-movable front fang) possess these fangs. They are large
located in the front of the maxilla. The base is enveloped in a sheath with few reserve & developing fangs.
When the mouth is closed these fangs can be folded along the roof of the buccal cavity. A hollow poison
canal runs through the fang to open at the tip.

Proteroglyphous fangs​:
These fangs are present in snakes like cobras & Kraits belonging to family Elapidae and in coral snakes
and sea snakes of the family Hydrophidae. They are small fangs, permanently erect & fixed in front of the
upper jaw. They are characterized by a groove along its anterior face.
Opisthoglyphous fangs​:
These fangs are seen in snakes belonging to the family Colubridae like North American garter snakes,
grass snakes, Bander rat snakes, vine shakes etc. They are small, lying at the back of the upper jaw. They
are characterized by a groove at the lateral surface of the fang.
Aglyphous fangs​:
These fangs lack any groove for the venom to run down. Instead, the venom drips down the teeth from
available openings & thus saturating the maxillae. For envenomation, they must chew on its prey. Ex:
Bling snake, some colubrids

Venom: composition & effects:

Snake venom is a complex organic secretion of the poison gland for either defensive or offensive purpose.
It is a clear, yellow, sticky, tasteless, odourless, acidic fluid containing a variety of proteins, polypeptides &
hydrolytic enzymes dissolved inorganic acid.
Many of these proteins are harmless to humans, but some are toxic. On drying, it breaks into pieces & can
be dissolved in the salt solution, glycerin and water. It can be precipitated with silver nitrite solution &
potassium permanganate. Dried venom can be powdered & stored indefinitely without losing its toxicity.
When the solution of the powder is swallowed, it acts as an excellent digestive juice but can be fatal if the
digestive tract has an injury.
Each venom has its characteristics & toxicity & thus can be broadly differentiated into two types-
Neurotoxic & Hemotoxic. Neurotoxic venom acts on the nervous system. It may affect the optic nerve
causing blindness or may act on the phrenic nerve of the diaphragm producing respiratory paralysis.
Hemotoxic venom breaks RBCs & can also destroy the endothelium of the capillaries resulting in bleeding
& clotting of blood in the tissues. Venom however can have both the properties. In general, the chemical
composition of snake venom is Phosphodiesterase, alpha & beta neurotoxins, hyaluronidase, amino acid
oxidases, proteases and ATPase.
Phosphodiesterase​ interferes with prey’s cardiac system mainly to lower the blood pressure.
Alpha & beta neurotoxins​ inhibit cholinesterase to make the prey lose muscle control.
Hyaluronidase​ increases tissue permeability to absorb enzymes of the venom.
Amino acid oxidase​ gives yellow colouration to the venom
Proteases​ help indigestion.
ATPase​ breaks ATPs to disrupt the prey’s energy/fuel use.
Lucien, brother of Napoleon Bonaparte is believed to have established the proteinaceous nature of venom.
Effect of venom is type-specific. The degree of virulence varies from snake to snake & in the same snake
under different conditions, since the make-up of venom varies widely from species to species. Life and
death of the victim depend on the amount of venom injected & its virulence. Toxicity of venom is
expressed by ​LD50​ (The lowest dose that kills 50% of a group of experimental animals). It is noteworthy
to know that the size of the fang is in no relation to the virulence of the venom.
Blood serum containing the antibodies of specific venom is referred to as anti-venom. It is obtained by
injecting mild concentration of specific venom into the body of a horse/sheep.
Albert Calmette​ was the first to establish the production of antivenom by a gradual increase in the dose of
venom into a horse. Serum institute at Pune, King’s institute, Madras, Haffkin’s institute, Bombay are
some organizations that make antivenom. In an unknown bite, a polyvalent antivenom is administered by
the physician that acts against the antigens of the common four land snakes.
Effects of the venom of cobra​:
- Venom is neurotoxic, causing paralysis of the respiratory muscles by blocking the Ach (Acetylcholine)
receptors.
Symptoms:
Severe pain, burning sensation, numbness of the bitten area that turns blue or black.
- Giddiness, weakness in legs, high pulse rate, speechlessness, drooping of eyelids, salivation, contraction
of pupils, nausea or vomiting, difficulty in breathing. Death occurs within a few hours due to asphyxiation.
Effects of the venom of krait​:
- Venom is neurotoxic. Each bite injects 3 times the venom of a cobra.
Symptoms: Paralysis of the trunk & limbs, other symptoms are similar to that of a cobra, death occurs in
8-24 hours.

Effects of the venom of a viper​:

- Venom is hemotoxic.
Symptoms:
- Local discolouration of the bitten area, swelling with acute pain, oozing of fluid from the wound due to
massive tissue destruction (necrosis) thereby initiating the process of gangrene, Amputation becomes
necessary. Other symptoms as cobra bite. Death occurs due to paralysis of vasomotor centres & exhaustion
from bleeding.