Serpentes (snakes)
Life >
Eukaryotes
>
Opisthokonta >
Metazoa
(animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia >
Chordata >
Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates) > Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) >
Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class:
Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial vertebrates) >
Tetrapoda
(four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota >
Reptilia (reptiles) >
Romeriida > Diapsida > Lepidosauromorpha > Lepidosauria >
Squamata
Snakes are legless carnivorous reptiles which lack eye
lids and external ears. They have loosely attached jaws which enable them to
swallow prey larger than the size of their heads. Very often they only have
one lung and all other organs lie one behind the other. A large portion of
snakes are non venomous, however there are several whose venom is lethal to
humans.
Families native to southern Africa
Acknowledgements
The pages in Biodiversity Explorer on snakes have mainly
been developed by Ross Soller.
|