Snakes - 20 Facts

Geographic location forced snakes to evolve and change on their own

It is thought that snakes evolved from lizards

Snakes live in oceans, trees and on the land

Snakes are both predators and prey

¼ of all snakes have venomous fang

70% of all snakes hatch from eggs

Snakes vary greatly in size and weight, although they have the same basic body structure

Snakes have no limbs

The King Cobra is the largest of all venomous snakes, and actually eats other snakes

Snakes taste odours in the air with their tongues

When snakes strike they have a near 100% success rate

Snakes can expand the capacity of their jaws due to an elastic jaw ligament

Snakes have poor eyesight, and so have heat censors that can pick up vibrations

Snakes can tell the difference between temperature changes and body heat from prey using these censors

Night snakes contract their iris to a slit during light, due to light sensitivity

The eye of the snake goes milky just before they shed their skin

Once the skin is shed the snakes' skin doesn't actually have a colour

There are seven families of snake throughout Australia

The most common snake family in Australia is the Elapidae

The most deadly snakes found in Australia include Brown Snakes, Copperheads, Death Adders, Red-Bellied Black Snakes, Taipan Snakes and Tiger Snakes