Snakes: From Vipers to Boa Constrictors(Animals in Photographs)

Few animals strike as much fear as snakes, which kill either through their poisonous venom or through suffocation. Numbering more than 3000 species, snakes can be found in virtually every environment other than Antarctica, from the jungles of the Amazon to the Gobi desert and Australian Outback. Some snakes even inhabit the rivers and seas. Arranged by continent, Snakes offers an engaging pictorial introduction to these prehistoric predators. Find out about the black mamba, which is feared because it possesses an extremely potent venom that kills most of its victims – animal and human; see the banded krait, whose venom is a neurotoxin that induces instant paralysis; learn about the reticulated python, the world’s longest constrictor, regularly reaching over 6 metres (20ft) in length; and marvel at the tiny Barbados threadsnake, which typically grows to a length of 10cm (4in) and has been compared to a spaghetti noodle! With full captions explaining the history, behaviour and feeding habits of more than 150 snake species, Snakes is a fascinating examination of these highly colourful reptilian killers in more than 180 vivid photographs.

Table of Contents:
Contents to include: Introduction EUROPE Aesculapian snake Dahl’s whip snake Barred grass snake Caspian whipsnake Dice snake Montpellier snake Ladder snake Western whip snake European worm snake Armenian viper European cat snake Ottoman viper Montivipera xanthina Common European adder Four-lined snake Viperine water snake Steppe rat snake Red whip snake Nose-horned viper Javelin sand boa Milos viper Leopard snake AFRICA Ball python Lithe skeleton Black mamba Many-horned adder Cape cobra Eastern green mamba Boomslang Saharan horned viper Kenyan sand boa Green bush viper Hairy bush viper Central African egg-eating snake Central African rock python Egyptian cobra Eyelash bush viper Malagasy leaf-nosed snake Puff adder Striped house snake Yellow-bellied sea snake Southern African rock python Peter’s threadsnake Madagascar tree boa Rhinoceros viper Gabino viper Spotted bush snake ASIA Banded krait Arabian sand boa Blood python King cobra Sri Lankan pit viper Burmese python Green pit viper species Banded Malaysian coral snake Common bronzeback Blue Malayan coral snake Cat-eyed water snake Boulenger’s bronzeback Blunt-headed slug-eating snake Indian cobra Hagen’s pit viper Caspian cobra Timor python Painted saw-scaled viper Indian python Sand boa Indian rat snake Golden tree snake Trimeresurus venustus Fea’s vipers Indonesian pit viper Yellow morph Wagler’s pit viper Malayan krait Monocled cobra Paradise tree snake Black-headed cat snake Reticulated python Smooth slug snake AUSTRALIA Green tree python Belcher’s sea snake King brown snake Eastern brown snake Black-headed python Carpet python Scrub python Australian tree snake Bandy-bandy snakes Coastal taipan Oviparous White-lipped snake Jungle carpet python Dubois’ sea snake Inland taipan Southern desert banded snake Rough-scaled python Northern death adder Red-bellied black snake Ringed brown snake Smooth-scaled death adder Common death adder Black-striped burrowing snake Woma python Tiger snake NORTH AMERICA Checkered garter snake Pacific gopher snake Black rat snake Blotched palm-pit viper Blunthead tree snake Antiguan racer Puffing snake Central American coral snake Red-tailed coral snake Costa Rican coral snake Blackneck garter snake Plains garter snake Eastern copperhead Yellow-blotched palm-pitviper Florida green watersnake Corn snake Sidewinder Western diamondback rattlesnake Eastern indigo snake Mexican vine snake Gray-banded kingsnake Bluestripe ribbon snake Mexican west coast rattlesnake Ring-necked snake Rubber boa Southern hog-nosed snake Texas rat snake Coastal rosy boa SOUTH AMERICA Tiger rat snake Yellow-bellied puffing snake False coral snake Variegated snail-eater Amazon tree boa Green anaconda Green vine snake Checker-bellied snake Common neckband snake Southern American bushmaster Common lancehead Parrot snake Yellow-tailed cribo Paraguayan anaconda Eyelash viper South American rattlesnake Brazilian smooth snake Emerald tree boa Argentine boa Common boa Aruba rattlesnake

About the Author :
Julianna Photopoulos is a science writer and filmmaker. She has written for various print and online publications including New Scientist, BBC Focus magazine and Nature, and has been involved in a number of natural history documentaries for the BBC and National Geographic. As a biology graduate, she has also worked in genetics and in dolphin and whale research.