SERPENTINE SENSATION

Serpentine Sensation, acrylic on canvas, 2022. 20" X 30"

Snakes have no legs, yet they could move at high speeds on the ground, climb trees with ease, swim well and a few even glide in the air. There are almost 2400 species of snake, and all of them are predators. Some snakes carry venom while others, especially the larger ones, do not.

The reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) is a massive snake commonly found in India and Southeast Asia. It is the world's longest snake, reaching up to 10 meters from nose to tail, but is also the third heaviest behind the green anaconda and the Burmese python. It is named for the complex geometric pattern on its skin, which enables the snake to blend into its surroundings in order to protect it from predators and helps it catch its prey. Like all large snakes, the python does not carry venom and attacks its prey by coiling.

The emerald tree boa (Corallus caninus, top) has a bright green body that provides excellent camouflage among the leaves of its forest home in northern South America. Like the python, it is not venomous and attacks its prey by coiling and squeezing. It is usually seen coiling into a ball shape on branches when resting. Due to its extremely slow metabolism, it feeds much less often than other ground-dwelling snakes.

The paradise tree snake (Chrysopelea paradisi, bottom) is known for gliding through the air between tree tops by stretching its body sideways into a flattened strip using its ribs and drawing its belly up to make a curved underside, enabling its body to work like a bird's wing. It is mostly found in the rainforests of South and Southeast Asia. It is mildly venomous with rear fangs and also can constrict its prey, which consists of mostly lizards, birds and bats. The snake was observed to be able to control its flight pattern by wriggling its body side to side like how snakes normally move on the ground when flying while its head remained stable. 

The green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) is the world's heaviest snake and the longest snake in South America, measuring up to 5 meters long and weighing up to 70 kilograms. This snake primarily lives its life in the water and, like the python, is an ambush predator that uses constriction to hunt its prey. They feed on fish, birds, medium-sized mammals and occasionally caimans. 

The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis, left) is a highly-venomous snake which had a famous reputation for being one of the world's most venomous snakes. It lives in sub-Saharan Africa where it inhabits both in trees and on the ground. It is the fastest but is also the second longest venomous snake after the king cobra. A formidable and highly-aggressive snake, it moves with its head high above the ground and is capable of striking at considerable range and may deliver multiple bites rapidly. It feeds on birds and small mammals.

The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah, middle) is the longest venomous snake and is large compared to many other cobra species. When threatened, it displays by spreading its hood and raising its head upright, making it look bigger than it really is and warns the enemy that it may strike. It is widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia. The king cobra preys on small reptiles, including lizards and even other snakes, as most snake-eating snakes have "king" in their name. 

The Brahminy blind snake (Indotyphlops braminus, right) is one of the word's smallest snakes. It has very small, simple eyes hidden beneath the translucent scales of its head. It spends most of its time underground, like an earthworm, for which it is often mistaken, but has scales and moves its body side to side like other snakes. It slides into ants' nests to eat the eggs, larvae and pupae.

The western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox, left) has a rattle made of hard rings of scales at the end of its tail. When the snake shakes its rattle, the modified scales make a distinctive rattling sound to warn enemies. New rings are added to the rattle as the snake grows. The rattlesnake in the painting is chasing a kangaroo rat, a jumping rat from its habitat in the deserts of North America. Rattlesnakes are members of the venomous viper family, and they have sensory holes or "pits" on each side of its head to detect heat signals from warm-blooded prey.

The puff adder (Bitis arietans, bottom right) is a venomous snake of the viper family that can be found in sub-Saharan Africa, Morocco and the southwest of the Arabian peninsula. It relies on camouflage for protection, and hold their body in a semi-upright S-shaped position when threatened. The puff adder moves by flexing its body straight like several large snake species.

The desert horned viper (Cerastes cerastes, top) is native to the Sahara and Arabian deserts and is easily identifiable for having a pair of horn-like scales on top of each eye. It moves by sidewinding, where it pushes its body up and forwards using mainly its head and tail, leaving S-shaped indents on the desert sand. A horned viper can lay 8 to 23 eggs in a single clutch under rocks and in abandoned burrows. The eggs are then incubated for 50 to 80 days before they hatch.

The inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus, bottom) is one of the most venomous snakes in the world. Living in the remotest regions in central and eastern Australia, this agile and extremely fast snake primarily eats small mammals like mice. Although it had a fearsome reputation, the taipan is actually a shy snake that usually avoids large animals.