snake

Bacteria are resourceful little organisms. They can live in some of the weirdest, most inhospitable places on our planet – arid deserts, toxic acidic lakes, even deep in Earth's crust below the ocean floor.  But scientists have just discovered a new, very unexpected habitat for the hardy little microbes: the venom of snakes and spiders. This contradicts what we thought we knew; such venoms contain antimicrobial compounds, which scientists assumed to mean they were sterile environments in which no microbes could…

Phalotris shawnella. Credit: Jean-Paul BrouardA magnificent non-venomous snake, previously unknown to science, was discovered in Paraguay and described by researchers from the Paraguayan NGO Para La Tierra in collaboration with Guyra Paraguay and the Instituto de Investigación Biológica del Paraguay. The new snake species belongs to the genus Phalotris, which features 15 semi-subterranean species distributed in central South America. This group of snakes is noted for its striking coloration with red, black, and yellow…

From the evil serpent who tempted Eve into eating the apple of knowledge to dreaded Nagini — Voldermort’s Horcrux in the Harry Potter series, or the friendly python in Kipling’s Jungle Book, snakes have been represented a number of times in literature over the years. From John Milton to William Shakespeare and JK Rowling, authors, dramatists and poets have time and again gone back to the ancient serpent to represent good and evil. As wildlife enthusiasts around the world celebrate World Snake Day, we take a look at…

Wildlife can cause disruption in traffic and we have seen it happen numerous times in the past. In the latest incident from Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh, a massive python was crossing the road. Spotting the large snake, a state bus stopped on the highway and many other vehicles travelling stopped to give way to the reptile. The incident happened on the Tirupati – Tirumala highway late at night. With the scarce traffic on the road, the snake was trying to cross the road. After the driver of the bus spotted the snake, he…

The natural world around us is endlessly inspiring, and fascinating, and often very odd too: like when researchers snapped a photo of Bolivian river dolphins swimming around with a Beni anaconda snake in their mouths, for example.  These river dolphins are relatively rarely seen creatures, as it's unusual for them to have their heads above water for very long – let alone to be juggling a predatory snake between their jaws at the same time.While it's not clear exactly what was going on here, dolphins and cetaceans more…