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Thread: snakes

  1. #31
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    Yikes!

    VENOMOUS VIPERS MYSTERIOUSLY LEAVE FOREST TO INVADE WORLD CUP HOST CITY, RUSSIA SENDS TEAMS TO CAPTURE
    BY DANIELLE KOGAN ON 6/29/18 AT 9:28 AM
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    Following a fly infestation in Volgograd—a southwestern city in Russia and one of the places hosting the 2018 World Cup—snakes are now migrating down the Volga River to the Volga Sports Arena. Among the snakes are black vipers, the species Vipera nikolskii, whose bites could be fatal. The vipers are about 2 and a half feet in length when fully grown.

    Blocknot, one of the first local news sources to cover the sightings, reported spotting this species Monday, when team members of the city's search and rescue recorded five sightings of snakes in a single day from.

    On Tuesday, Volgograd's head of search and rescue, Alexander Sivolobov, said this species can easily cover distances of 2 miles and has the ability to creep ashore on land, according to The Moscow Times.

    The vipers' arrival was just in time for the World Cup's last H game, which includes matches between Senegal and Columbia as well as Japan and Poland. Russia's response has been to send search-and-rescue teams to divert and remove all the snakes before they incite panic among the city's 5,000 visitors and general population. How or why the endemic species migrated has so far stumped the ecological and biological communities in Volgograd. Also known as Nikolsky's viper, the snake usually resides in a forest.

    "All vipers are venomous, but not necessarily poisonous. They naturally avoid human areas," said Dr. Frank T. Burbrink, curator of herpetology at the American Museum of Natural History.


    Nicolsky's Viper, pictured above, is a native endemic species that lives in the forest.
    BENNY TRAPP

    When a viper bites, its two swiveling fangs operate like syringes. According to Burbrink, two types of venom that can be found in snakes are hemotoxic or neurotoxic venom. Burbrink said hemotoxic venom is the type that destroys tissue—the reason why hemotoxic bites tend to hurt—whereas neurotoxic venom would damage the nervous system. However, according to Burbrink, a venomous snake bite may not necessarily be fatal.

    "It depends on what the snake was doing," Burbrink said. Snakes who have eaten have injected their venom into their prey and will inevitably allow less venom to pass through in the case of a second bite. This is known as a "dry bite," which Burbrink estimated makes up approximately 25 percent of snake bites.
    swivelling fangs. kinda biblical.
    Gene Ching
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  2. #32
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    'constricting' airplane seats - he made a funny.

    MIAMI TSA AGENTS DISCOVER PYTHON HIDDEN IN A HARD DRIVE IN PASSENGER'S LUGGAGE
    BY EWAN PALMER ON 7/10/18 AT 8:30 AM

    Authorities in Florida have managed to stop a man who attempted to smuggle a python onto a flight by hiding it inside a hard drive.

    Transportation Security Administration agents discovered the snake placed inside a nylon stocking and hidden in the hard drive enclosure at Miami International Airport on July 8.

    Officials said the man attempted to sneak the snake inside his checked bag onto a flight towards Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI) in Barbados.

    "The snake, that didn’t get on a plane thanks to our officers' diligent screening, had been artfully concealed inside the electronics of a hard drive and placed in a checked bag headed for a flight to Barbados," TSA spokeswoman, Sari Koshetz, told the Miami Herald.

    "Upon the TSA officer’s discovery of the organic mass, one of our TSA bomb experts was called into the baggage screening room to investigate the innards of the hard drive and that is when he discovered the mass was a live snake."

    Koshetz explained that while the snake was not in any immediate danger, there is a real risk that the animal could have escaped and chewed through wires, threatening the lives of other passengers, reports WSVN.

    “This organic mass was not explosive, but it shows you can’t hide any threat from us,” Koshetz added on Twitter.


    The python seen wrapped in a stocking an placed inside the hard drive at Miami International Airport on July 8.
    TSA

    The passenger, who has not been named, was stopped from flying and later fined an undisclosed amount with the snake taken into custody by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, reports the Associated Press.

    “Agent Neville Flynn would be extremely proud of our officers at the Miami International Airport (MIA),” a spokesperson for TSA said, referring to the character played by Samuel L Jackson in the 2006 film Snakes on a Plane.

    “You see, Agent Flynn has HAD IT with snakes on planes, and our officers prevented a young Ball Python from flying the friendly skies this past Sunday."

    “If you think airplane seats can feel constricting, imagine how this little guy felt.”

    The snake in question was identified as Ball or royal Python, which is considered a non-native species by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

    "Ball pythons are one of the most popular nonnative snakes in the pet trade,” the FWC states on its website.

    “While they can be confused with Burmese pythons, adult ball pythons rarely grow longer than four feet. Although ball pythons have been found in the wild, there are no known reproducing populations.”
    Snakes on a Plane - I really should see that some day.
    Gene Ching
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  3. #33
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    She Wong Lam closes

    Snake restaurant in Hong Kong to close after 110 years, marking end of an era
    Family-run She Wong Lam in Sheung Wan was hugely popular, with actor Stephen Chow a regular customer. But its snake handler is nearly 90, and no one in the family wants to continue the business

    PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 11 July, 2018, 6:48pm
    UPDATED : Wednesday, 11 July, 2018, 7:20pm
    Bernice Chan
    bernice.chan@scmp.com
    http://twitter.com/beijingcalling



    One of Hong Kong’s oldest snake restaurants is closing for good, ending more than 110 years of history in Sheung Wan.

    Family-run She Wong Lam was hugely popular in the 1960s and 1970s, but with no one from the family’s younger generation keen to continue the business of looking after snakes and preparing them for soup, the restaurant will close its doors on July 15.

    According to Lo Tin-yam, the fourth-generation owner, She Wong Lam’s manager, Mak Dai-kong, is in his late 80s and has decided to retire, so the Lo family feels it is the right time to close the Hillier Street shop.

    “Master Mak is almost 90 and he is the boss of the shop. He has worked for four generations of our family,” Lo says by phone from Vancouver, Canada. “Since my grandfather passed away, my father [Lo Yip-wing] didn’t know much about the snake business and I know even less,” he says.

    His family trusts Mak but are unfamiliar with the shop’s other employees, making it hard for them to continue the business, he explains.


    Mak joined She Wong Lam in 1948, when he was 18 years old. Photo: Oliver Tsang

    Lo says the date for closing She Wong Lam was chosen by his uncle and father, the latter now in an old people’s home in Hong Kong. Lo, an accountant, and his younger sister have lived in Vancouver since he was about eight years old and he does not intend to return.

    “It’s very difficult to find people to work in this particular industry. It’s not for everyone,” Lo says.

    Mak joined She Wong Lam in 1948, when he was 18 years old, and the founder, Lo Tai-lam, encouraged him to help out around the shop and eat snake soup to help build his strength.


    She Wong Lam in Sheung Wan in 1972. Photo: SCMP

    Mak gradually learned how to handle snakes, remove their fangs, extract the gallbladder, and make the shop’s signature snake soup.

    The ingredients of snake soup include the meat of various snake species, chicken, pork, sugar cane, mandarin peel, and white pepper. It is garnished with chrysanthemum petals and finely sliced lemon leaves.

    “In the past, when I saw my colleagues handling snakes, they told me I didn’t have to be afraid of them,” Mak said in an interview with the Post late last year.


    Bottles of snake wine for sale at She Wong Lam. Photo: James Wendlinger

    “Once their fangs have been pulled out, they are not venomous … I remember my first attempts at handling snakes. I got bitten by them but it wasn’t painful at all. Since then, I have never been afraid of snakes.”

    Sidney Cheung Chin-hung, professor and director of the Centre for Cultural Heritage Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, has a copy of a flier from She Wong Lam promoting its snake gallbladder seasoned with ginger or pepper that dates back to 1910, and believes the shop was established in the early 1900s.

    While fourth-generation owner Lo didn’t learn much about the snake business, he has a few fond memories to share about the business. The shop moved a few times during its more than 110-year history, but has always been in Sheung Wan. He also revealed how the shop got its name.

    “My great-grandfather used to be busy in the back of the shop dealing with the snakes, and because people couldn’t see him, they assumed he was being lazy, which is why he got the nickname ‘Se Wong’, or ‘Snake King’,” says Lo. “She wong” is a Chinese euphemism for a lazy person.

    Lo isn’t sure how or when his great-grandfather came to Hong Kong from the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, but Cheung is convinced the business was founded back in the dying days of the Qing dynasty.

    One of his former anthropology graduate students, Esther Chok Wing-sum, says that in 1885 there were about 115 snake shops in Guangzhou. At the turn of the century, many snake handlers, including Lo’s great-grandfather, brought their knowledge and skills to the British colony of Hong Kong.

    The younger Lo attributes the family’s financial success to the hard work of his great-grandfather and grandfather. At one point She Wong Lam sold snake gallbladder and soup not only in Sheung Wan, but at two other locations in the city.


    Mak gradually learned how to handle snakes, and defang them. Photo: James Wendlinger

    Hong Kong historian Cheng Po-hung says one of the shops was on the corner of Hennessy and Fleming roads in Wan Chai. The other was in Kowloon, he says, though no one we spoke to remembers the exact location.

    Before the 1950s, Chok says, snake was a delicacy on par with shark’s fin and bird’s nest, which only the well-off could afford.

    “A snake gallbladder was a few days’ salary at the time,” she explains. “It cost HK$20, but at that time the average person’s monthly salary was only HK$250.”

    However, from the 1950s onwards, eating snake became increasingly affordable for the working class and grew more popular. “A bowl of snake soup would cost HK$8, but then it went down to HK$2 to HK$3,” Chok says.
    continued next post
    Gene Ching
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  4. #34
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    Continued from previous post


    Snake soup served at She Wong Lam. Photo: Edmond So

    Lo says there was a Chinese opera theatre in Sheung Wan in the 1960s, close to She Wong Lam, and opera singers would patronise the shop regularly, downing snake gallbladder with alcohol to boost their stamina.

    Celebrities such as actor Stephen Chow Sing-chi and former senior police officer Tsang Kai-wing (actor Eric Tsang Chi-wai’s father) were regular visitors. Lo says Chow would tell the staff to contact him when they had a particularly large cobra in stock, such was his appetite for the snake.

    Historian Cheng says he has tried the reptile’s gallbladder, which his friends used to buy regularly from other snake shops. “They put it in a spoon, or a shot glass, and added alcohol to it,” he says.

    “One time a group of us drank the gallbladder of three different snakes mixed with alcohol … it was translucent green in colour and tasted bitter. People think it helps you become physically stronger, but the gallbladder has bacteria in it,” he says.

    Despite She Wong Lam’s success, Lo’s elders were acutely aware of how important it was that a member of the next generation learn the snake trade if the business was to continue.

    “My great uncle asked me when I was in my 20s if I would go into the business, otherwise no one else would do it. But I have my life in Canada. I’m 50 years old now and I don’t even live there [in Hong Kong],” he says.


    Mak extracts the gallbladder, and then makes the shop’s signature snake soup. Photo: James Wendlinger

    Lo points out that other traditional trades in Hong Kong, such as making lanterns, bamboo noodles, hand-carved mahjong tiles, and neon signs, are also disappearing.

    The younger generation move away and can’t come back. [Old] Hong Kong will disappearLO TIN-YAM
    “The younger generation move away and can’t come back,” he says. “[Old] Hong Kong will disappear and instead have shops like Zara, McDonald’s and Fairwood, especially with rent being so expensive.”

    A search on restaurant guide OpenRice shows 36 restaurants with the Chinese character for “snake” in their name still open in Hong Kong, at least four of them with more than one location. They may not necessarily be specialists like She Wong Lam, however, nor have live snakes on the premises.


    Snake boxes with the word ‘poisonous’ on them at She Wong Lam in Sheung Wan. Photo: James Wendlinger

    Historian Cheng thinks there is still a decent number of places to get a bowl of snake soup, and doesn’t expect them all to close any time soon. He says the owners of Shia Wong Hip in Sham Shui Po, for example, have taught their siblings the snake trade, and adds there are still many snake shops in that neighbourhood and in Yau Ma Tei.

    After the closure of She Wong Lam, the Lo family, which owns the shop space, will rent it out. In the meantime, Lo says, they have contacted the Hong Kong Museum of History about collecting the snake cabinets, cages and tables. The wooden cabinets are more than 100 years old.


    Diners enjoy bowls of snake soup at She Wong Lam. Photo: AFP

    Lo says Mak designed his own pocket knife to make a sharp slit to extract the snake’s gallbladder, and to skin it quickly and efficiently. According to Cheng, designing their own knives is common practice among those in the snake business.

    For Lo, the closure of She Wong Lam is also the end of a long chapter in the family’s history, and tinged with sadness. Five years ago, Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK made a documentary featuring Lo and his son Lo Yun-hei, then three years old, visiting the shop. At the time he hoped the business would continue to the fifth generation.

    The reality is that the family respects Mak’s wishes to retire, and Lo hopes to keep the shop’s name alive. “I do have the intention to move back to Hong Kong when I retire, and I still have the rights to the name, so maybe I’ll open a restaurant with the same name,” Lo says.
    THREADS:
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    Gene Ching
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  5. #35
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    Many-banded Krait wine?

    Chinese woman in coma after being bitten by deadly snake she bought online
    The 21-year-old is believed to have decided to keep the venomous many-banded krait as a pet
    PUBLISHED : Thursday, 12 July, 2018, 4:11pm
    UPDATED : Thursday, 12 July, 2018, 9:36pm
    He Huifeng
    huifeng.he@scmp.com



    A 21-year-old woman is in a coma and on life support in a hospital in northwest China after she was bitten by a highly venomous snake she is thought to have bought online, local media reported on Thursday.

    The woman, identified only by the pseudonym Xiaofang, was bitten on her finger at her home in Weinan city in Shaanxi province on Monday, according to China Business Report.

    The report suggested the woman had been keeping the many-banded krait, a species found in much of China and Southeast Asia – including Hong Kong where the government warns it is “lethal” – as a pet.

    The woman’s parents were quoted as saying their daughter had called for help after being bitten and she reported feeling dizzy and nauseous about an hour later.

    They took her to a local hospital but she soon lapsed into a coma.

    The hospital did not have any supplies of antivenin to treat bites from the many-banded krait, which has the scientific name Bungarus multicinctus, because the species is not common in the region. This meant she was not given a shot of the antidote until the following evening.

    On Tuesday the woman’s parents reported to police that the snake was missing and later that day a dead snake – subsequently confirmed to be a many-banded krait – was found a short distance from the family’s home.

    Xiaofang’s family said chat logs from her phone suggested she had bought the snake via an online shopping platform, but did not have any further information about the seller or how she had taken delivery of the snake.

    Many-banded kraits are on a list of protected rare and endangered species in China, and it is illegal to hurt or sell them.

    However with so little information to go on – even the name of the platform used to buy the snake remains unknown – there is little the police can do at present.

    Records indicated that the seller had informed Xiaofang that the creature was venomous, the report said.

    Although Xiaofang told the seller she planned to use it to make “snake wine”, a traditional Chinese medicine made by leaving the animals to ferment in alcohol, her parents said she apparently had second thoughts and had been keeping the animal as a pet.
    THREADS:
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    Gene Ching
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  6. #36
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    San Antonio snakes

    This is a bad neighbor.

    Texas Animal Control Seizes More Than 500 Snakes and Rodents From a Single Home


    An San Antonio Animal Care Services officer carries bags containing snakes removed from a home in the 500 block of Kayton Avenua on San Antonio's Southside, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Josie Norris—AP

    By ASSOCIATED PRESS September 6, 2018

    SAN ANTONIO — Animal control officials have removed more than 100 snakes and more than 400 rodents from a San Antonio home following concerns about the animals’ living conditions.

    Animal Care Services seized 136 reticulated pythons and ball pythons Wednesday after weeks of attempting to work with the reptiles’ owner to improve the living conditions, The San Antonio Express-News reported .

    The San Antonio animal owner was breeding and selling the nonvenomous constrictors, investigators said. The man wouldn’t disclose how many snakes he had or address their living conditions, which prompted authorities to get a search warrant, said Joel Skidmore, a field operations supervisor. Two of the snakes were 10-foot (3-meter) pythons.

    Animal Care Services officers found the snakes in cages and plastic tubs, some of which were stacked in a shed. Officials also removed 415 mice and rats that were being used as the snakes’ food source.

    The city’s animal ordinance bans venomous snakes but doesn’t have specific limits for nonvenomous snakes. The ordinance does require that reptiles are provided with care and treatment, such as access to fresh air and water, and appropriate food and shelter.

    The city’s Dangerous Assessment Response Team, a herpetologist from the San Antonio Zoo, city code enforcement officers and SeaWorld experts assisted in the reptiles’ removal.

    The owner must appear in court within 10 days to determine who will get custody of the snakes, Skidmore said. If Animal Care Services is granted custody, the agency will work with local rescue shelters and zoos to find appropriate placement for the reptiles, spokeswoman Lisa Norwood said.
    Gene Ching
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  7. #37
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    29 snakes on a plane

    German 'TSA' sucks.

    I should really watch Snakes on a Plane someday. I reference it often.

    SNAKES ON A PLANE: MAN SUCCESSFULLY BOARDS FLIGHT WITH 20 REPTILES IN HAND LUGGAGE
    BY DAMIEN SHARKOV ON 9/12/18 AT 7:34 AM

    Flying from Germany to Russia, the passenger, whose name and nationality were not given, packed a small hand luggage bag that apparently passed without issue through authorities at Dusseldorf Airport. Once landing in Moscow, however, the Environmental Protection Agency noticed the curious contents and flagged up the reptilians inside the bag.

    The man stated he had purchased the non-venomous animals from a market in Germany, RP Online reported, according to a translation by The Local website. The Russian capital’s Sheremetyevo International Airport confirmed the incident in a statement.

    “The reptiles were in canisters, packed in bags, carried in hand luggage. There were no documents provided for the reptiles," the airport’s press service said in a statement. "The species of snakes will be determined by specialists, but according to preliminary information they are not of a venomous species.”

    Russian authorities determined that the passenger did not have proper documentation to transport the animals into the country, seized the beasts and placed them into quarantine in Moscow.

    Germany’s federal police said officers had not reported an incident at the time when the passenger checked in for the flight from Düsseldorf, meaning the person may have had the necessary documents to take the reptiles out of the country, which is not illegal. However, Russia requires additional information if someone is bringing in animals from another country. This includes information about the creatures’ origin and health from vets.

    The rules about bringing animals on board planes is a contentious topic, especially letting them in the cabin as emotional support pets. Earlier this year one woman was forced to drive cross-country, following her attempt to check in her peacock as an emotional support animal, despite the airline’s insistence that she had to purchase a separate seat for the bird.

    Meanwhile staff at Texas’s San Antonio International Airport were left scrambling to recapture an escaped monkey that fled from its crate and bolted for the baggage area. After the incident was caught on camera, officials announced they had managed to catch up with the monkey and put it back into a crate, placing it back on track to its destination—the ironically named Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary in La Salle County.
    Gene Ching
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  8. #38
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    Florence snakes

    Hurricane Florence could spread killer snakes across the Carolinas
    By Tamar Lapin September 13, 2018 | 3:26pm | Updated
    Modal Trigger


    Composite; Reuters; iStockphoto

    Hurricane Florence could displace venomous snakes from South Carolina’s wetlands — and send them slithering down local streets, local zoo officials are warning.

    The monster storm may uproot some 38 species of snakes — including dangerous cottonmouths and copperhead vipers — from their coastal habitats, Thad Bowman of the Alligator Adventure zoo in Myrtle Beach told the Sun News in S.C.

    “They inject venom, which causes tissue destruction, platelet loss, causes bleeding, it can cause death,” said Gerald O’Malley, with Grand Street Hospital.

    Residents shouldn’t be out during the storm, but if they are, and get bitten by a snake, they should rush to a hospital that isn’t closed. Many medical facilities in the area will be shut down, but the Conway Medical Center is still open, the paper reported.

    Horry County officials are asking people not to call 911 unless it’s serious. A bite from a cottonmouth, for example, would count as an emergency.

    Wayward snakes are common during devastating storms.

    “They can be found swimming in water or hiding under debris and they should be avoided,” Accuweather warned.

    After Hurricane Harvey passed over Houston, Texas, in September 2017, people found snakes, fire ants and even alligators in their homes.

    All three of those animals are also native to the Carolinas, which lie in Florence’s path.

    Bowman said the zoo is doing everything to keep their animals safe during the storm. The zoo boasts seven different species of snakes, including a boa constrictor, and multiple types of alligators.
    This seems more credible than the Sharknado claims.
    Gene Ching
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  9. #39
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    Waiter, there's a...

    ...snake loose in the restaurant.

    Live snake escapes from Guangzhou restaurant’s kitchen, gets caught by customer
    At least you know your snakehead soup is fresh!
    by Alex Linder October 5, 2018



    Recently, a live snake escaped from the restaurant of a kitchen only to be caught and returned by one customer. This happened where else but in Guangdong province.

    Video shows that the snake’s escape caused quite a stir in the Guangzhou restaurant, causing some diners to flee and others to step forward to help catch the creature. In the end, it was a brave uncle who snared the serpent and presented it back to restaurant staff.

    In China, the people of Guangdong have a well-earned reputation as adventurous eaters — a popular saying goes that they will “eat anything that has four legs except for a table, anything that flies except for an airplane, and anything that swims except for a submarine — while restaurants there do not have such an impressive reputation for food safety, at least you know that the snakehead soup is made fresh.
    I hope that 'brave uncle' got his meal comped, at least.

    THREADS
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  10. #40
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    mysterious dinner snake

    A New Snake Species Was Found in Another Snake’s Stomach
    The so-called “mysterious dinner snake” represents not only a new species, but an entirely new genus


    This isn't the first time snakes have been found inside of coral snakes' stomachs, but it is the first recorded instance of a new genus being identified from the remnants of a fellow serpent’s last meal. (John Livzey Ridgway 1859-1947)

    By Meilan Solly
    SMITHSONIAN.COM
    DECEMBER 21, 2018

    The elusive Cenaspis aenigma, or “mysterious dinner snake,” has never been captured alive. In fact, Jake Buehler reports for National Geographic, the slithering serpent has only surrendered itself to scientists once—and even then, in a distinctly roundabout manner.

    Unwittingly trapped in the belly of the beast—specifically, the venomous Central American coral snake—Cenaspis first landed on researchers’ radar in 1976, when palm-harvesters working in the Mexican state of Chiapas caught a coral snake that had recently snacked on the smaller species. Due to the partially digested specimen’s irregular stripes, spineless hemipenes and skull shape, Cenaspis defied categorization for decades. But now, 42 years after this initial discovery, biologists from the University of Texas at Arlington have finally shed some light on the enigmatic snake’s origins.

    The team’s findings, newly published in the Journal of Herpetology, identify Cenaspis as not only a new species, but an entirely new genus. As Buehler notes, the sole 10-inch male that represents both genus and species boasts an underside decorated with three triangular marks, affording its ventral scales a striped appearance divergent from that of other New World snakes.

    Additionally, Cenaspsis’ hemipenes—branched sexual organs that essentially amount to dual *****es, according to National Geographic’s Tina Deines—lack the spines commonly seen along the organ, instead featuring cup-like structures known as calyces that Buehler likens to “some kind of otherworldly honeycomb.”

    Michelle Starr of Science Alert adds that Cenaspis further differs from known species because of its elongated skull and undivided subcaudal scales, which are plates on the underside of the tail. Combined with the “unremarkable, … uniformly pale brown” coloring described by the researchers, these characteristics offer a strong argument for Cenaspis’ classification as a burrowing snake that spends most of its time underground.

    Still, the scientists point out that the reptile’s triangular ventral scale pattern complicates this categorization: “Why a secretive burrowing snake would have such a distinctive ventral pattern is unknown,” the team writes in the study. “The ventral pattern is not replicated in any other Middle American snake."

    Cenaspis’ teeth also suggest the snake is more complex than your average woodland burrower, which typically feasts on soft-bodied prey such as slugs and earthworms. The snake’s mouth and teeth—14 short chompers in the upper jaw—appear to be equipped for wrangling hard-bodied prey, including insects and spiders.

    It may seem like the unusual manner of Cenaspis’ discovery outweighs its singular physical characteristics, but actually, the researchers write that “prey items, especially small snakes, are frequently encountered” in coral snakes’ stomachs. As far as the team knows, however, this study marks the first time a new genus has been identified from the remnants of a coral snake’s last meal.

    The fact that scientists have yet to identify more than one Cenaspis specimen doesn’t mean the animal has vanished from the face of the Earth. Lead author Jonathan Campbell, a herpetologist at the University of Texas at Arlington, tells Buehler he thinks the mysterious snake still roams Chiapas, perhaps burrowing underground or adopting similar tactics to evade detection.

    “This provides evidence of just how secretive some snakes can be,” Campbell says. “Combine their elusive habits with restricted ranges and some snakes do not turn up often.”



    About Meilan Solly

    Meilan Solly is a Washington, D.C.-based arts and science journalist. She has previously served as Smithsonian's American Society of Magazine Editors intern and a Kiplinger.com editorial intern. Website: meilansolly.com
    r
    dual *****es
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  11. #41
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    oh crap

    ...or maybe no crap. snakes in the crapper!

    Australian woman bitten by snake in toilet
    25 January 2019


    JASMINE ZELENY
    A professional snake handler was called to remove the 1.5m (5ft) python

    An Australian woman "jumped off her seat" after being bitten by a snake on the toilet, a reptile handler says.

    Helen Richards, 59, received the non-venomous strike in the dark at a relative's house in Brisbane on Tuesday.

    She received minor puncture wounds from the 1.5m (5ft) carpet python.

    Handler Jasmine Zeleny, who retrieved the reptile, said it was common to find snakes seeking water in toilets during hot weather.

    Ms Richards told local media she had felt a "sharp tap".

    "I jumped up with my pants down and turned around to see what looked like a longneck turtle receding back into the bowl," she told The Courier Mail newspaper.


    JASMINE ZELENY
    The carpet python was most likely seeking water, handler Jasmine Zeleny says

    Ms Zeleny said Ms Richards had treated the minor bite marks with an antiseptic, describing carpet pythons as relatively harmless.

    "Unfortunately, the snake's preferred exit point was blocked after being spooked by Helen sitting down, and it lashed out in fear," Ms Zeleny told the BBC.

    "By the time I got there, she had trapped the snake and calmed down. Helen treated the whole situation like a champion."

    Carpet pythons are a common species along the east coast of Australia. They are not venomous but tetanus shots are recommended for bites.

    Australia has experienced a fortnight of extreme heat that has broken dozens of records across the nation.

    Several wildlife species have suffered, with reports of mass deaths of horses, native bats and fish.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  12. #42
    Join Date
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    Great Lakes State, U.S.A.
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    1,645
    Snakes are definitely "paranoia strikes deep" material to contend with. I have been snake-sitting for a Lemonblast Ball Python (hybrid) over the last 6 months that lives in a glass aquarium tank in the computer room where I am sitting that is next to my bedrm. She has been growing all along from babysnake to half-grown. she will continue until she is 5' long and pretty thick for a strangle-hold to equal that of an arm wrestler. Son & daughter-in-law had to get it out of the house where they rent so they put her tank on top of a bookcase where she is not bothering anyone. She has showed up in my dreams at night, though... I don't feed or handle her but she knows me. She comes out of her cave when she knows her owners are in the house. http://www.theurbanpython.com/files/...on_blast_3.jpg

  13. #43
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    more snakes on a plane

    snakes on a plane could easily have its own thread here.

    Snake on a Plane: Australian python makes 9,000-mile flight in woman's shoe
    Rob Picheta, CNN • Updated 25th February 2019

    (CNN) — It's the Samuel L. Jackson sequel we've all been waiting for: A Scottish woman has survived a real-life case of a snake on a plane, finding a python curled up in her shoe after a 9,000 mile flight from Australia.
    Moira Boxall was shocked to discover a live spotted python in her suitcase after traveling from Queensland to Glasgow on Thursday.
    The serpent had taken up residence in a shoe, and had even started shedding its skin during the lengthy journey.
    The incident brings to mind the 2006 cult film "Snakes on a Plane," in which Samuel L. Jackson plays an FBI agent battling a crate-load of deadly serpents on board a flight.
    But rather than putting in a call to the Oscar-nominated actor for help, Boxall rang animal protection organization the Scottish SPCA, which took the snake into quarantine.


    The python was taken into quarantine.
    Courtesy Paul Airlie

    "I responded to a call from a woman who had just returned from a holiday in Australia who had found a small snake inside her shoe in her suitcase," animal rescue officer Taylor Johnstone said in a statement sent to CNN.
    "When I arrived, the snake had been contained by the caller, so I safely removed the snake from the property. Upon examination, the snake was found to be a spotted python which is not venomous," Johnstone said.
    "The snake is now in quarantine at our animal rescue and re-homing centre in Edinburgh."


    The snake was in a shoe in Moira Boxall's suitcase.
    Scottish SPCA

    This isn't the first time a snake has skipped security and made its way onto an aircraft.
    In 2016, a passenger filmed the terrifying moment a snake dangled down into the cabin during an Aeromexico flight from Torreon to Mexico City.
    And in 2012, an EgyptAir flight was forced to make an emergency landing after a snake reportedly bit a Jordanian man who smuggled a reptile onboard.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  14. #44
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    “fangsheng” (放生)

    Man releases 40kg of live snakes into wild for good karma, gets investigated for wildlife trafficking
    By setting the snakes free, he was hoping to boost the success of his real estate business
    by Alex Linder April 10, 2019 in News



    After releasing plague-like quantities of snakes into the wild in hopes of improving the fortunes of his business, a man is now under investigation for illegal wildlife trafficking.

    The man, surnamed Yu, reportedly bought 40 kilograms of live snakes for 5,000 yuan ($744 – what a bargain!) from a market in (where else but) Guangdong province, along with an additional 11,000 yuan ($1,600) worth of fish and eels early last week. A few days later, he dumped out these animals alongside the Lancang River in Yunnan province.

    The act is a Buddist ritual known as “fangsheng” (放生), literally “release life,” where one can gain merit by releasing captive animals back into nature. In Yu’s case, he was hoping that the move would help out his real estate business.

    It remains to be seen how the incident will affect Yu’s enterprises, though it hasn’t exactly endeared him to the locals who voiced concern about the hundreds of (non-venomous) snakes being suddenly introduced into their environment. A team of 50 foresty and fishery officials were dispatched to attempt to recapture the snakes, they have only managed to catch 12 of them.
    THREADS
    Buddhist 'life release'
    snakes
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  15. #45
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    President forced out by SNAKES

    This reminds me of that lyric from Vampire Weekend's Harmony Hall
    "And the stone walls of Harmony Hall bear witness
    Anybody with a worried mind could never forgive the sight
    Of wicked snakes inside a place you thought was dignified"

    Snakes force Liberian President George Weah out of office
    By Jonathan Paye-Layleh
    BBC Africa, Monrovia
    3 hours ago


    AFP/GETTY
    President George Weah will return to his usual office on Monday

    Snakes have been found in Liberian President George Weah's office, forcing him to work from his private residence, the BBC has learnt.

    Press secretary Smith Toby told the BBC that on Wednesday two black snakes were found in the foreign affairs ministry building, his official place of work.

    All staff have been told to stay away until 22 April.

    "It's just to make sure that crawling and creeping things get fumigated from the building," Mr Toby said.

    "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosts the office of the president, so it did an internal memo asking the staff to stay home while they do the fumigation," he said.

    The office of the president has been based in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since a fire in 2006 gutted the nearby presidential mansion.

    A FrontPage Africa news website video shows workers trying to attack the snakes when they appeared near the building's reception.

    "The snakes were never killed," Mr Toby said. "There was a little hole somewhere [through which] they made their way back."

    Police and presidential security were seen guarding Mr Weah's residence in the capital Monrovia. A fleet of vehicles including escorts jeeps were parked outside.

    Mr Toby said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs started to fumigate on Friday.

    "That building's been there for years now, and [because of] the drainage system, the possibility of having things like snakes crawling in that building was high," he said.

    The president is definitely returning to his office on Monday after the fumigation whether or not the snakes are found and killed, Mr Toby said.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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