Maximum speed of the snake. The fastest snake is the black mamba

In this material, the most fast snake on the planet - a black mamba. We will tell you about the places where the snake lives, what speed it develops, and what size it has. Also, do not forget that, in addition to its speed skills, the black mamba has a real predator instinct, which helped it adapt to almost any habitat. The black mamba is also one of the most poisonous and deadly snakes, which the inhabitants of Africa fear like fire.

The snake got its terrifying name because of its mouth cavity, which is completely covered in black. The rest of the snake's body is colored yellow-green or metallic gray tones.

Meeting a black mamba is not at all difficult if you are an inhabitant of the southeastern part of Africa. The black mamba is found throughout almost the entire territory of southeast Africa, except Namibia and South Africa. Because of their innate instincts survival, the black mamba was able to adapt to all kinds of climatic conditions. Its favorite habitats are savannas, forests, cliffs and even swamps.

Most of the land in Africa is occupied by areas devoted to Agriculture, therefore the black mamba is often found in ordinary fields and is not at all afraid of people. The snake is even able to climb to the very top of the reeds to bask in the sun after a cold night.

Therefore, it is not surprising that most attacks on humans by black mamba occur in rural areas. Frequent cases of attacks are due to the fact that most of even the largest fields in Africa are still processed manually. On average, about 20 thousand people die from the bite of a black mamba in southeast Africa. Moreover greatest number the victims occurred due to the banal stupidity of people who thought that catching and killing a black mamba would not be difficult.

The black mamba is the fastest snake in the world. capable of speeds up to 25 km/h(this is approximately 6.5 meters per second). As you may have guessed, to escape from a snake you will have to work hard. But often the black mamba does not use its speed for pursuits, because it mainly hunts, sitting deep in ambush and hiding. The snake needs so much high speed moving in space in order to escape from various threats. After all, somehow only a snake senses even the slightest threat to its life; it immediately retreats several hundred meters.

2.5 meters is average length black mamba. Less commonly, you can find longer specimens, the length of which can reach 4.5 meters.

The most terrible The enemy of the black mamba is considered to be the mongoose. Not only are these cute animals quite agile and love to feast on snakes, but they are also not affected by the venom of the black mamba. Therefore, snakes are a favorite delicacy of mongooses. But, it’s true, mongooses mostly kill young and inexperienced snakes, while they prefer to interact with adult representatives much less often. But then wild boars They are quite brave and prefer to fry both of them.

The black mamba is aggressive not only during the hunt, but can also attack for no particular reason. When attacking, the mamba rests its entire body on the tip of its tail, thereby the front part of its body to make a lightning-fast throw in the direction of the chosen victim. To dodge such an attack, you must either have the same incredible reaction, or simply be born with a shirt on.

Mamba venom is extremely toxic. It contains neurotoxins, cardiotoxins, dendrotoxins and muscarinic cholinergic receptor blockers. In just one bite, a snake can inject 100 to 150 mg. poison while lethal dose for humans is approximately 10 mg. To put it simply, if the antidote is not administered in the first minute after the bite and the victim is not provided with the necessary medical care, then he cannot avoid death.

You can hear a lot of horror stories and legends about the black mamba, but real cases featuring this snake in leading role, much more terrifying. For example, one day a black mamba managed to get through a chimney into a hut in which seven people were calmly resting after a hard day at work. Perhaps the people would have been able to escape if one of them had not stepped on the snake’s tail. Defending itself and fleeing the threat, the snake bit everyone in the hut several times. The irony is that in the dark room the snake was not even visible, and people could not understand who was biting them.

Despite its “cold-bloodedness,” the black mamba still prefers to avoid direct contact with people, and most often attacks to protect itself.

Unfortunately, an antidote for black mamba bites is not yet widely available. Therefore, there are still a lot of deaths from snake bites every year. But at least now there's a possibility fatal outcome does not constitute a 100% guarantee, as was previously the case before the advent of the vaccine.

Approaching Year of the Snake By eastern horoscope, and why not dedicate today’s post to him? Let's sit and talk about what types of these mysterious animals exist on our planet, what conditions they live in, what they eat, how they reproduce. There are many varieties of them, some live underground, others under water. Some are poisonous, others are not, of various colors and sizes, viviparous and those that lay eggs.

But let's remember today record-breaking snakes: the very best.

The most long snake - This is an anaconda boa constrictor. It lives in the swampy banks of the Amazon and feeds on fish, small animals and birds. Maximum length The boa constrictor that was recorded reached 11.43 m, it was this “snake” that fell into Guinness book record holders.

And in Egypt, during excavations, the remains of an ancient snake were found - the Giant African python, its estimated length was 11.8 m.

And only recently, in 2002, a reticulated python was found on the island of Sumatra, its length was 14.85 m and its weight was 447 kg. Now he lives in a menagerie on the island. Java is proudly called Guihua.

The largest snake that lives in captivity V this moment located in the terrarium of the New York Zoological Society , This is a Giant (green) anaconda, 9 m long and weighing 130 kg.

The biggest poisonous snake – King Cobra, it lives in India and Indochina. The length of these reptiles can reach up to 5.5 meters. They very often live near humans, the reason for which was deforestation tropical forests. Cobra, oddly enough, feeds on other types of snakes. There are times when she can attack them when they are already hunting prey.

The smallest snake– Brahmin blind snake or blind snake, (more like a well-fed earthworm), lives on the island of Nosy Be, near Madagascar.

The length of this little one is only 10 cm. This snake shares primacy with the two-lined narrow-mouthed snakes. It can only be found on the islands of Martinique, Santa Lucia and Barbados in the Caribbean Sea. The shortest snake of this species had a length of 108 millimeters.

The shortest poisonous snake- African viper. It lives on the coast of Namibia in sand dunes. Its length is on average 20-23 cm. It has a very unusual way When hunting, the snake buries itself in the sand, with only its eyes and the tip of its tail sticking out, which serves as bait. These reptiles obtain the necessary moisture from their victims. They also lick condensation off themselves, which allows them to survive in such harsh conditions without water.

The thinnest snake- This is an ordinary belt-shaped one. Its length is 2 meters, while its thickness is 1-2 cm. The snake looks quite unusual - the head is much larger than the body. They live exclusively in trees and feed on snails and slugs. Their hunting weapons - sharpened fangs - are safe for humans.

Fastest snake on the planet - the black mamba, it lives in Africa. It is almost impossible to escape from this snake; its speed is on average 11 kilometers per hour, and on flat terrain, with short throws, the speed can reach 16-19 km/h.

Plus, the black mamba deserved the title most poisonous land snake on the planet, sharing it with the Taipan, whose bites kill 80% of victims (and one dose of its poison can kill 100 people).

The most a large number of poison, 6 ml at a time is secreted by the king cobra.

The most poisonous sea snake - Belcher's sea snake. With one bite, the poison released can cause death in 250 thousand mice.

The most accurate snake on the planet - ringal. She lives in South Africa and India. She can spit poison at her victim from a distance of 5 meters, and she aims at the victim's eyes. Another snake that “shoots” venom over long distances is the African spitting cobra; its spit flies 2-3 meters.

The most common snake- a common viper, which, moreover, is not afraid of cold weather.

This snake is the only one that can be found in the north (even beyond the Arctic Circle).

Most old snake considered to be a common boa constrictor named Popeia (Popeye), he died at the Philadelphia Zoo on April 15, 1977. and lived 40 years and 3.5 months.

The longest hungry snake is The Habu viper snake lived without food for 3 years and 3 months (almost like in a fairy tale, only a very sad one).

There are also types of snakes that can be called "flying"- These are tree snakes. They live in the tropics and are amazingly clever at maneuvering between trees and can even go around them. The S-shape gives them this ability, and they seem to glide through the air.

Exists on our planet snake with the highest ability to thermoregulate- This is a hieroglyphic python, it lives throughout Africa. The female spirals around the eggs with her body, and the female’s body temperature becomes 7 degrees higher than the environment.

AND absolute record, which applies to all snakes, is the number of vertebrae. Snakes are the vertebrates that have the maximum number of vertebrae – up to 435.

In conclusion, I would like to say that no matter what the snake is, small or large, poisonous or not, it must be treated with respect and caution.

P.S. The frightening ability of some snakes to absorb prey significantly larger than their own size. See photo.

Ecology

The animal world has its own champions.

Find out the answers to the questions about who flies, swims, runs or crawls the fastest in the animal world.

Here you can learn about the fastest representatives of their kind in the animal world.

The fastest bird is the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus)

This bird of prey from the falcon family, can be seen on almost all continents, with the exception of Antarctica.

In nature, there are about 17 subspecies of peregrine falcons.

On our planet this is not only the most fast bird, but also the fastest living creature.

According to experts, in a fast diving flight, a peregrine falcon can reach speeds of up to 322 km/h.

But it is worth noting that in horizontal flight the peregrine falcon gives first place to the swift, which horizontal speed flight can reach 111 km/h.

Fastest horse - English racehorses

At the moment, these thoroughbred riding horses are considered the fastest. If you choose a specific representative, then the fastest one is the purebred stallion Beach Rackit.

He was able to install absolute record among domestic breeds. During a race in Mexico over a distance of 409.26 meters, Beach reached a top speed of 69.69 km/h. At all average speed English racehorses have a speed of 60 km/h.

The fastest fish is the sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus)

This sea fish from the order Perciformes, lives in all oceans of the Earth, preferring tropical, subtropical and temperate waters.

It is worth noting that the sailboat is an active predator and is capable of reaching speeds of up to 100 km/h.

During experiments at the Long Key fishing camp, Florida, USA, this fish was able to swim 91 meters in 3 seconds, which is equal to a speed of 109 km/h.

The fastest animal (land animal) is the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)

The cheetah is the fastest land animal. It differs from other cats in that it does not hunt prey, sitting in ambush, preferring to pursue it.

First, the cheetah approaches its prey at a distance of about 10 meters, without particularly trying to be secretive, and then tries to catch potential prey in a short race. During the race, he can reach speeds of up to 110-115 km/h, while reaching a speed of 75 km/h in 2 seconds. It is also worth noting that the cheetah runs in jumps 6-8 meters long.

The fastest dog is the Greyhound

In general, opinions about which dog is the fastest are divided. Some say that this is an English hunting greyhound, which boasts a very running fast over short distances, which gives them the opportunity to catch a hare.

If we talk about the wild dog, then it capable of reaching speeds of up to 55 km/h and chasing its prey to the point of complete exhaustion.

And yet, officially, the highest speed among dogs was recorded on March 5, 1994 in Australia, when a greyhound named Star Title was able to accelerate to 67.32 km/h.

The fastest cat is the Egyptian Mau

This short-haired, medium-sized cat breed boasts high-energy cats that love movement and play. Therefore, the Egyptian Mau has a flexible and muscular shape.

In Egyptian, "mau" means "cat". This cat can reach speeds of up to 58 km/h. In addition, Mau have excellent vision, hearing and smell.

The fastest snake is the mamba

The officially recorded speed of this snake is 11.3 km/h, and that's on the ground. In the branches, the mamba is even faster.

In addition, it is one of the most poisonous snakes on Earth, and in Africa there is no other snake that is as feared as the mamba.

The fastest turtle is the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)

Among reptiles, this is the fastest - in water it can reach a speed of 35 km/h.

Such a turtle weighs 450 kg, and its body length can vary from 1.8 to 2.1 meters.

However, in 1988, a male leatherback turtle was found in Harlech, UK, measuring 2.91 meters in length and weighing 961.1 kg.

The fastest insect

In this case, it is worth dividing into speed on the ground and in the air. The fastest insect on earth is the American cockroach. Its speed reaches 5.4 km/h. It is worth noting that in 1 second he is able to run a distance that is 50 times the length of his own body. If compared to a person, this corresponds to a speed of approximately 330 km/h.

The insect that holds the record in the air is the dragonfly, namely Austrophlebia costalis, which can reach speeds of up to 52 km/h in flight. Since they exist different ways speed measurements, experts cannot definitely say who is faster, dividing between dragonflies, hawk moths and horse flies.

Meeting a snake in nature does not bring joy to anyone. Whether it is harmless or dangerous cannot be determined quickly. There are many dangerous, poisonous snakes on planet Earth. They will be discussed today in the quiz.

The Poisonous Snakes quiz contains 11 questions with answers.

Quiz creator: Iris Review

1. What is the average speed of movement of a poisonous snake?
1 kilometer per hour +
2 kilometers per hour
3 kilometers per hour

2. Which poisonous snake has the fastest speed?
Jararaka
American rattlesnake
African mamba +

3. How fast can a mamba move?
At a speed of 5.3 kilometers per hour?
At a speed of 10.3 kilometers per hour?
At a speed of 11.3 kilometers per hour? +

4. Which one poisonous earth What are the maximum dimensions?
Black-necked cobra
Collared cobra
Hamadryad +

5. Which organ of the snake produces venom?
Leather
Glands of the digestive system +
Special body

6. What are the most poisonous snakes on earth?
Answer: Australian tiger snake, taipan, death snake, king cobra, African mamba, American rattlesnake, cascavella, as well as viper, viper, cobra

7. What areas do vipers prefer: swampy or sunny, dry meadows, hillsides?
Answer: dry areas

8. Whose venom is more toxic: cobra or boomslang?
Answer: boomslang poison

9. Which snake hisses to warn of its presence?
Answer: cobra

10. Can snakes spit?
Answer: some types of snakes can spit

11. What snakes can jump from the top of a palm tree?
Answer: arboreal "flying" snakes

Pronghorn. This elegant creature is the fastest land animal North America, developing a speed of 90 km/h. On short distance A pronghorn would not be able to outrun a cheetah, but would easily pull away from it on any length of track. Their endurance allows pronghorns to migrate hundreds of kilometers every year.

Brazilian folded lip. The fastest of bats, accelerating to almost 100 km/h in a dive. Folded lips live in large colonies in caves, under bridges and in old buildings. In the evenings, they simultaneously fly out to hunt, creating a stunning “cinematic” picture.

Sailfish and swordfish. An interesting example of a draw - different sources They call either sailfish or swordfish the fastest fish in the world, reaching speeds from 100 to 130 km/h. One study that gives the swordfish the upper hand found, using an MRI, that the fish's upper jaw contains an oil-producing tonsil. By spreading around the fish's head, the oil reduces friction with the water and increases speed.

Kalypta Anna. This bird's top speed limit is 80 km/h, which doesn't seem very impressive until you consider its size. Biologist Christopher Clark from the University of California, Berkeley, calculated that at this speed, the hummingbird covers 385 body sizes per second, experiencing strong overloads of 10G.

Cheetah. Far from being the fastest animal on Earth, inferior to birds, fish and even insects, it is still the fastest land animal and the fastest mammal. Reaches speeds of more than 100 km/h, accelerating from 0 to 100 in three seconds.

Black marlin. According to the BBC, maximum speed, developed by black marlin, is 130 km/h. It was measured by how quickly the line was reeled from the fishing rod when catching a fish, which is a somewhat controversial method. Was the boat moving at that moment, was the fish swimming in a straight line? Either way, it is no surprise that with such speeds, black marlin are very popular among sport fishermen.

Horsefly. If you've ever been chased by one of these biting critters, you know how fast they are. Jerry Butler, an entomologist at the University of Florida, states that an adult male Hybomitra horsefly reaches speeds in excess of 144 km/h. True, it is difficult to accurately measure the speed of an insect due to its size, nonlinearity of flight and other factors.

Needle-tailed swift. This bird reaches speeds of almost 170 km/h, making it the fastest flying animal. It lives in Asia and Australia, occasionally flying to Europe.

Mite. If we take the fastest animal in the world in relation to the length of its own body, then no one will keep up with the tick of the species Paratarsotomus macropalpis. In a second, it covers a distance of 320 of its own dimensions - the same as people would accelerate to 2090 km/h.

Peregrine Falcon. Although the peregrine falcon flies slower than the needle-tailed swift, in a dive after prey it accelerates to 390 km/h. The claw strike after acceleration is so strong that it can tear off the victim's head.