VENOMOUS SNAKES,Tropical Rattlesnake,Cobra,Viper ,1894 Antique Wood Engraving

Historical Collectible Ophiology Art Print

Snakes (from Old English snaca, and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European base snag- or sneg-, "to crawl"), also known as ophidians, are cold blooded legless reptiles closely related to lizards, which share the order Squamata. There are also several species of legless lizard which superficially resemble snakes, but are not otherwise related to them. A love of snakes is called ophiophilia, a fear of snakes is called ophidiophobia. PRINT SHOWS: PELIAS BERUS - Vipera berus is a venomous viper species that is extremely widespread and can be found throughout most of western Europe and Great Britain and all the way to Far East Asia.As opposed to most other viperids, it prefers lower average temperatures, occurring at either higher latitudes (to within the Arctic circle) or higher altitudes (reaching 3000 m in the Swiss Alps).mong the best-known species are the European adder (Pelias berus) LACHESIS MUTA- Lachesis muta is a highly venomous pit viper species found in Central and South America CROTALUS DURISSUS - Tropical Rattlesnake NAJA TRIPUDIANS - Cobras are venomous snakes of family Elapidae, of several genera. (Elapidae also include the taipans, brown snakes, tiger snakes, fierce snakes, coral snakes, mambas, and sea snakes.) Cobras generally inhabit tropical and desert regions of Asia and Africa. Elapidae cannot fold their fangs down, as Viperidae can, so the fangs are generally shorter. Most are quite large, reaching on average 1.2–2.5m in length. The King Cobra may reach up to 5.2m, making it the largest venomous snake in the world. They kill their prey, usually small rodents and birds, by injecting a neurotoxin through their nearly hollow fangs. The neurotoxin blocks the synaptic communication between the victim's neurons and muscles, thus stopping movement and control. The snake will only attack a human if provoked or in other extreme circumstances which threaten its survival. Furthermore, not all bites result in envenomation and in the case of the Cobra the amount of "blank" strikes may be quite high: in one series of recorded bites in Malaysia only 55% of strikes had been poisonous. The King Cobra eats other snakes; it feeds almost entirely on other snakes, even venomous ones (ophiophagy). The spitting cobra can also incapacitate larger would-be predators by delivering venom to their eyes. Cobras come in varying colors from black or dark brown to yellowish white. The (jet) black cobra found in Pakistan and North India is considered a sub-species of Indian Cobra (Naja naja). The cobra's most recognizable feature is its hood, a flap of skin and muscle behind the head which it can flare, perhaps for the purpose of making it appear bigger and more threatening to predators. The cobra's predators include the mongoose and some raptors. "Cobra" is the Portuguese (and also was once for Galician) common name for a snake; it came from late Latin *colobra (for classical coluber, colubra). When Portuguese navigators arrived to the coasts of Africa and South Asia in the 16th century, they named the cobras "cobra-capelo" = "hood-snake"; from this compound, the name entered Spanish, French, English, and other European languages.

Approximate Overall Size: 6 X 9 1/2 inches

CONDITION: Book Plate - Excellent Condition. As Scanned. German Text. Beautiful with excellent detail. SINGLE PAGE PRINT ON THE FRONT AND BACK