Snakes in the Colubridae family are generally non-venomous snakes, such as the black-browed elapid snake, mouse snake, cauliflower snake, etc. that we introduced a few days ago (of course, cauliflower snakes are quite ferocious even if they are not venomous) of). Today we continue to learn about members of the Colubridae family, but this time we are introducing a venomous species of Colubridae, its name is the tiger-spotted colubrid.

When it comes to the name Tiger-spotted Colubrid, I believe many people will be as confused as when they saw the name "Brown-edged Green Moth" in the last issue. Indeed, relatively few people know this scientific name. But if you mention "pheasant neck", I guess the folks will feel more familiar with it. There is a saying that when someone was a child, most of them were scared to death by such little snakes.

From the perspective of geographical distribution, tiger-spotted snakes Snakes are indeed the most widely distributed snake species. In addition to our place in Henan, wild tiger-spotted colubrids also thrive in other provinces across the country from south to north. Even in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau where the natural environment is relatively harsh. This also shows how abnormal the environmental adaptability of this snake is. No matter it is dry or humid, whether it is plain or mountainous, it is not picky about where it lives.

The reason why the tiger-spotted colubrid snake can use its own fire Spread all over the country, the first thing to thank is their almost abnormal reproductive ability. No matter in any region, no matter what the local natural environment is, the breeding period of this snake is basically concentrated in the hot summer. Moreover, a sexually mature female tiger-spotted colubrid snake can lay about twenty eggs in one litter. If there are no major abnormalities in the climate environment, it will only take a month for the little snake to hatch out of its shell. Even in the colder areas of the plateau, the time it takes for a tiger-spotted colubrid snake to break out of its shell is no more than two months. It can truly be regarded as a batch with a fast breeding rhythm (there is a broken sound here)!

As a rare venomous snake in the Colubridae family Among snakes, the tiger-spotted colubrid has one more survival skill. Although their fangs are somewhat similar to those of venomous snakes with posterior groove fangs (typically such as hognose snakes), they cannot directly inject venom into their prey through their fangs like venomous snakes in the usual sense. But being bitten by a tiger-spotted colubrid is still very dangerous, as the venom secreted from their venom glands is quite powerful and may even be fatal.

With the help of venom, the tiger-spotted colubrid snake is hunting It is much more convenient when hunting prey. Needless to say, small rodents, even larger amphibians such as frogs and toads can be easily hunted by them. And because of its swimming skills, tiger-spotted colubrids are often active in rivers, lakes and paddy fields. Food resources in these areas are usually plentiful, and if necessary, they can also prey on fish in the water or tadpoles.

But it is precisely because the tiger-spotted colubrid snake is poisonous. For this reason, they have been added to the ranks of traditional Chinese medicine by old Chinese medicine practitioners from all over the world since ancient times. A lot of miraculous effects such as detoxification, pain relief, rheumatism treatment, cancer prevention, etc. were placed on the head of this unlucky guy. So even a venomous snake with such a strong reproductive capacity was once forced to become an endangered species under the influence of human activities. At least today it is very difficult to see the tiger-spotted colubrid snake in our hometown. Folks, you can also leave a message to tell me how the situation is in your hometown.

●Conclusion:

Although the tiger-spotted colubrid snake is poisonous, it is still too small after all. The average length of its adult body is only about 80 centimeters and its weight is less than one kilogram. Therefore, if you encounter the cauliflower snake, the big brother in the Colubridae family, in the wild, you will most likely be eaten as a spicy stick. Of course, you can't eat such spicy strips, because wild tiger-spotted colubrids are among the three protected species in our country, and hunting them at will will be punished by law.