Несмотря на то, что сегодня встреча в лесу или в A field with a venomous snake is a rarity, sometimes it does happen. Much more often hunters, fishermen and mushroom pickers intersect with a snake, which many mistaken for a viper. And the thing is that between them there is a significant similarity. In order to avoid endangering yourself at a meeting, you need to know how to distinguish between a snake and a viper. To do this, we compare these two reptiles.
An adult can reach a length of one and a half,or even two meters, although on average sizes range from 75 cm to 1 m. The color is mostly gray or black, sometimes it is olive with stains, which are arranged in chess order. On the body of the snake, there is a change of colors: the farther from the head, the darker the color. In order to know how to distinguish a snake from a viper, you must remember that a special feature of all snakes is the presence of bright spots on the head, they can be yellow, orange or white. They are located in the area of the ears, so they are also called "yellow ears". The head is oval in shape, the pupils of the eyes are round. The tail of the snake is elongated and thin. They have no poisonous teeth.
Distinctive features of the viper
This snake has a smaller size, on average lengthtorso about 50 cm. The colors can be very diverse, including black. Trying to determine how to distinguish between a snake and a viper, one needs to know that it cannot be done only by color. There is another trait characteristic of vipers - it is a dark-colored zigzag on the back, which runs all over the body. Their tail is shorter, and their body is thicker than that of a snake. The head has a triangular shape, the pupils are placed vertically.
Habitat
Snakes prefer to settle in damp places.They are not bad swimmers, they can often be found near reservoirs and marshes. But the main reason for this choice of habitat is the presence of frogs, a favorite delicacy of snakes. They serve as shelter for stones, tree roots, and small holes. The Viper feeds mainly on vole mice and other rodents. Therefore, its habitat is either high steppe grass, or dense shrub thickets in the forest, where it is possible to hide from uninvited guests. Different habitat also allows you to answer the question of how to distinguish between a snake and a viper. It is claimed that where the snakes live, there can be no vipers. But, apparently, this is not a completely correct opinion; naturalists often had to see how both representatives of the serpentine kind warmed peacefully in the sun nearby.
What’s different from a viper isaggressiveness. Their characters are completely different. Never the first to attack a person. Defending himself, he will imitate the attack and imitate the behavior of the viper. Having seen the futility of his attempts to free himself, he can pretend to be dead. With great danger, it gives off an unpleasant smell that scares many animals away. Viper behaves much more aggressive. It is necessary to provoke her, and she instantly attacks, and completely ignoring the dimensions of her enemy.
We summarize and memorize
The difference between the adder and the snake is as follows:
- the adder is smaller than the size of the grass;
- it already has “yellow ears”, a zigzag strip runs along the back of a viper;
- triangular head of a viper, oval;
- in ear snakes the pupils are round, in the viper they are vertical;
- snakes prefer to live near reservoirs, vipers in the forests;
- Viper aggressive, already in a hurry to hide.
