Amazonian puffing snakes (Spilotes; Colubridae) are snakes widely distributed in the Neotropical region. However, chromosomal data are scarce in this group and, when available, are only limited to karyotype description using conventional staining. In...
In the medieval Chinese context, snakes and tigers were viewed as two dominant, threatening animals in swamps and mountains. The animal-human confrontation increased with the expansion of human communities to the wilderness. Medieval Chinese Buddhist...
The aim of the study was to investigate the occurrence of Alaria alata (Goeze, 1782) in fifty-one grass snakes (Natrix natrix) collected in Gostynińsko-Włocławski Landscape Park. Each snake was tested for the presence of A. alata mesoc...
Viral pathogens represent an increasing threat to wildlife health and biodiversity. Most studies of reptile viruses are in captive populations, while knowledge of viral occurrence and diversity in free-ranging reptiles is limited. Some reptarenavirus...
Snakes are commonly associated with feelings of anxiety or disgust, and snake conservation is often hindered by negative attitudes and perceptions. Although global snake populations are generally in decline, snakebite envenomation (SBE) continues to...
The environmental enrichment needs of snakes are often disregarded. Using preference testing, we aimed to shed light on the enrichment preferences of a popular pet species, the western hognose snake (Heterodon nasicus). Snakes’ enclosures were...
Our current understanding of snake venom is highly biased towards species known to be medically significant in human envenomations. This vastly under-represents the true evolutionary and ecological breadth of snake venom, with gaps spanning entire cl...
Micrurus is a medically relevant genus of venomous snakes composed of 85 species. Bites caused by coral snakes are rare, but they are usually associated with very severe and life-threatening clinical manifestations. Ecuador is a highly biodiverse cou...
Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, the fungus causing snake fungal disease (SFD), has been identified in northern pine snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus) in New Jersey. In this paper, we (1) review the positivity rate of SFD on different locations on snakes&rsqu...
Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, the fungus causing Snake Fungal Disease (SFD) or ophidiomycosis, is prevalent in North American snakes and can have deleterious population effects. Northern pine snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus) in New Jersey oft...
Venomous snakes constitute ecologically significant and medically relevant organisms due to the risks associated with their bites, which frequently result in secondary infections. The oral microbiota of these reptiles plays a crucial role in the path...
Mycoplasmas are known respiratory pathogens in tortoises, but few studies exist in snakes. To better understand the correlation with clinical signs and co-infections, samples from mycoplasma-positive snakes with and without clinical respiratory disea...
Snake venom research has historically focused on front-fanged species (Viperidae and Elapidae), limiting our knowledge of venom evolution in rear-fanged snakes across their ecologically diverse phylogeny. Three-finger toxins (3FTxs) are a known neuro...
Sparganosis, caused by the plerocercoid larvae of Spirometra tapeworms, is a public health hazard worldwide. The prevalence and genetics of sparganum from snakes remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of sparganum infection in...
Replicating animal movements with robots provides powerful research tools because key parameters can be manipulated at will. Facing the lack of standard methods and the high complexity of biological systems, an incremental bioinspired approach is req...
Venoms are best known for their ability to incapacitate prey. In predatory groups, venom potency is predicted to reflect ecological and evolutionary drivers relating to diet. While venoms have been found to have prey-specific potencies, the role of d...
Body awareness was studied experimentally in the rat snakes Elaphe radiata. The experimental design required that the snakes take into account the limits of their bodies when choosing a suitable hole for penetration into the shelter. The experimental...
In recent decades, the keeping of exotic animals has gained popularity among enthusiasts worldwide. However, alongside the development of exotic animal husbandry, issues related to health status and adequate veterinary care are coming to the forefron...
In mammals, lipemic blood from sampling too soon after an animal feeds can have substantial effects on biochemical values. Plasma biochemical values in reptiles may be affected by species, age, season, and nutritional state. However, fasting status i...
Game-based learning has become increasingly prominent in education, and traditional games such as Snakes and Ladders provide a flexible framework for educational adaptation. Previous research has mainly focused on the history of Snakes and Ladders, t...
Snakebite envenomation is a neglected tropical disease that causes over 100,000 deaths each year. The only effective treatment consists of antivenoms derived from animal sera, but these have been deemed with highly variable potency and are usually in...
Sea snake envenomation is a serious occupational hazard in tropical waters. In Malaysia, the beaked sea snake (Hydrophis schistosus, formerly known as Enhydrina schistosa) and the spine-bellied sea snake (Hydrophis curtus, formerly known as Lapemis...
Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, the agent of ophidiomycosis, has recently been reported in wild snakes in Italy, but the status of captive populations remains unknown. We carried out an opportunistic survey of pet snakes from private collections and,...
Snake venoms have evolved in several families of Caenophidae, and their toxins have been assumed to be biochemical weapons with a role as a trophic adaptation. However, it remains unclear how venom contributes to the success of venomous species for a...
Rhabdophis lateralis, a colubrid snake distributed throughout the continent of Asia, has recently undergone taxonomic revisions. Previously, Rhabdophis lateralis was classified as a subspecies of R. tigrinus (Yamakagashi) until 2012, when several gen...
Snakebite envenoming is a major neglected public health problem in Panama, yet culture-independent data on the oral microbiota of medically important viperid snakes remain limited. We characterized the oral microbiota of four captive species native t...
The evolutionary interplay between predator and prey has significantly shaped the development of snake venom, a critical adaptation for subduing prey. This arms race has spurred the diversification of the components of venom and the corresponding eme...
The venoms of small rear-fanged snakes (RFS) remain largely unexplored, despite increased recognition of their importance in understanding venom evolution more broadly. Sequencing the transcriptome of venom-producing glands has greatly increased the...
Snake venoms are complex mixtures of toxins that differ on interspecific (between species) and intraspecific (within species) levels. Whether venom variation within a group of closely related species is explained by the presence, absence and/or relat...
Cysteine-Rich Secretory Proteins (CRiSPs) are typically found in many snake venoms; however, the role that these toxins play in the pathophysiology of snakebites is still unclear. Herein, we compared the effects of snake venom CRiSPs (svCRiSPs) from...
A venomous snake’s oral cavity may harbor pathogenic microorganisms that cause secondary infection at the wound site after being bitten. We collected oral samples from 37 individuals belonging to seven species of wild venomous snakes in Taiwan,...
Accurate sex identification in reptiles with genotypic sex determination is essential for breeding management, veterinary care and evolutionary research, yet commonly used methods are often invasive, stressful or unreliable. This study aimed to evalu...
Globally, there has been an increase in squamates (particularly lizards and snakes) being kept as pets. Additionally, urban spread has resulted in greater human encroachment and interaction with the natural habitat of wild squamates. A potential cons...
Spirometra (Cestoda: Diphyllobothriidea) affects humans and some species of domestic and wild animals which eventually interact with humans. In this article, we report three new cases of Spirometra decipiens (Diesing, 1850) infection observed in two...
The evolution of snake venoms resulted in multigene toxin families that code for structurally similar isoforms eventually harboring distinct functions. PLA2s are dominant toxins in viper venoms, and little is known about the impact of their diversity...
Bordetella trematum is a rare member of the genus Bordetella, primarily associated with human wound infections rather than respiratory diseases. The bacterium has been isolated from various clinical specimens, including ear inflammatory discharge, di...
The lowland rainforests of the Amazon basin harbor some of the most species-rich reptile communities on Earth. However, there is considerable heterogeneity among climatically-similar sites across the Amazon basin, and faunal surveys for southwestern...
Campylobacter spp. is one of the most widespread infectious diseases of veterinary and public health significance. Globally, the incidence of campylobacteriosis has increased over the last decade in both developing and developed countries. Squamates...
We present a review of the possibilities to conduct experiments of high efficiency in the nuclear and high energy physics with spin-polarized beams in a collider complex, configuration of which includes Siberian snakes or figure-8 collider ring. Spec...
Ophidiomyces ophidiicola (O. ophidiicola) causes ophidiomycosis and has deleterious effects in some North American snakes. Studies have suggested that it is endemic in some species, but most studies have been conducted on individuals of unknown age,...
In the Chan Buddhism koan (gong’an 公案) tradition, the act of “slaying the snake” functions as a signature gesture imbued with complex, historically layered cultural meanings. Rather than merely examining its motivation...
Most snakes in nature have scales at their ventral sides. The anisotropic frictional coefficient of the ventral side of the snakes, as well as snake robots, is considered to be responsible for their serpentine kind of locomotion. However, little work...
Snakes are stimuli inducing an ancestral fear response in humans and other primates. Certain snakes evoke more subjective fear than others. True vipers are high-fear-eliciting snakes for both African and European respondents. This can be explained by...
Gait generation method is one of the important contents of snake robot motion control. Different gait generation methods produce completely different forms of control functions, so snake robots need more complicated programming logic and processes to...
Most snake venom toxins are proteins, and participate to envenomation through a diverse array of bioactivities, such as bleeding, inflammation, and pain, cytotoxic, cardiotoxic or neurotoxic effects. The venom of a single snake species contains hundr...
The Australasian region is home to the most diverse elapid snake radiation on the planet (Hydrophiinae). Many of these snakes have evolved into unique ecomorphs compared to elapids on other continents; however, their venom compositions are poorly kno...
Because biological invasions can cause many negative impacts, accurate predictions are necessary for implementing effective restrictions aimed at specific high-risk taxa. The pet trade in recent years became the most important pathway for the introdu...
Antibiotics are often administered with antivenom following snakebite envenomings in order to avoid secondary bacterial infections. However, to this date, no studies have evaluated whether antibiotics may have undesirable potentiating effects on snak...
Active compounds from natural sources, particularly snake venoms, are crucial for pharmaceutical development despite challenges in drug discovery. Snake venoms, historically used for medicinal purposes, contain bioactive peptides and enzymes that sho...
This essay examines how contemporary Anglophone Chinese women writers rewrite the imagery of Chinese snake women through speculative retellings that foreground sisterhood, queer desire, and diasporic identity. Drawing on queer diaspora studies and fe...
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