 Sea
Snakes are believed to have evolved from land snakes in Australia. There are
about 52 kinds of sea snakes, and almost all are venomous. I think the most
amazing fact about sea snakes is that they can still bite for about an hour
after death! All over the world, there have been very few deaths by sea
snake bites. This is because they are actually scared of humans. There are a
lot of movies that show them as very scary, dangerous creatures, but this is
not so. Sea snakes have been known to mind their own business. Usually, when
humans approach them, they just causally swim away. But I'm not telling you
to swim up to one (if you ever see one) and pet it. Although some sea snakes
are nice, some sea snakes' fangs can penetrate dry suits (this is the
thickest kind of diving suit) and then can puncture the skin. Sea snakes
have a flattened tail for swimming faster, and for better control when
swimming. The only differences between eels and sea snakes is an eel is not
venomous. Also, eels do not have a flattened tail for swimming.
The
most dangerous sea snake is the Beaded Sea Snake. Beaded sea snakes have
such strong venom, three drops can kill about nine people! The most common
sea snake near land is the cotton mouth, or water moccasin. If you ever see
one, it's best to just slowly walk away. A lot of people think that snakes
are very slimy, but in truth they are dry and scaly. Also, many people think
that sea snakes are even slimier than land snakes. This is not true either.
Of course, right when they're taken out of the water they're wet, but once
dried, they are dry and scaly, too. |
