Snake - Snake

Japanese: ヘビ(蛇) - ヘビ

A general term for reptiles belonging to the order Squamata and suborder Serpentes. They have extremely elongated bodies, lack limbs, and move by undulating abdominal plates. They usually have 200 to 400 vertebrae, which allows them to bend freely. They lack a sternum, and the tips of each rib are free and connected to the abdominal plate. The outer layer of the epidermis is keratinized and they periodically shed their skin. The mandibles are connected to the skull by a stoma and the left and right mandibles are connected by ligaments, so they can move the mandibles separately and open their mouths wide. The teeth are sharp and point inward, and in venomous snakes they become a pair of venomous fangs. The ears are buried in the skin, and the eyes have no eyelids but are covered by a single transparent scale. The tip of the tongue is forked, which is responsible for their sensitive sense of smell. Fossils of Paleophis from the Cretaceous Period are known, and there are about 330 genera and 2,700 species of extant snakes. They are widely distributed on every continent except Antarctica, and are mostly found in the tropics and subtropics. They also live underground, in deserts, and in the oceans, and are all carnivorous. One-quarter of snakes are ovoviviparous, while the rest are oviparous, and one-ninth are venomous.
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Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

有鱗(ゆうりん)目ヘビ亜目に属する爬虫(はちゅう)類の総称。体が極端に細長く，四肢を欠き，腹板の起伏によって運動を行う。脊椎骨はふつう200〜400個くらいあって，そのため自由に体を曲げることができる。胸骨を欠き，各肋骨の先端は遊離して腹板に連なる。表皮の外層は角質化し，定期的に脱皮を行う。下顎骨は方骨によって頭蓋に連接し，左右の下顎骨は靭帯(じんたい)によって結合するため，下顎骨を左右別々に動かし，口を大きくあけることができる。歯は鋭く内側に向き，毒ヘビでは１対の毒牙となる。耳は皮膚内に埋もれ，眼は眼瞼(がんけん)がなくて，１枚の透明な鱗におおわれる。舌の先端は２叉(さ)し，敏感な嗅覚をつかさどる。化石は白亜紀のパレオーフィスが知られ，現生種は約330属2700種。南極を除く各大陸に広く分布し，熱帯，亜熱帯に多い。地中・砂漠・海洋にも生活し，すべて肉食性。1/4が卵胎生で他は卵生，1/9が毒ヘビである。
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