There is a curious misconception that snakes are made up entirely of heads and tails. In reality, the snake's tail is only twenty percent of its entire length.
The beginning of the tail
Humans normally have thirty-three vertebrae, which form the bones in the neck and the spinal column. Snakes can have ten times the number of vertebrae. Moreover, ribs grow from most of the vertebrae. Where the ribs end and the tail begins. In a snake, the tail begins directly behind the cloaca.
It is found in amphibians, birds and reptiles. It got its name in honor of the ancient sewage system of Ancient Rome. In the case of a snake, the cloaca is a small outlet located on the underside of the body. The cloaca is essentially a snake's backside, so, like most animals, the snake's tail starts from this part of the body.
If the snake is placed in a narrow and cramped space, it can consider its own tail an enemy, pounce on it and swallow it. In some cases, snakes can choke to death.
The snake's cloaca is very versatile. First, it serves to excrete urine and faeces, and snakes do not have separate ducts or passages for each type of this biological waste. Second, the cloaca is used during mating and egg-laying. In males, it is in the cloaca that "half-penises" are located; during mating, the males twist them in such a way that they stick out directly from the cloaca. Such "half-penises" differ significantly in different species of snakes, as well as "receiving holes" in females, so that different species cannot mate with each other.
There is a species of gliding snakes in Southeast Asia. Such snakes curl up with a spring, push off a tree and flatten out in a jump, doubling their body area.
Different snakes - different tails
Different types of snake have very different tails. Blind snakes, for example, have tails that are fifty times shorter than their bodies. At the end of their tails there are dense thorns, with which the blind snakes rest against the surface and drill underground passages with their heads.
The American rattlesnake has evolved into a rattle at the end of its tail. This rattle vibrates when the snake wants to announce its presence. This sound scares off many animals. The rattle can perform up to fifty vibrations per second. The Indians considered this sound to be one of the most terrifying "natural" sounds of nature.
The recently discovered pseudo-horned viper has a spider-like growth on the tip of its tail. This decoration serves as a bait for birds, which the pseudo-horned viper eats with pleasure.
