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  • 蜥蜴和蛇

    Coiled rat snake among foliage, illustrating its natural habitat and behavior.

    Are snakes deadly?
    ::蛇是致命的吗?

    Some snakes are poisonous, but the majority of snakes are fairly harmless if they are left alone. This rat snake is actually beneficial to humans because it eats mice and rats, keeping those in balance . Some related species are so tame that they are often kept as pets.
    ::有些蛇是有毒的,但大多数蛇如果单独存在,是相当无害的。 这只老鼠蛇实际上对人类有益,因为它食用老鼠和老鼠,保持它们之间的平衡。 一些相关物种非常驯服,常常被当作宠物。

    Lizards and Snakes
    ::蜥蜴和蛇

    Lizards and snakes belong to the largest order of , Squamata . Lizards are a large group of reptiles, with nearly 5,000 species, living on every continent except Antarctica. Some places are just too cold for lizards.
    ::蜥蜴和蛇是最大的动物群,蜥蜴是一大群爬虫类,有近5 000种物种,生活在南极洲以外的每个大陆,有些地方对蜥蜴来说太冷了。

    Characteristics of Lizards and Snakes
    ::蜥蜴和蛇的特点

    Lizards and snakes are distinguished by scales or shields and movable quadrate bones , which make it possible to open the upper jaw very wide. Quadrate bones are especially visible in snakes, because they are able to open their mouths very wide to eat large prey ( Figure ). Without this ability, the snake diet would be very limited.
    ::蜥蜴和蛇以比例尺或盾牌和可移动的四分位骨骼来区分,这使得上下巴的开阔成为可能。 二次曲线的骨头在蛇体内特别明显,因为它们能够张开嘴吃大猎物(图 ) 。 没有这种能力,蛇的饮食将非常有限。

    A corn snake swallowing a mouse, illustrating its feeding ability.

    A corn snake swallowing a mouse.
    ::一只玉米蛇吞下一只老鼠

    Characteristics of Lizards
    ::蜥蜴的特征

    Key features of lizards include:
    ::蜥蜴的主要特征包括:

    • Four limbs.
      ::四肢,四肢,四肢四肢,四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢四肢。
    • External ears.
      ::外部耳朵。
    • Movable eyelids.
      ::可爱的眼皮
    • A short neck.
      ::短脖子。
    • A long tail, which they can shed in order to escape from predators .
      ::一条长长的尾巴,他们可以抛下它,以便逃离掠食者。
    • They eat .
      ::他们吃。

    , including color vision, is well-developed in lizards. You may have seen a lizard camouflaged to blend in with its surroundings. Since they have great vision, lizards communicate by changing the color of their bodies. They also communicate with chemical signals called pheromones .
    ::包括颜色视觉在内,在蜥蜴中发育良好。你可能见过一只伪装成与周围环境相融合的蜥蜴。因为蜥蜴有伟大的视觉,所以通过改变身体的颜色进行交流。它们还使用称为费洛蒙的化学信号进行交流。

    Adult lizards range from one inch in length, like some Caribbean geckos, to the nearly 10-foot-long Komodo dragon ( Figure ).
    ::成年蜥蜴长一英寸,如一些加勒比壁虎,至近10英尺长的科莫多龙(图)。

    A Komodo dragon walking on a dirt surface, showcasing its large size and body features.

    A Komodo dragon, the largest of the lizards, attaining a length of ten feet. Komodo dragons will eat just about anything and they often attack deer, goats, pigs, dogs and, occasionally, humans.
    ::科莫多龙是最大的蜥蜴,长达10英尺。科莫多龙将吃任何东西,它们经常攻击鹿、山羊、猪、狗,有时还攻击人。

    With 40 lizard families, there is an extremely wide range of color, appearance, and size of lizards. Many lizards are capable of regenerating lost limbs or tails. Almost all lizards are carnivorous , meaning they eat animals , although most are so small that insects are their primary prey. However, some have reached sizes where they can prey on and mammals . On the other hand, a few species of lizards exclusively eat plants.
    ::有40个蜥蜴家庭,其中蜥蜴的颜色、外观和大小极为广泛,许多蜥蜴能够再生失去的四肢或尾巴,几乎所有蜥蜴都是食肉动物,意思是食用动物,尽管大多数小到昆虫是它们的主要猎物,但有些已达到可以捕食和捕食哺乳动物的大小。另一方面,少数几类蜥蜴只吃植物。

    Lizard Behavior
    ::蜥蜴行为

    Have you ever tried catching a lizard? Many lizards are good climbers or fast sprinters. Some can run on two feet, such as the collared lizard. Some, like the basilisk, can even run across the surface of water to escape danger. Many lizards can change color in response to their environments or in times of stress ( Figure ). The most familiar example is the chameleon, but more subtle color changes can occur in other lizard species.
    ::您是否尝试过捕捉蜥蜴? 许多蜥蜴都是好的登山者或快速的短跑者。 有些可以双脚运行, 比如有锁的蜥蜴。 有些像一样, 甚至可以穿过水表面逃过危险。 许多蜥蜴可以因环境或压力而改变颜色( 图表 ) 。 最熟悉的例子就是变色龙, 但其他蜥蜴物种的颜色变化可能更微妙 。

    Lizard camouflaging against rocks and vegetation, demonstrating its body form and coloration.

    A species of lizard, showing general body form and camouflage against background.
    ::一种蜥蜴种类,显示一般身体形式和背景的伪装。

    Legless Lizards
    ::无遗传蜥蜴

    Some lizard species, including the glass lizard and flap-footed lizards, have evolved to lose their legs, or their legs are so small that they no longer work. This provides these species an evolutionary advantage in their way of life. Legless lizards almost look like snakes, though structures leftover from earlier stages of evolution remain. For example, flap-footed lizards can be distinguished from snakes by their external ears.
    ::一些蜥蜴物种,包括玻璃蜥蜴和扁脚蜥蜴,已经进化为失去双腿,或腿小到不再起作用。 这为这些物种的生活方式提供了进化优势。 无腿蜥蜴几乎像蛇一样,尽管从早期进化阶段留下的结构仍然存在。 比如,用外耳可以区分扁脚蜥蜴和蛇。

    Characteristics of Snakes
    ::蛇的特征

    Snakes are different from legless lizards because they do not have eyelids, limbs, external ears, or forelimbs. The more than 2,700 species of snake can be found on every continent except Antarctica and range in size from the tiny, 4-inch-long thread snake to pythons, to the over 17-foot-long anaconda ( Figure ).
    ::蛇与没有腿的蜥蜴不同,因为它们没有眼皮、四肢、外耳或前额。 除南极洲外,每个大陆都能找到2,700多种蛇种,其大小从小的、4英寸长的线条蛇到,到超过17英尺长的蚂蚁(图 ) 。

    In order to fit inside of snakes’ narrow bodies, paired organs , such as , appear one in front of the other instead of side by side. Snakes’ eyelids are transparent “spectacle” scales which remain permanently closed. Most snakes are not venomous, but some have venom capable of causing painful injury or death to humans. However, snake venom is primarily used for killing prey rather than for self-defense. Snakes that are kept as pets can have their venom removed without affecting the health of the snake.
    ::蛇的眼皮是透明的“光谱 ” , 并且永远是封闭的。 大多数蛇不是毒蛇,但有些蛇有毒液可以造成人类痛苦的伤害或死亡。 但是,蛇毒液主要用于杀死猎物,而不是自卫。 作为宠物保存的蛇可以将其毒液除去,而不会影响蛇的健康。

    A coiled anaconda resting on a branch, showcasing its distinctive patterned scales.

    A species of anaconda, one of the largest snakes, which can be as long as 17 feet.
    ::一种亚肯达的物种, 最大的蛇之一, 可能长达17英尺。

    Most snakes use specialized belly scales, which grip surfaces to move ( Figure ). In the shedding of scales, known as molting , the complete outer layer of skin is shed in one layer ( Figure ). Molting replaces old and worn skin, allows the snake to grow, and helps it get rid of parasites such as mites and ticks.
    ::大部分蛇使用专门的腹部秤,它能拉住表面以移动(图 )。在被称作系结的缩放中,整个外层的皮肤被划成一层(图 ) 。 腐蚀取代旧的和磨损的皮肤,使蛇得以生长,并帮助蛇除掉寄生虫,如和虱子。

    Close-up of a scarlet kingsnake displaying tricolored red, black, and white scales.

    A close-up of scales on a scarlet kingsnake, showing a tricolored pattern of red, black, and white bands. Notice the distinction between the belly scales and the rest of the snake's scales.
    ::红红红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花。注意腹红花红花和蛇色色的红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花的红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花的花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花花花花花花红花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花的红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花花花花花花花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花花花花红花红花花花花花花花花花花花花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花花花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花花花红花红花红花红花花花花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花红花红花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花花红花红花红花花花花花花花红花红花花花花花花花花花花花红花红花红花红花花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花红花花红花红花红花

    Close-up of a Centralian carpet python shedding skin, showing its head and neck.

    A Centralian carpet python shedding its skin.
    ::一只中美洲地毯皮条客 脱下皮肤

    Although different snake species reproduce in different ways, all snakes use internal fertilization , where of the egg takes place inside the female. The male uses sex organs stored in its tail to transfer to the female. Most species of snakes lay eggs, and most species abandon these eggs shortly after laying them.
    ::尽管不同的蛇种以不同的方式繁殖,但所有蛇都使用体内受精法,卵子在雌性体内发生。 雄性利用尾巴中储存的性器官向雌性转移。 大多数蛇种产卵,大多数在产卵后不久就放弃了这些卵。

    How do Snakes Eat?
    ::蛇吃得怎么样?

    All snakes are strictly carnivorous, eating small animals including lizards, other snakes, small mammals, birds, eggs, , snails, or insects. Because snakes cannot bite or tear their food to pieces, prey must be swallowed whole. Therefore, the body size of a snake has a major influence on its eating habits. A snake can usually estimate in advance if a prey is too large. 
    ::所有蛇都是严格的食肉动物,食用小动物,包括蜥蜴、其他蛇、小哺乳动物、鸟类、蛋、蜗牛或昆虫。由于蛇不能咬或撕碎食物,猎物必须全被吞噬。因此,蛇的身体大小对其饮食习惯有重大影响。如果猎物太大,蛇通常可以提前估计。

    The snake’s jaw is unique in the animal kingdom . Snakes have a very flexible lower jaw, the two halves of which are not rigidly attached. They also have many other in their skull, allowing them to open their mouths wide enough to swallow their prey whole.
    ::蛇的下巴在动物王国中是独一无二的。 蛇的下巴非常柔软,其两半没有僵硬的连接。 蛇的头骨上还有很多其他的,允许它们张开嘴,把猎物全吞下。

    Some snakes have a venomous bite, which they use to kill their prey before eating it. Other snakes kill their prey by strangling them, and still others swallow their prey whole and alive. After eating, snakes enter a resting stage, while the process of digestion takes place. The process is highly efficient, with the snake’s digestive enzymes dissolving and absorbing everything but the prey’s hair and claws! 
    ::一些蛇有毒咬,它们用毒咬来先杀死猎物,然后吃掉它们。 另一些蛇则用掐死它们来杀死它们的猎物,还有些蛇又活吞掉它们的猎物。 吃过饭后,蛇进入休息阶段,而消化过程正在发生。 这一过程效率很高,蛇的消化酶溶解并吸收除了猎物的头发和爪子之外的一切东西!

    Summary
    ::摘要

    • Snakes and lizards are both in the order Squamata, distinguished by horny scales or shields and movable quadrate bones, which make it possible to open the upper jaw very wide.
      ::蛇和蜥蜴都按《水俣》的顺序排列,以角秤或盾牌和可移动的四重骨为区别,从而有可能打开非常宽的上下巴。
    • Snakes are different from legless lizards because they do NOT have eyelids, limbs, external ears, or forelimbs.
      ::蛇与没有腿的蜥蜴不同,因为它们没有眼皮、四肢、外耳或前额耳。

    Explore More
    ::探索更多

    Use the resources below to answer the questions that follow.
    ::利用以下资源回答以下问题。

    Explore More I
    ::探索更多

    • Lizards, Snakes, and Poisonous Animals Roaming the Deserts of Australia at (3:01)
      ::澳大利亚沙漠中的蜥蜴、蛇和有毒动物(3:01)
    1. How many species of reptiles can be supported by a single sand dune in the Australian desert?
      ::澳大利亚沙漠中有多少种爬行动物可以由一个沙丘支撑?
    2. Are there more mammals or reptiles in the Australian desert?
      ::澳大利亚沙漠里还有更多的哺乳动物或爬行动物吗?
    3. How does the physiology of reptiles and mammals explain their observed abundances in the Australian desert?
      ::爬行动物和哺乳动物的生理学如何解释他们在澳大利亚沙漠中观察到的丰量?
    4. Where do goanna lizards ( Varanus spp. ) lay their eggs? What about the environment they live in leads them to choose this location?
      ::Goanna 蜥蜴(Varanus spp.)产卵在哪里?它们居住的环境如何导致它们选择这个地点?

    Explore More II
    ::探索更多情况二

    • Amazing Arctic Snakes Mating and Fighting - Deadly Vipers at (3:50)
      ::惊人的北极蛇交配和战斗 -- -- 致命毒蛇(3:50)
    1. How many months a year are snakes active above the Arctic Circle?
      ::北极圈上空活跃的蛇每年有多少个月?
    2. Why is black a good color for snakes above the Arctic Circle? How does this explain why the black snakes tend to be bigger than the zigzag patterned snakes?
      ::为什么黑是北极圈上方蛇的好颜色呢? 这如何解释黑蛇为什么比西格扎格模式蛇大?
    3. Why is it advantageous for females above the Arctic Circle to be black? Consider how this impacts their reproductive success.
      ::为什么北极圈上方的女性是黑人更有利? 想想这对她们的生育成功有何影响。

    Review
    ::回顾

    1. List three characteristics of lizards.
      ::列出蜥蜴的三种特征。
    2. How are snakes different from legless lizards?
      ::蛇和没有腿的蜥蜴有什么不同?
    3. How do snakes eat? Describe the snake jaw.
      ::蛇怎么吃?