Cobra and Its Skeleton

   The skeleton of the cobra helps to illustrate how the elongated ribs near the neck enable the hood to be spread out at will by their erection. The ribs in snakes also help in locomotion by causing the movement of the abdominal muscles to which their ventral tips are attached.

Sea Snake

     The Sea snake (Hydrophis spiralis) (Tamil: Kadal naagam) is the largest of our sea snakes growing almost to eight to nine feet in length. It is yellowish or yellowish green with more or less complete narrow, black, ring like bands, much narrower than their interspaces. The head in the young one is blackish with a yellow horseshoe shaped mark above, but in the adult it is usually entirely yellow. It is a strong and active swimmer, ascending up rivers to a considerable distance. Several large specimens of this species have been recorded from the Mahabalipuram coast, south of Chennai.

    In Trionix leithi, the carapace is dark olive green above with lighter, irregular markings. In young specimens, the carapace is more greenish and ornamented with four well marked ocelli.