Largest horns

   

   The largest horn circumference on a steer measured 95.25 cm (37.5 in) on 6 May 2003 and belong to Lurch, an African watusi steer owned by Janice Wolf (USA) of Gassville, Arkansas, USA. Sadly, Lurch died at 3 p.m. on 22 May 2010 of a cancer at the base of one of the horns. The body has has been released to a local taxidermist, who will produce a full-sized taxidermy of the steer.

Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae ("pit vipers"). There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central Argentina.

Rattlesnakes are predators who live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small animals such as birds andodents. They kill their prey with a venomous bite, rather than by constricting. All rattlesnakes possess a set of fangs with which they inject large quantities of hemotoxic venom. The venom travels through the bloodstream, destroying tissue and causing swelling, internal bleeding, and intense pain. Some species, such as the Mojave Rattlesnake, additionally possess a neurotoxic component in their venom that causes paralysis and other nervous symptoms.

The threat of envenomation, advertised by the loud shaking of the titular noisemaker ("rattle") at the end of their tail, deters many predators. However, rattlesnakes fall prey to hawks, weasels, king snakes, and a variety of other species. Rattlesnakes are heavily preyed upon as neonates, while they are still weak and mentally immature. Very large numbers of rattlesnakes are killed by humans. Rattlesnake populations in many areas are severely threatened byhabitat destruction,poaching, and extermination campaigns.

Rattlesnake bites are the leading cause of snakebite injuries in North America. However, rattlesnakes rarely bite unless provoked or threatened; and if treated promptly, the bites are rarely fatal.

The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis), also called thecommon black mamba or black-mouthed mamba, is the longestvenomous snake inAfrica, averaging around 2.5 to 3.2 m (8.2 to 10 ft) in length, and sometimes growing to lengths of 4.45m (14.6 ft).It is named for the black colour of the inside of the mouth rather than the colour of its scales which varies from dull yellowish-green to a gun-metal grey. It is also the fastest snake in the world, capable of moving at 4.32 to 5.4 metres per second (16–20 km/h, 10–12mph).[6]The black mamba has a reputation for being very aggressive, but it usually attempts to flee from humans like most snakes, unless it is threatened.[7]Without rapid and vigorousantivenomtherapy, a bite from a black mamba is almost always fatal.

Taxonomy

The black mamba was first described in 1864 byAlbert Günther, a German-born Britishzoologist,ichthyologist, and herpetologist. Soon after, a subspecies was identified,Dendroaspis polylepis antinorii(Peters, 1873), but this is no longer accepted as distinct. The genus and species name are derived from Ancient Greek words –Dendroaspis meaning "tree asp" (dendro is "tree", while aspis is "asp" which is understood to mean a "venomous snake") and polylepis, "many scaled", from poly "many" and lepis "scales". The name "black mamba" is given to the snake not because of its body colour but because of the ink-black colouration of the inside of its mouth, which it displays when threatened. In 1896, Boulenger combined the species (Dendroaspis polylepis) as a whole with the eastern green mamba,Dendroaspis angusticeps, and they were considered a single species from 1896 until 1946.[13]

It is one of four species in the African snake genus Dendroaspis that are known as mambas.[14]

Description

The head and upper part of a relatively young black mamba's body

The adult black mamba's back skin colour is olive, brownish, gray, or sometimes khaki. A young snake is lighter, but not light enough to be confused with the different species of green mamba. Its underbody is cream-coloured, sometimes blended with green or yellow.[5] Dark spots or blotches may speckle the back half of the body, and some individuals have alternating dark and light scales near the posterior, giving the impression of lateral bars. The inside of the mouth is dark blue to inky black. The head is large but narrow and elongated, with the shape of a coffin.[15][16] It is a proteroglyphous snake, meaning it has immovable, fixed fangs at the front of the maxilla. The eyes are dark brown to black, with a silvery-white to yellow edge on the pupils.[16] These snakes are strong but slender in body: adult specimens are 2.5 to 3 m (8.2 to 9.8 ft) in length on average, but specimens measuring 3.1 to 3.75 m (10 to 12.3 ft) are relatively common, and some specimens have reached lengths of 4.3 to 4.5 m (14 to 15 ft).[16][17]The longest scientifically measured, wild-caught black mamba recorded was 4.48 metres (14.7ft) long, found in Zimbabwe.Adult black mambas' slender but powerful body can typically weigh from 1.6 to 3.1 kg (3.5 to 6.8 lb).There is no real sexual dimorphism, and both male and female snakes of this species have a similar appearance and tend to be similar in size. The species is the second-longest venomous snake in the world, exceeded in length only by the king cobra.Information regarding the lifespan of snakes in the wild is sparse; the longest recorded lifespan of a captive black mamba is 14 years, but actual maximum lifespans could be much greater.As they age, their colouration tends to get darker.