Venomous or Not?

This week we leave the savanna of Africa behind for the sunshine of central America. And we can put the binoculars away for now. Instead of birds, we are looking for snakes.

This week’s snake kind features a mere two species and, unlike many other kinds, is currently listed at the genus rather than the family taxonomic level. This may change as more baraminology studies are done. These snakes have colors that mimic the more well-known coral snake. But they are not the well-known scarlet king or scarlet snakes, nor does the well-known phrase used to differentiate the venomous coral snake from its non-venomous mimics work for these species. The species in this kind have a bunch of variable color patterns that mimic the coral snake.1

The species of this kind have long tails, sometimes almost half the body length. The tail is relatively fragile, allowing it to break easily.2 Presumably, this allows it to escape predators more easily. However, unlike some other species, these snakes do not regrow their tails once they lose them. Perhaps this is why God designed the tail to be so long so that it could be used more than once.

Has anyone figured it out yet? This week is tough since there is not much information available on this kind. This week’s kind is the Scaphiodontophis, also known as the Neck-Band Snake kind. These colorful snakes are found throughout much of Central America.

Grupo Herpetlogico de Antioquia, Universidad de Antioquia, Museo de Herpetologia, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Try out this fun crossword puzzle! Next week we will stay in Africa, but we won’t be looking for birds. This time we’ll be looking underground.

Clue

Your clue for the next week is:

This kind can chew through an inch of concrete!

Ask a Question

Have you ever had a question about created kinds but didn’t know who to ask? Have you ever wanted to learn more about your favorite kind? Well, now you can! You can ask me, Inspector Barry Mins, a question! Have your parents help you fill out this form, and you might get your question answered in my column! If you have any questions about created kinds, feel free to send them my way!