Specimen Showcase | The Comedian Snake
- Hong Kong Biodiversity Museum
- Mar 10
- 2 min read
Most people enjoy a good play or movie.🍿 While we appreciate the acting of comedians🤡, humans do not have the monopoly of it. Indeed, some species are very good at deceiving us and other species, but in that case for their own survival.
Let us introduce the copperhead racer🐍, 𝘊𝘰𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴 (Boie, 1827) a non-venomous snake widespread in southern Asia, found from India to Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam as far as Hong Kong.🇭🇰 Here, it is mainly distributed in grassland, rocky shrubland and mountain trails. It is a diurnal species (meaning it is active during the day) and is quite commonly found in Hong Kong. To identify it, pay attention to the presence of four black stripes running along the sides of the anterior half of the body. You will also notice three black lines radiating from each eye. But as the snake is fast-moving and prefers keeping good “social distancing”, you may not have that much time to have a good glance at it.
It’s also a good idea on your end to keep a safe distance❗ from the copperhead racer since it has an interesting defensive strategy. In most cases, a rapid retreat is the first reaction to a threat by the snake. Yet, if a copperhead racer is unable to escape, it will inflate its neck and expose the distinctive bluish and black interscale skin. Then, it will elevate the anterior half of the body and bend into S-shaped loops. Opening its mouth widely to feign attack. This deimatic behaviour (startle display) is to pretend to be stronger and bigger in order to frighten a potential predator (or you). At this moment, you just need to move backwards and give way. Leave the place quietly🤫 without disrupting it. It will flee immediately when it has a chance.
What if the copperhead racer encounters a real strong (or very hungry) predator? If the first defensive strategy is useless, it will adopt a second tactic called thanatosis (death-feigning)💀. It is expressed by maintaining a rigid posture as if it was dead. It will roll over and expose the stomach of the body. The mouth is opened and the muscle is relaxed, except the nuchal (the back of neck) region. It is a protective mechanism because the connection between the skull and vertebral spine is fragile and thus vulnerable to predator attacks.
What a comedian!🎭 A species comfortable acting tough, cowardly or a complete drama. Next time you go hiking🥾, let's see whether you can encounter this lovely species and which role it will be playing.
Text: Edmond Lee
Комментарии