Diamondback Rattlesnake | King Cobra | Spitting Cobra | Kingsnakes & Milk Snakes

Snake Fangs

The proteroglypha have, in front of the upper jaw and preceding the ordinary teeth, permanently erect fangs. These fangs are called fixed fangs. CLICK HERE TO SEE ANIMAL WEBCAMS

The solenoglypha have erectile fangs; that is, fangs they can raise to an erect position. These fangs are called folded fangs.

The fixed-fang snakes (proteroglypha) are commonly recognized as having neurotoxic venoms, but there are *plenty of exceptions to this rule and it's very easy to overgeneralize. These venoms affect the nervous system, making the victim unable to breathe.

The folded-fang snakes (solenoglypha) of North America like rattlesnakes, cottonmouths and copperheads, *frequently have hemotoxic venoms. Hemotoxic venoms affect the circulatory system, destroying blood cells, damaging skin tissues, and causing internal hemorrhaging. It should be noted that not all folded-fang snakes have hemotoxic venoms. The majority of African pit vipers like the Gaboon Viper and numerous other species found around the world are primarily neurotoxic.

* Most poisonous snakes have both neurotoxic and hemotoxic venoms and the venom dominance can vary even within the same family of snake. These differences within the same family of snake usually occur due to differences in habitat or geographic location & even prey species. It's extremely important to not overgeneralize any species here. For example, a North American Rattlesnake has a dominance of hemotoxic venom, while the venom of the Mexican Rattlesnakes is primarily neurotoxic. Again, this can vary greatly within any species and individual. Another example can be made with the WESTERN DIAMONDBACK RATTLESNAKE. A Western Diamondback living in Southern California may have a different proportion or ratio of Hemotoxic & Neurotoxic venom components from that of a Western Diamondback living in Texas.

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