A type of pit viper which uses ‘predator-like’ heat sensitive organs to hunts its prey has gone on display at Blue Planet Aquarium at Cheshire Oaks.
The copperhead snake gets its name from the copper-coloured markings on its head.
They are found in the south eastern United States and some parts of Mexico, living in forests or swamps where they are equally at home on land and in the water.
Copperheads have heat-sensitive pits as sensory organs, allowing them to hunt warm-blooded prey and also to seek out warm areas to heat themselves up during the day.
“As well as being fascinating reptiles in their own right with amazing hunting techniques, copperheads are also one of the most attractively-marked of the American snakes,” said Blue Planet Aquarium curator David Wolfenden.
“The new snakes are in excellent condition and are a welcome addition to our Venom exhibition,” he added.
The venom of copperheads is rarely fatal, but it is responsible for the most snake bites on humans in North America. Although they will initially attempt to escape from humans, if threatened they will strike.
The snakes possess highly-developed hinged fangs which open out when the snake strikes to deliver their venom.
Due to the snakes losing fangs regularly, they have a ‘production line’ of smaller fangs growing behind the functional ones. The newly formed fangs move forward to replace the lost ones.
The snakes are on long-term loan from a specialist wildlife agency which re-home unwanted and illegally imported exotic animals and will be on display in the aquarium’s Venom exhibition – showcasing the planet’s deadliest creatures.
