EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Ophidiophobia and Why You Should Get Over It

Banded Water Cobra (Naja [prev. Boulengerina] annulata), Family Elapidae
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Explanation:  Welcome -- for some of you -- to one of your greatest fears:  ophidiophobia, or the fear of snakes.  Snakes!  

In the main photo above, I have just gotten out of my motorized pirogue (dugout canoe) onto a small island in the vast Lake Tumba in western Democratic Republic of the Congo, and I am holding a little-known banded water cobra that a local fellow had caught, probably for dinner.  Banded water cobras are not often encountered, so this was a fine opportunity to inspect one up close.  They occur only in central tropical Africa and are capable swimmers, taking prey in the water.  

And yes, they are venomous.  Highly venomous.  With one of the lowest LD50s of any proteroglyph (suborder of snakes with erect, grooved fangs that typically inject large amounts of venom).  "LD50" refers to a dose of something, such as snake venom, that would kill 50 percent of a population, such as people bitten by a snake.  

So why NOT be afraid?  Actually, a bit of fear is a good thing as long as it makes you cautious in how you handle potentially dangerous animals, and how you move with awareness through snake country.
 

Warning sign in northern Arizona.  Me, I would "watch out for snakes and lizards"
to find them and enjoy their beauty and behavior.

 
Fear, however, can dominate to the point of irrational and lethal action, such as decimating any snake encountered, even totally harmless ones, as we saw in a previous EPOW episode in the same region of the Congo as this week's encounter.  

 But once you get over your ophidiophobia -- and still retain a rational, due caution -- you can start to realize how beautiful some of our serpent friends can be.
  

Above:  Dorsum (top side) and ventrum (belly side) of a ringneck snake
(Diadophis punctatus) of Family Colubridae that I found in the Klamath Mountains 
of northwestern California.
This species has indications of being venomous, such as enlarged
rear teeth by which to grasp their prey (of salamanders, lizards, frogs, and
some invertebrates), and toxic saliva secreted during prey capture,
but it is harmless to humans.  When threatened, it will coil the tail exposing
the red underside as a warning signal to thwart potential predators.

  
Moreover, many snakes play useful ecological functions by controlling rodent populations and other pests.  

OK, yes, here is one to be wary of ... but we can still enjoy its beauty!
This is a red-bellied black snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) of Family Elapidae,
the same family as our cobra friend in this week's main photo.
They can grow over 8 feet (250 cm) long.
I encountered this specimen in the eucalypt woodlands of southeast Australia,
and have seen them elsewhere in that country where they are endemic.
Red-bellied black snakes are indeed highly venomous and can inflict a fatal bite.
In addition, every one of them I encountered moved in a sudden,
swift sideways slither, quicker than any other snake I've ever seen ...
moving, however, likely to get out of my way, not to attack.
Venomous snakes generally prefer not to waste their energy
and venom on a perceived threat when they just can back off more easily.
And my knowing its toxicity and its quick movement behavior let me quell any
fear and simply enjoy -- from a respectful distance -- the beauty of this creature.

And a quick postscript on this particular critter:
Red-bellied black snakes have a taste for frogs in their diet,
so they have been particularly vulnerable to the toxins
occurring in the introduced and now-widespread 
cane toads in Australia.
  
*  *  *

So why is the fear of snakes called "ophidiophobia?"
Ophidia is the name of a major group (a "clade," technically) of reptiles
that includes all snakes and snake-like lizards.

Now you know.

Information:
     Weinstein, S.A., J.J. Schmidt, and L.A. Smith.  1991.  Lethal toxins and cross-neutralization of venoms from the African water cobras, Boulengerina annulata annulata and Boulengerina christyi.  Toxicon 29(11):1315-1327.

Acknowledgment:
     My thanks to Congo expedition partner Rick Alexander for taking the main photo in this week's episode, of me holding the cobra.  It would probably not have been a good idea for me to have attempted a "selfie" otherwise...