Fish With a Built-in Switchblade and Other Secret Animal Weapons
Published 9 May 2018, 22:54 BST
A red bamboo snake, 'Oreocryptophis porphyraceus vaillantii', from a private collection.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
A many-horned adder, 'Bitis cornuta'.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
An Oriental whipsnake, 'Ahaetulla prasina', at Singapore Zoo.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
A bismarck ringed python, 'Bothrochilus boa'.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
A European long-nosed viper, 'Viper ammodytes ammodytes', at the St. Louis Zoo.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
A Thai bamboo rat snake, 'Oreocryptophis porphyraceus coxi', at Miller Park Zoo.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
Malayan krait, 'Bungarus candidu', at the Sedgwick County Zoo.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
The Madagascar leaf-nosed snake also known as Langaha snakes, 'Langaha madagascariensi'.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
A green tree python, 'Morelia viridis', at the Riverside Zoo.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
A red spotted pitviper, 'Trimeresurus jerdonii xanthomelas', at the Fort Worth Zoo.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
An albino Nelson's milksnake, 'Lampropeltis triangulum nelsoni'.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
An Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake, 'Crotalus willardi willardi', at the St. Louis Zoo.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
A California red-sided garter snake, 'Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis'.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
The red bamboo snake, 'Oreocryptophis porphyraceus pulchra', from a private collection.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
A Japanese rat snake, 'Elaphe climacophora', at Pet Paradise.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
A tri-coloured hognose snake, 'Lystrophis pulcher', from a private collection.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
A Texas coral snake, 'Micrurus tener', with a colour and pattern mutation at the Houston Zoo. Normally this species has colour bands around its body and not spots.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
An eastern ribbon snake, 'Thamnophis sauritus sauritus', at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
Ths is a Blackneck garter snake, 'Thamnophis cyrtopsis ocellatus', from a private collection in Saint Jean de Bournay, France.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
A red bamboo snake, 'Oreocryptophis porphyraceus laticincta', from a private collection in Saint Jean de Bournay, France.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
Santa Cruz gopher snake, 'Pituophis catenifer pumilu', at the Santa Barbara Zoo.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
A side-striped palm pit viper, 'Bothriechis lateralis'.
Photograph by Joël Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark
