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O.K. I have a question...?
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by SnakeEyes2006 on May 12, 2007
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I work as a tour guide on an Island State Park. I had a bunch of College Professors on my tour, I told them I was attending college. I also told them I was going for my Science transfer degree so I could transfer to somewhere that I could take Biology, Herpetology.
Then one of the Female Professors started talking to me about snakes. She said she had spent some time in Costa Rica, Venezuala, She said that there is a Venomous snake that has fixed fangs that is larger than the King Cobra and has a mix of both venoms and can deliver vast amounts of it in every bite.
She also said that alot of people think that this snake is extinct, but she along with a few others have seen one alive and it was well over 10 feet long!! she said it was black,green, brown, yellow, orange. She said there is a book that was written in like 1910 that mentions and describes this snake but it was written in another language. She tried to remember the name of the snake and tried to tell me, but it was difficult to pronounce or spell, so I forgot what it was.. Does anyone have any clue to this identity? or anyone know of a book that mentions this snake, or does anyone know where there are pics or drawings of this said snake??? thanks in advance
Shawn
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RE: O.K. I have a question...?
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by Cro on May 12, 2007
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Shawn, the unfortunate thing is that a lot of folks who visit South and Central America on these eco-tours and such, become instant "experts" as soon as they get home.
And they often spew forth all kinds of information that they have "learned."
The Natural History Museum that I once worked at had a bunch of female instrctors, many with Doctoral degrees in Biology, and they were some of the most ill-informed nitwhits when it came to actual knowledge about animals and natural history, especially after they returned from those types of trips and gave "informative" slide shows of their adventures.
If the mythical beast of a snake that you are talking about actually exhisted, it would be known. I am guessing that a local tour guide down there was pulling the leg of this gullable professor, LOL !
As far as strange old reptile books written in strange languages, yes, there are some. And some do talk about legendary snakes. I would have to guess that the snake you are speaking of exhists only in the imagination of local folks down there, who have combined childhood fantacy and legands of many types of large, dangerous snakes into a tall tell.
Hope this helps.
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: O.K. I have a question...?
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by GREGLONGHURST on May 12, 2007
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If a college professor told me a story like that, I do believe I would have as much fun with it as she could stand. Cost Rica, Venezuela, eh? Since one of those beautiful countries is in Central America (at least the last time I was there), and the other is considerably south of there in South America, a different continent, I'd probably start by asking her where exactly the snake was found. After that, we could get into as much serious ophiology as she could handle, which is probably not much. Please invite her to post up on this board & see how long she can handle the heat. Polite heat, but heat nonetheless. And you can bet I would not be the only one with the barbed questions for her, by any means.
~~Greg~~
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RE: O.K. I have a question...?
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by LarryDFishel on May 12, 2007
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I think Karl might be on to something.
I agree that someone probably played a gullible gringo joke on her. On the other hand, maybe SHE was just messing you YOU...
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RE: O.K. I have a question...?
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by Cro on May 12, 2007
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If the good professor did see a Quetzalcoatl while on her trip, one does have to wonder if she might also have been smoking some of the indigenous plant life while on her "trip." LOL
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: O.K. I have a question...?
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by ALA_snake33 on May 12, 2007
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I know that the Country of origin might be off a little bit, but, as we all know there is a Species of Rear-Fang Snake, Hydrodynastes gigas to be exact, that could be mistaken for a Lethally Venomous Species. I say this because of its habit of Flattening its Neck out when alarmed. Plus the Snake grows to be somewhat large, but not as large as Ophiophagus hannah.
Just throwing something out there to think about, if you will. But this lady sounds to be making the “Big Fish That Got Away Story” her livelihood.
As we all know, some Snake Myths come from some local Species being blown all out of proportion. Shoot, I’ve heard stories here about a Venomous Black Racer, that grows well over 15ft. and can kill a man in 15 min.. Didn’t Ya’ll know, there is a Deadly Snake Named the Spreading Adder here, that can kill you in Minutes? Just a few fun examples of peoples tendency to blow things all out of proportion.
Be Safe Ya’ll, Happy Herping : Wally
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RE: O.K. I have a question...?
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by Snakeman1982 on May 12, 2007
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Maybe she meant a Bushmaster. Besides the front fixed fangs and green coloration, the rest seems similar. Maybe she was in a region where they were thought to be locally extinct and the guide told her they are larger than king cobras. Then they saw one and it looked really big to her. That's the best I could say for her. Otherwise she is just really confused.
But bottomline, if Campbell and Lamar didn't mention the species in "Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere", then it probably doesn't exist. Except for some of the newly described species (e.g., Crotalus tancitarensis).
Robert
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RE: O.K. I have a question...?
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by SnakeEyes2006 on May 13, 2007
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thanks all, I feel that she was not pulling my leg and she in fact saw something?, but who knows what it was?! I will google those other names of species and see what they are other than that I will probally never meet this lady again so who knows????
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RE: O.K. I have a question...?
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by SnakeEyes2006 on May 13, 2007
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Ok guys ha ha, the Aztec feathered serpent or a false water cobra? this lady acted serious.. either way who knows.. I am by no means an expert I come here to get info, I had heard that an ancient snake fossil was found that had fangs and was large in size.. is there any truth to this? And what is its name and does anyone have any info on it?
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