Snakes are cold blooded legless reptiles closely related
to lizards, which share the order Squamata. There are
also several species of legless lizard which superficially
resemble snakes, but are not otherwise related to them.
A love of snakes is called ophiophilia. An old synonym
for snake is serpent; in modern usage this usually refers
to a mythic or symbolic snake, and information about such
creatures will be found under serpent. This article deals
with the biology of snakes. All snakes are carnivorous,
eating small animals (including lizards and other snakes),
birds, eggs or insects. Some snakes have a venomous bite
which they use to kill their prey before eating it.
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