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Hoop Snake
The hoop snake is a legendary creature of the United States, Canada, and Australia. It appears in the Pecos Bill stories; although his description of hoop snakes is the one with which people are most familiar, stories of the creature predate those fictional tales considerably. Several sightings of the hoop snake have been alleged along the Minnesota-Wisconsin border in the St. Croix River valley (Recently Hudson, Wisconsin), Wake County in North Carolina, Prince Edward Island, and Kamloops, British Columbia. In folklore According to folklore, the distinguishing feature of a hoop snake is that it can grasp its tail in its jaws and roll after its prey like a wheel; which is similar to the ''ouroboros'' in Greek mythology or the ''tsuchinoko'' in Japan. In one version of the myth, the snake straightens out at the last second, skewering its victim with its venomous tail. The only escape is to hide behind a tree, which receives the deadly blow instead and promptly dies from the pois ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hoop Snake
The hoop snake is a legendary creature of the United States, Canada, and Australia. It appears in the Pecos Bill stories; although his description of hoop snakes is the one with which people are most familiar, stories of the creature predate those fictional tales considerably. Several sightings of the hoop snake have been alleged along the Minnesota-Wisconsin border in the St. Croix River valley (Recently Hudson, Wisconsin), Wake County in North Carolina, Prince Edward Island, and Kamloops, British Columbia. In folklore According to folklore, the distinguishing feature of a hoop snake is that it can grasp its tail in its jaws and roll after its prey like a wheel; which is similar to the ''ouroboros'' in Greek mythology or the ''tsuchinoko'' in Japan. In one version of the myth, the snake straightens out at the last second, skewering its victim with its venomous tail. The only escape is to hide behind a tree, which receives the deadly blow instead and promptly dies from the pois ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snow Snake (folklore)
In American folklore, the snow snake is a fearsome critter that, unlike other reptiles, can live in cold temperatures and is only active during winter months. Standard depiction As with any subject of folklore, details about the snow snake vary depending on the storyteller. However, most accounts purport that the snow snake is a highly venomous, white-colored serpent that lives in the snow. Occasional details have been offered regarding the eyes of a snow snake such as them being blue or pink in color. The snow snake's white coloration is said to make the animal nearly indiscernible to any observer against freshly laid snow. Hence, snow snakes held a prominent place in regional practical jokes played on those unfamiliar with the outdoors. Habitually, unexplained markings in the snow were attributed to snow snakes as part of the joke. The name snow snake may have been derived from a Native American winter sport of the same name. Variations Author J. E. Rockwell in a 1910 article ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serpent (symbolism)
The serpent, or snake, is one of the oldest and most widespread mythological symbols. The word is derived from Latin ''serpens'', a crawling animal or snake. Snakes have been associated with some of the oldest rituals known to mankind and represent dual expression of good and evil. In some cultures, snakes were fertility symbols. For example, the Hopi people of North America performed an annual snake dance to celebrate the union of Snake Youth (a Sky spirit) and Snake Girl (an Underworld spirit) and to renew the fertility of Nature. During the dance, live snakes were handled, and at the end of the dance the snakes were released into the fields to guarantee good crops. "The snake dance is a prayer to the spirits of the clouds, the thunder and the lightning, that the rain may fall on the growing crops." To the Hopi, snakes symbolized the umbilical cord, joining all humans to Mother Earth. The Great Goddess often had snakes as her familiars—sometimes twining around her sacred staf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rotating Locomotion In Living Systems
Rotation, or spin, is the circular movement of an object around a '' central axis''. A two-dimensional rotating object has only one possible central axis and can rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. A three-dimensional object has an infinite number of possible central axes and rotational directions. If the rotation axis passes internally through the body's own center of mass, then the body is said to be ''autorotating'' or ''spinning'', and the surface intersection of the axis can be called a '' pole''. A rotation around a completely external axis, e.g. the planet Earth around the Sun, is called ''revolving'' or ''orbiting'', typically when it is produced by gravity, and the ends of the rotation axis can be called the '' orbital poles''. Mathematics Mathematically, a rotation is a rigid body movement which, unlike a translation, keeps a point fixed. This definition applies to rotations within both two and three dimensions (in a plane and in space, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ouroboros
The ouroboros or uroboros () is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via ancient Egyptian iconography and the Greek magical tradition. It was adopted as a symbol in Gnosticism and Hermeticism and most notably in alchemy. The term derives , from ''oura'' 'tail' plus ''-boros'' '-eating'. The ''ouroboros'' is often interpreted as a symbol for eternal cyclic renewal or a cycle of life, death, and rebirth; the snake’s skin-sloughing symbolizes the transmigration of souls. The snake biting its own tail is a fertility symbol in some religions: the tail is a phallic symbol and the mouth is a yonic or womb-like symbol. Some snakes, such as rat snakes, have been known to consume themselves. One captive snake attempted to consume itself twice, dying in the second attempt. Another wild rat snake was found having swallowed about two-thirds of its body. Historical representations Ancient Egypt One of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joint Snake
A joint snake is a legendary creature of the Southern United States, the myth likely having spread elsewhere. Supposedly, the joint snake can break itself (or be cut) into pieces and will reassemble itself. It is said that if a piece of the snake is taken and the pocket knife used to cut the snake is set down in the place of the snake's piece, the knife will join up with the whole of the snake. Explanations The myth is probably based on legless lizards that can regenerate their tails after they are broken off. Such lizards are often called joint, or, more commonly, glass snakes. According to travelers' accounts, their skin is as hard as parchment and as smooth as glass. It is so stiff that it can hardly bend itself. It is streaked with black and white. Depictions A joint snake symbolizes the American colonies in Benjamin Franklin's 1754 political cartoon, "Join, or Die ''Join, or Die.'' is a political cartoon showing the disunity in the American colonies. Attributed to B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fearsome Critters
In North American folklore, fearsome critters were tall tale animals jokingly said to inhabit the wilderness in or around logging camps,Dorson, Richard M. ''Man and Beast in American Comic Legend.'' (Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ. Press, 1982.)Leach, Maria. ''Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary Of Folklore, Mythology and Legend.'' (New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1949.)South, Malcolm. ''Mythical and Fabulous Creatures: A Source Book and Research Guide.'' (Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1984.) especially in the Great Lakes region. Today, the term may also be applied to similar fabulous beasts. Origins Fearsome critters were an integral part of oral tradition in North American logging camps during the turn of the twentieth century, principally as a means to pass time (such as in tall tales)Cox, William T. with Latin Classifications by George B. Sudworth. ''Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods.'' Washington, D.C.: Judd & Detweiler Inc., 1910 or as a jest for haz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphisbaena
The amphisbaena (, , or , plural: amphisbaenae; grc, ἀμφίσβαινα) is a mythological, ant-eating serpent with a head at each end. The creature is alternatively called the amphisbaina, amphisbene, amphisboena, amphisbona, amphista, amfivena, amphivena, or anphivena (the last two being feminine), and is also known as the "Mother of Ants". Its name comes from the Greek words ', meaning "both ways", and ', meaning "to go". Mythology According to Greek mythology, the amphisbaena was spawned from the blood that dripped from the Gorgon Medusa's head as Perseus flew over the Libyan Desert with her head in his hand, after which Cato's army then encountered it along with other serpents on the march. Amphisbaena fed on the corpses left behind. The amphisbaena has been referred to by various poets such as Nicander, John Milton, Alexander Pope, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Alfred Tennyson, Aimé Césaire, A. E. Housman and Allen Mandelbaum; as a mythological and legendary creature, it h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Davidson College
Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan’s Ford. Davidson is a four-year undergraduate institution and enrolls 1,973 students from 50 states and territories, Washington, DC, and 46 countries. Of those students, 95 percent live on campus, 71 percent study abroad, and about 25 percent participate in 21 NCAA Division I sports. The college’s athletic teams, the Wildcats, compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference for all sports except football, which competes in the Pioneer Football League. Davidson's 665-acre (269 ha) main campus is located in a suburban community 19 miles (30 km) north of downtown Charlotte, North Carolina. The college also operates a 110-acre (44.5 ha) lake campus on the shores of nearby Lake Norman. The college offers 37 majors and 39 minors in liberal arts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mud Snake
The mud snake (''Farancia abacura'') is a species of nonvenomous, semiaquatic, colubrid snake endemic to the southeastern United States. Description The mud snake usually grows to a total length (including tail) of 40 to 54 inches (1-1.4 m),Missouri Department of Conservation (2013)Western Mud Snake MDC Online. Accessed May 18, 2013 with the record total length being slightly over 80 inches (2 m).The University of Georgia (2008)Mud Snake The University of Georgia: Museum of Natural History. Accessed April 23, 2011. This species is sexually dimorphic in size. Female adults are larger than males in total length. The upperside of the mud snake is glossy black. The underside is red and black, and the red extends up the sides to form bars of reddish-pink. Although, some have a completely black body with slightly lighter black spots instead of the common reddish colors. The heavy body is cylindrical in cross section, and the short tail has a terminal spine. The head scalation is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crotalus Cerastes
''Crotalus cerastes'', known as the sidewinder, horned rattlesnake or sidewinder rattlesnake,Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . is a Crotalinae, pit viper species belonging to the genus ''Crotalus'' (the rattlesnakes), and is found in the desert regions of the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Like all other pit vipers, it is venomous snake, venomous. Three subspecies are currently recognized. Description A small species, adult specimens measure between in length. Most adults are in length.Campbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca and London. 870 pp. 1500 plates. . The females are larger than the males, which is unusual for this group of snakes.Stidworthy J. 1974. Snakes of the World. Grosset & Dunlap Inc. 160 pp. . Usually, 21 rows of keeled scales, keeled dorsal scales occur midbody.Behler JL, King FW. 1979. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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