A snake is a scaled, limbless, elongate, carnivorous, ectothermic reptile composing the entire suborder Serpentes, alongside lizards in the order Squamata (Latin: "scaled") in Linnean taxonomy. The 2,900 species of snakes spread across every continent except Antarctica ranging in size from the tiny, 10 cm long thread snake to python and anacondas over 7 meters long. In order to accommodate snakes' narrow bodies, paired organs (such as kidneys) appear one in front of the other instead of side by side. A snake has only one lung functional for breathing. Snakes lack external ears. Of the twenty biological families of snakes, two are venomous with some venomous members found in a third family. Although the majority of venomous snakes are small innocuous creatures, many are capable of causing painful injury or death to humans. Venom in snakes, however is more for killing and subduing prey than it is for self-defense. Black rat snakes are known to eat

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