Talk:Lamia/@comment-54.74.108.164-20150810212005/@comment-25035274-20150825143624

Might I also suggest looking taking a look at pretty much any snake in the cobra family? Again, this is not a hard and fast rule. Really, the main thing slitted pupils signify is that they're nocturnal. It's a common feature with many nocturnal animals, actually. Somehow, the slit helps amplify or channel the light.

Other myths about venomous snakes are as follows:

"You can tell a snake is venomous because it has a pit." Partial truth. While that is an indicator that the snake is venomous (as only pit vipers have the pit), not all venomous snakes are pit vipers. As such, there are many venomous snakes that do not have one.

"Poisonous snakes have a triangular head." Again, a partial truth. It is true that many venomous snakes do have a triangular head (especially pit vipers, which tend to also have very broad heads), but not all do. To further complicate matters, many non-venomous snakes have triangular heads as well. For instance, the Northern Water Snake's head has a triangular shape, though it isn't as broad as a pit viper's.

"Venomous snakes have a double-row of scales." Actually, pit vipers have a single-row of scales past their anus, not double. In North America, the double-row is far more common with nonvenomous snakes.

So I repeat. There is no single specific trait, or lack thereof, that will tell you for a fact whether a snake is venomous. As such, it's a good idea to learn what specific kinds of snakes are common to your area and what they look like.