According to many old people, they saw a highly venomous snake named " Cockscomb " when they were young. They are several feet long, sound like a hen's "cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck." When attacking, the comb on its head will change from red to purple.
Does such a scary snake really exist? If so, is it really as scary as the legend says?
The legendary cockscomb snake
is even more amazing. It is said that they can also spray venom and poisonous mist like cobra. We know that there are more than 650 kinds of venomous snakes in the world, but only the cobra family can spray venom directly out of the body. And not all cobras can spray venom. The only ones that really possess this skill are the Mozambique venom-spitting cobra, Myanmar venom-spitting cobra, Sumatra venom-spitting cobra, Philippines venom-spitting cobra, etc.
The largest among them is the "Ash's Venom-Spraying Cobra", which can reach 2.75 meters in length and has a range of about 3 meters. Each time it sprays venom, it can kill about 15 adults. But none of the cobras mentioned above were born in China, and their toxicity pales in comparison to that of the cockscomb snake. According to legend, the cockscomb snake sprays not only venom, but also poisonous mist. People who don't know why will mistake it for a puff of smoke, and if they take a puff, they will die instantly.
Someone said, isn't this a snake spirit? It's better to strike first and destroy them all! We mortals really can’t be destroyed. Because this snake's jumping ability is amazing, when it jumps higher than you, it will attack you instantly. Those bitten by it will basically die. Therefore, let’s not overestimate our capabilities. This folklore records that when you encounter a cockscomb snake, don’t overthink it. Apply oil on the soles of your feet and run away. Related historical records of
Some people may say, isn’t this a matter of disappearance? I have seen a lot, and I have seen a lot of venomous snakes. I have never seen a cockscomb snake at all since I was a child. This must be some kind of folk rumor on the Internet. It is basically the same as the Slender Man and the Slit Mouth Girl. They are groundless urban legends! There is little credibility.
It's not wrong to think so. The problem is that the record of this cockscomb snake has appeared many times in our country's historical documents. It can be traced back to our country's Tang Dynasty at the earliest. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms period, Du Guangting wrote such a record in his works: Cockscomb snake, with a head like a rooster and a comb, a body about one foot long and several inches thick. If you are bitten by this kind of snake, Those who are caught will basically die. The book also specifically records that there is such a poisonous snake at the foot of Kuaiji Mountain.
Kuaiji Mountain is located in Shaoxing, Zhejiang. It is said that Dayu visited Kuaiji Mountain when he was controlling floods. There is also the tomb of Dayu here. Later, it was the exile of Yue King Gou Jian. It is recorded in the ancient book "Mencius: Teng Wen Gong Xia": In the time of Yao, the water went retrograde and flooded China; snakes and dragons lived there, and the people had no fixed place. That is to say, in the ancient times of Yao and Shun, floods were everywhere on the land of China, and poisonous snakes and beasts were also everywhere. From this, it seems that this cockscomb snake may be an ancient mythical beast!
And this kind of snake is not only found in China. The ancient Roman old writer Pliny also recorded a similar creature in the book " Natural History ", and said that it was a species produced in the Roman province Cyrene The snake with has a white spot on its head, like a crown, and it is said that this snake is the king of snakes. All other snakes turn around and run away when they see it. Pliny also emphasized the venom of this snake. Even its breath can wither vegetation and break rocks. The only thing this snake is afraid of is skunks. Because the stench released by skunks is deadly to it.It seems that this poisonous snake can also fight poison with poison!
In 1607, the British writer Edward Topsail also introduced this kind of snake in "The History of Quadrupeds" and drew an illustration. The cockatrice he drew looked like an ordinary snake. It's a snake, but it has a cockscomb and a pair of wings on its head. It can be seen that the rumors of this cockscomb snake also have a long history! Does
have cockscomb snakes?
But having said all that, so far there is not even a photo of a cockscomb snake. We all know that as a species that has survived for thousands of years, the number cannot be so small that we cannot detect it at all, so if cockscomb snakes exist, they must have reached a certain number. No matter how poisonous the cockscomb snake is, no matter how powerful it is. If we can't catch him alive, we can always see him dead! No matter what, these snakes are hatched from eggs. If there really is a cockscomb snake, where are its nest and eggs?
So the cockscomb snake is completely nonsense, but where did the legend of the cockscomb snake come from?
Generally speaking, the creature closest to the cockscomb snake is the tiger-necked snake. The back of this snake's neck is as red as fire, and there are several colors staggered on its body. It can survive in most areas of our country, even in the cold Heilongjiang area. But it is born without front teeth, and there is no connecting duct between the venom glands and fangs. The venom can only be released through muscles, and the detoxification amount is only 11.8 mg. In addition, it has a docile personality and will basically not actively attack humans. Therefore, even if it bites a person, it is almost non-lethal.
But speaking of cockscomb snakes, there is another animal that not only looks like a cockscomb snake, but also has the same common name. It is the chameleon tree lizard, also known as the "horsehair snake" and "cockscomb snake".
This kind of lizard is widely distributed in India, Sri Lanka, and Yunnan, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi and other places in China, and mainly lives in areas with an altitude of 80-2000 meters, so it can be explained that it is often found by people. Moreover, the chameleon tree lizard often raises its head when crawling, can jump from one branch to another, and changes color. Many of its characteristics are consistent with those of the cockscomb snake, making people think that they must be the prototype of the cockscomb snake. It can be seen that the cockscomb snake may not really exist, but is just a monster created by people's imagination.
So since it is a creature that does not exist, why do Europeans thousands of miles away have similar records. This starts with the religious habits of Europeans.
It has been recorded as early as in the Bible: The Garden of Eden The poisonous snake tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, so snakes have always been regarded as an ominous thing by Europeans.
The image of roosters has always been relatively positive. Influenced by Roman Catholicism in the 13th century, people believed that roosters could protect humans through their crows and have the power to drive away evil. How could they get together with snakes? This is because roosters are very aggressive, and like snakes, they lay eggs. In the Middle Ages, European technology was underdeveloped, and many people were superstitious. They believed that if a rooster's egg was hatched by a snake, a cockatrice would be produced, which is what we in China say cockscomb snake. Since this creature has the power of a rooster and the cruelty of a snake, it naturally becomes the king of snakes.
In short, we have neither found a living cockscomb snake nor unearthed a cockscomb snake-related fossil. Almost all photos on the Internet are post-production. The legend of the Cockscomb Snake also lacks strong scientific basis and is probably a product of people's imagination. Therefore, everyone should still believe in science and not blindly spread rumors and rumors.
