#859: Yarara

The Yarará is a species of pit viper found in South America. Here, he makes his home in deciduous tropical forest and open savannah. His prey consists of birds and small mammals, which he incapacitates with venom. Although he has a reputation for being deadly, and can inflict a painful & venomous bite, this is rarely fatal. Females are ovoviviparous, birthing up to 20 offspring at a time.

#805: Viper

The Vipers are a Family of venomous snakes, widespread across the world. She comes equipped with a long pair of fangs, hinged for deep penetration. These fangs are hollow, and are generally folded back into a sheath, revealed when the snake is hunting or threatened. Vipers do not always inject venom - venom production is energy-expensive, and can take time to replenish. Venom is generally injected when they seek to immobolize prey.

#642: Rattlesnake

The Rattlesnakes are venomous reptiles native to the Americas. She is named for her rattle: a structure formed of interlocking segments of keratin. By contracting her muscles, she can cause these structures to vibrate against each other, the sound amplified by their hollow interior. This acts as a warning system to predators that might disturb her as she rests. Although her bite can cause swelling, pain, hermorrhaging and heart failture, Rattlesnakes only attack if provoked - and many more Rattlesnakes die by human hands than humans by a Rattlesnake's fangs (about 5 of the latter per year).

#625: Queen Snake

The Queen Snake is a non-venomous North American snake. His diet is very specific - he preys almost exclusively on newly-moulted crayfish, supplemented by the occasional frog, fish or invertebrate. These he locates by using his tongue, transfering scent from the air to receptors inside his mouth. During the colder months, he retreats into a crack - either natural or artificial - to hibernate. This is when he is at his most vulnerable and may fall prey to predators - including the very crayfish upon which he feeds.

#617: Python

The Pythons are a Family of non-venomous snakes found in Australia, Africa and Asia. Like the boa, to which they are not closely related, Pythons kill by constriction. She is an ambush predator, lying in wait for prey to wander by, then she strikes. Her back-curving teeth grip the unfortunate creature, and she wraps her coils quickly about it. The force is significant, but it is suffocation that kills her victim, not crushing. The animal is then swallowed whole. Unlike boa, Pythons are oviparous and the female even incubates her eggs, her body vibrating to keep temperatures constant. There are many species and many colour-morphs, with some specimen attaining 8m or more in length.

I am not entirely sure what species this is - I suspect the reference image was a colour-morph of the Ball Python. She does bear some resemblance, however, to a Scrub Python.

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Tomorrow we begin on the Qs.
At this rate, I predict that I will be finished the alphabet some time in January.