WTF - Snake!

[nervewrecker]

Looks just like the one i had. So its a legit coral

[cypher]

Zangies are actually Not eels nor are they water snakes,sometime last year the zoological society had a document on them,they are actually more a type of fish ( Scientifically)

[cypher]

The venomous coral is the one in pic by streetbeast, they are the colors of the National flag

[cypher]

The other colors are false corals

[cypher]

NEWSDAY ARTICLE
What exactly is a zangee?
Thursday, May 15 2014

Ask any Trinidadian what a zangee is and you are likely to get a range of responses. Some will tell you it is a “swamp eel,” others insist on calling it a “water snake.” More still will reveal that they are not sure what a zangee is exactly, but they are terrified of them nonetheless; perhaps they have heard the rumours about this mysterious creature, which is said to suck on your toes should you happen to tread barefooted into the water.

The truth is that the zangee, more formally known as Synbranchus marmoratus, is actually a type of fish. With their slippery, elongated body (up to 1.5 metres long), the confusion is entirely understandable. Adding to the confusion is the fact that they lack well developed fins and their bodies are essentially scaleless. Indeed, it is surprising to discover that they are not closely related to the true eels at all (which may also be found occasionally in Trinidadian waters), and their resemblance to a snake is entirely superficial.

Sometimes spelt janjii or zangie, the origin of the name is actually “les anguilles” which is French for eel. Like many local French-derived names that begin with the letter “a,” Trinidadians added a “z” and, over time, the word morphed into the zangee that we know today.

Outside of Trinidad, the zangee is found throughout Mexico, Central and South America and on a few islands of the Caribbean. Within TT, it is one of the most widespread fish in the islands’ waterways, inhabiting a wide range of habitats from muddy swamps and drainage ditches to clear, pristine mountain streams. It is primarily found on the southern slopes of the Northern Range, but has on occasion been found along the north coast at Sans Souci and Yarra.

Like all fish, the zangee absorbs oxygen while underwater via its gills. However, amazingly it is also capable of absorbing atmospheric oxygen via the surfaces of its mouth and throat. This is advantageous in several ways.

Firstly, it grants it the unusual ability to travel overland, between ponds and streams for example, which it takes advantage of mostly after dark when there is less risk of drying out. Indeed, the zangee is primarily nocturnal, emerging from the edges of the stream at night to feed on small aquatic animals including fish, tadpoles and aquatic insects.

It is also regarded as a scavenger and, in the presence of carrion, zangee have even been spotted on open grass areas in daylight.

Secondly, the ability to breathe atmospheric air also allows it to better survive the dry season should it find itself in a waterway which has dried up.

In such a case the zangee might excavate a small burrow in which it can wait in a semi-dormant state until the rains return. Studies have indicated that these fish can survive out of water like this for as long as nine months.

Finally, because it does not have to rely on oxygenated water, the zangee can survive in stagnant waterways in which other fish may not be able to.

However, this doesn’t seem to prevent them from also making their home in the clear, well oxygenated streams of the lower parts of the Northern Range and elsewhere.

The air breathing ability of the zangee is not its only bizarre trait. They are also hermaphroditic, so that while most individuals are born female, some can and will change into functional males as they mature. Eggs are buried in the river bank and tended to by the male before hatching into larvae. These newly-hatched larvae look quite different to their parents, with greatly exaggerated pectoral fins for gas exchange, which are shed after their first couple of weeks.

Both young and adult zangee face predators such as caiman, waterbirds and large fish, and they use their cryptic marbled reddish-brown colouration to help conceal themselves in muddy environments. While they are also eaten by humans, they are not usually intentionally hunted for food in Trinidad. Rather, specimens may occasionally get caught on the hooks and in the nets of fisherman and are then eaten. Outside of our region however, members of the Synbranchidae are widely consumed, especially in China where stir-fried swamp eel is considered a delicacy.

As with much of our flora and fauna, there is much to learn about our zangee.

For a start, it is clear that any fear we have for this fish is entirely unfounded –— it is completely harmless to humans and an important member of our freshwater ecosystem. We hope that readers will now have a greater appreciation for this odd yet fascinating fish.



Today’s feature was co-written by Amy Deacon and Kris Sookdeo. For more information on our natural environment, you can contact the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club at admin@ttfnc.org or visit our website at www.ttfnc.org. The Club’s next monthly meeting will be held on June 12 2014 at St Mary’s College, PoS.
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[nervewrecker]

Will you all believe i have never seen a jangii?
Had a thread on it many many years ago in here.

[Miktay]

Will you all believe i have never seen a jangii?
Had a thread on it many many years ago in here.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=209270&start=60

[pugboy]

caught one once in rive by fatima many years ago,
we black and had tapered tail

[desifemlove]

is the trinidadian fer de lance the same species or subspecies as this one? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1MOPHLwjJE

[nervewrecker]

I think our mappapire is closest to the rattlesnakes.

[streetbeastINC.]

that one was a little shorter than a broom handle..and about the same thickness ...and aggressive.

[timelapse]

Apparently people called the snake i found a water mapapire.Reason he came into the yard was heavy rains brought him out of the river and probably got lost.Not supposed to be venomous.The puppy was digging a hole in the yard and it came out. I hoping to get a pic of the Ginourmous rat snake living in the boulder heap.Will try that if the rain stops.

[VII]

The venomous coral is the one in pic by streetbeast, they are the colors of the National flag

There's also a bigger more venomous coral..careful how you advising people on snakes ok..

If you see this,leave it alone..it can really be mistaken for a 'fake coral' without genuine knowledge. One of those killed 2 plantation workers one night in Manzan/Mayaro in earlier times ,it's not usual thing for one snake to kill 2 people,and it has been debated how it could've possibly occurred,I believe that it came into contact with them on their bedding disturbing them while they slept and they inadvertently and subconsciously handled or smothered it in their sleep,I did similar with a spider,found him squashed in my T-shirt around the shoulder area,looked like he had a serious sting too my subconscious facualties got him in time thankfully arrghhhhh!!! Spooks me everytime I think aboout it!

Corals are from the elapidae family which includes mambas and cobras,getting to know their head snout and neck sizes and shapes in relation to their bodies and build is a good indicator for identifying snakes,so if you can associate a snake you see with another that it resembles with certain distinct features other than superficial pattern and colours then you a lil more equipped,I have also noticed that this family of snakes are well built from the neck all the way to the tail (slim-thick) ,from the very smallest coral to the biggest(king cobra) ..picture a cobra without a hood,certain features looks like a mamba and looks like a coral,including scale pattern distribution,snout shape,location of eyes in relation to all of the above etc,it becomes very clear when you become familiar,it's like identifying a race solely on anatomical features etc and not just colour,problem is most people just see a long stringy thing slithering,but even the slither can help identify species..another commonality with this particular family elapidae is that they are also snake eaters,all of them.

Here's the bigger coral below..Micrurus circinalis,it can kill you.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

Will you all believe i have never seen a jangii?
Had a thread on it many many years ago in here.

Nah man nerve...last one I saw was pretty long and dark brown in color...

[nervewrecker]

Will you all believe i have never seen a jangii?
Had a thread on it many many years ago in here.

Nah man nerve...last one I saw was pretty long and dark brown in color...

I am a disappointment to south bush people.

[cypher]

Still has red black and white, false has yellow etc

[amd-dude]

I thought it was red on black, friend of jack....red on yellow, kills a fellow. Bear Grylls teaching the wrong thing?

[maj. tom]

Trinidad corals don't follow the rule.

[konartis]

I thought it was red on black, friend of jack....red on yellow, kills a fellow. Bear Grylls teaching the wrong thing?

I learned it as "red to yellow kills a fellow, red to black venom lack"

[streetbeastINC.]

The venomous coral is the one in pic by streetbeast, they are the colors of the National flag

There's also a bigger more venomous coral..careful how you advising people on snakes ok..

If you see this,leave it alone..it can really be mistaken for a 'fake coral' without genuine knowledge. One of those killed 2 plantation workers one night in Manzan/Mayaro in earlier times ,it's not usual thing for one snake to kill 2 people,and it has been debated how it could've possibly occurred,I believe that it came into contact with them on their bedding disturbing them while they slept and they inadvertently and subconsciously handled or smothered it in their sleep,I did similar with a spider,found him squashed in my T-shirt around the shoulder area,looked like he had a serious sting too my subconscious facualties got him in time thankfully arrghhhhh!!! Spooks me everytime I think aboout it!

Corals are from the elapidae family which includes mambas and cobras,getting to know their head snout and neck sizes and shapes in relation to their bodies and build is a good indicator for identifying snakes,so if you can associate a snake you see with another that it resembles with certain distinct features other than superficial pattern and colours then you a lil more equipped,I have also noticed that this family of snakes are well built from the neck all the way to the tail (slim-thick) ,from the very smallest coral to the biggest(king cobra) ..picture a cobra without a hood,certain features looks like a mamba and looks like a coral,including scale pattern distribution,snout shape,location of eyes in relation to all of the above etc,it becomes very clear when you become familiar,it's like identifying a race solely on anatomical features etc and not just colour,problem is most people just see a long stringy thing slithering,but even the slither can help identify species..another commonality with this particular family elapidae is that they are also snake eaters,all of them.

Here's the bigger coral below..Micrurus circinalis,it can kill you.

you are very very correct...i had ppl say the one in my pic was not venomous...a zoologist from miami said the same thing, that it was a 5 min killer...esp the size...that little rhyme is sometimes misleading....

[shake d livin wake d dead]

I know it as see anything that look close to those colors- kill he mc

[lostboys crew]

As Darwin said animals in different continents evolve and adapt to their surroundings and conditions.

[axe]

There are no false coral snakes in Trinidad. The rhyme red on yellow... was to protect the carlifornia king snake which is non venomous, but located in North America. In trinidad once you see red bands it is a coral snake. Both large and small coral snakes in trinidad are elapids and we do stock anti-venin for them (anti-elapid), their venom has neurotoxins in them but will take about 12 hours to kill an adult human. The thing is not to move as the venom travels mostly in the lymph stream because of the shallow bite.

[desifemlove]

Do we have more neurotoxic or cytotoxic snakes here? i await fools like nervewrecker saying i ruin "his" thread by asking a pertinent question...haha.

[nervewrecker]

Not my thread, all questions welcome. Someone else might want to ask it so no harm in asking.

[desifemlove]

no, but then you've said it before, so it fits. and you do act like it your thread..haha.

[axe]

Bushmaster and ferdelance venom tend to be a mixture of toxins and enzymes designed to digest their prey. So you get hemotoxins, some nuerotoxins and myotoxins and enzymes. Coral snakes venom tend to be mostly nuerotxins. Coral snakes tend to be less visible than ferdelance, and bushmaster is very elusive. I would guess Ferdelance is the most present poisonous snake in Trinidad because it can be found near populated areas because of rodents.

[nervewrecker]

If you know how i fraid that snake eh

[shake d livin wake d dead]

If you know how i fraid that snake eh

Makes two of us yes boy...probably the most aggressive I came across

[bluefete]

Chap, chap chap. That is all I know snake is good for.

One found its way into our home earlier this year. I did not waste time to inquire about what it wanted or was doing there.

One cutlish and dat was it.

It seems that the others got the message.

No recurrence since.