The giraffe's prehensile tongue is about 50 cm (20 in) long. It is purplish-black in colour, perhaps to protect against sunburn, and is useful for grasping foliage, as well as for grooming and cleaning the animal's nose. The upper lip of the giraffe is also prehensile and useful when foraging.
This common species, often referred to as the âchicken snake,â occurs across all of Tennessee. Description: A large snake (42.0 to 72.0 inches in length) with a variable color pattern. Dorsal color is usually black spackled with bits of white between scales and having a light throat. Some specimens may be gray with blotches of brown or darker gray on back. Scales are slightly keeled.
An orange or reddish brown dorsal stripe is also present on both subspecies. In young snakes, the tip of the tail is sulfur yellow and is used for caudal luring. The Carolina pigmy rattler can be gray, tan, or lavender. Some specimens from northern Georgia and eastern North Carolina are orange or red.