J Exp Biol 206:2381–2392Īndersen JB, Rourke BC, Caiozzo VJ, Bennett AF, Hicks JW (2005) Postprandial cardiac hypertrophy in pythons. Funct Ecol 16:204–215Īlfaro ME (2003) Sweeping and striking: a kinematic study of the trunk during prey capture in three thamnophiine snakes.
J Morphol 105:241–291Īlfaro ME (2002) Forward attack modes of aquatic feeding garter snakes. A wide range of research on these and other topics has shown that snakes are a rich group for studying form, function, behavior, ecology, and evolution.Īlbright RG, Nelson EM (1959) Cranial kinesis of the generalised colubrid snake Elaphe obsoleta quadrivittata. Finally, although considerable research has focused on the energetics of digestion, much less is known about the energetics of striking and handling prey. Mechanisms of drinking have proven difficult to resolve, although a new mechanism was proposed recently. Recent studies of constriction have shown previously unexpected responsiveness, strength, and the complex and diverse mechanisms that incapacitate or kill prey. Some venomous and many nonvenomous snakes constrict prey. Venoms, venom glands, and venom delivery systems are proving to be more widespread and complex than previously recognized. Recent studies of snake strikes have begun to reveal surprising capacities that warrant further research. Research that has coupled robust phylogenies with detailed morphology and morphometrics has further demonstrated the adaptive nature of head shape in snakes and revealed striking evolutionary convergences in some clades. Studies using traditional metrics have shown differences in head size and shape between males and females in many species that are linked to differences in diet. Moreover, because snakes are considered to be gape-limited predators, studies of head size and shape have shed light on feeding adaptations. The idea that the feeding system in most snakes is adapted for consuming relatively large prey is supported by studies on anatomy and functional morphology. Despite the description of transitional fossil forms, the evolution of the snake feeding system remains poorly understood, partly because only a few snakes have been studied thus far. Snakes are a diverse group of squamate reptiles characterized by a unique feeding system and other traits associated with elongation and limblessness.
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