Snake fang get a mess of attention , from their utilization in creatinganti - venomto figuring outhow they develop . One surface area of research has now gone beyond just the fangs , looking at the way that all of the teeth and their morphology are concern to the whole of the ophidian as it moves in reply to prey .
ResearcherBill Ryersonfound that look nearly at the manikin of the teeth could differentiate him more about the different feeding strategy different snake in the grass were using . And by tight , we meanreallyclosely . Ryerson took CT scan of nearly 70 snakes belonging to 13 species to calculate at the tooth geomorphology of not just the fang , but the rest of the teeth within the oral fissure too . Using snazzy eminent - pep pill TV camera , he also roll up footage of the different species aggress prey item .
" I think the other teeth have been overlooked for a few reasons . First was that because venom is such an interesting development for vertebrates , the Fang course string a bunch of attention . The 2nd is that the divergence in the non - fang tooth are not as obvious at first glimpse , " Ryerson told IFLScience .
This information helped Ryerson sort out the Snake – which included northerly copperhead , reticulated pythons , boa constrictors , Kenyan guts boas , California kingsnakes , Brook ’s kingsnakes , Arizona heap kingsnakes , and Brazilian rainbow boas – into two category .
Boa constrictors and python , for example , were categorized as “ strikers ” , with lightning - quick attacks that typically came from above their fair game . King snake , on the other hand , were classed as “ lungers ” and attacked much more directly on . They attacked much more slowly , however , at 1.5 meter per second compare to the speedy strikes of the pythons at 2.7 meters per sec .
The lungers " impinge on more slowly and do n’t open up their mouth as wide , ” said Ryerson in a statement transmit toLiveScience . " They make striking with both jaw at the same time . "
The teeth of lunger were panoptic and kink along the lengths of the jaw and during the attacks , the crushed teeth impaled the prey first to help the ophidian secure it . The strikers had more variation in their dentition , with tall teeth at the front of the lower part of their mouth and short , broad , and curved teeth at the back ; this curvature helps the snake swallow its prey .
" The principal difference between the two group is that ' strikers ' have very minute , erect teeth in their dispirited jaw , touch to how that part create first contact and acts as a pivot distributor point for the rest of the head to turn out over , " Ryerson distinguish IFLScience . " The " lungers " have shorter , more curving tooth that work to spellbind the prey so it ca n’t elude . They typically are n’t virulent or use constriction . "
“ I was surprised at well the different rap types separated out , and how well the tooth word structure could portend the different case of strike , " said Ryerson , who plans to look into more mintage , speaking to LiveScience . Those investigations get to see if the approach pattern continues or if , by see at snake species thatlive in treesor underground , a whole new category could emerge .
Ryerson recently presented the enquiry at the annual meeting of theSociety for Integrative and Comparative Biology . The work was also published in a book , Snakes : Morphology , Function , and Ecology , edited by David Penning .
