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Yellow rat snake

Published on Project Noah
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4.84171, -58.6417

Species ID Suggestions

toche

Spilotes pullatus

Comments (8)

Fun fact! Having no limbs to provide leverage, snakes cannot tear up their food and so almost all snakes swallow their prey whole. Unlike a mammalian jaw that is built for brute force, a snake's is rigged with tendons, muscles, and ligaments that give the jaw amazing flexibility. A snake’s two lower jaws move independently of one another, joined by an elastic ligament that allows them to spread apart so that it is able to “walk” its skull over its prey, then the muscles of its body and small hook shaped teeth on the roof of its mouth help to push the food toward its stomach aided by salivary juices which moisten the intended food item. Snakes have extremely elastic skin and lack a sternum and shoulder girdles, freeing up the ribs and allowing them to expand to accommodate large prey. https://www.facebook.com/projectnoah/photos/a.10150595289465603.674700.10150120463815603/10154113772600603/?type=1
Amazing series. I am so glad I don't have to eat that.
Absolutely right. Seems to be a swamp eel. For a sense of scale, I've uploaded another slightly blurry photo to show the size comparison.
http://www.hippocampus-bildarchiv.de/tier_5393_Synbranchusmarmoratus.htm
Photographed
PublishedMay 6, 2014

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