Could a glance into the mouth of a snake reveal secrets about what its bite might be like? According to one scientist – yes.
William Ryerson, a herpetologist at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, shared research about how analysis of snake teeth can predict both the speed and direction of its bite at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology.
According to Science, Ryerson looked into the mouth of preserved snake specimens. He found a variety of differences between snakes. For example, boa constrictors, had long, slender upright teeth, while king snakes, had shorter, stouter, and more curved ones.
To get a more detailed view of these differences, Ryerson “performed 3D x-ray scans and structural analyses of the upper and lower jaws and teeth of almost 70 snakes in 13 species,” said Science. Live snakes were also part of the project – he filmed each species as it attacked a rodent.
“We had just assumed the teeth were all the same,” said Brian Richard, a comparative biomechanist at the University of Massachusetts Lowell who was not involved with the work, of snake fangs beyond the venom.
Based on snake anatomy and the attack footage, Ryerson sorted snake strike behaviors into two categories: strikers and lungers.
Boa constrictors are an example of the strikers, he said during the Wednesday meeting. They attack “lightning fast” and tend to approach from above their prey.
“Teeth in their lower jaw impale the prey first and help anchor the snake as it twists to reach up, over, and around the rodent in preparation for squeezing the life out of it. Then it clamps down with the upper jaw and thus secures its hold,” said Science, citing Ryerson.
King snakes are lungers. They attack slower, and from straight on, piercing prey from the top and bottom simultaneously.
“Their gape is smaller than that of strikers,” said Science.
“Both groups target rodents, though some species also eat birds, snakes, and other prey.”
There was more dental variation among the strikers. Lungers have curved teeth that makes it difficult for prey to escape once caught. Ryerson said features like these could help inspire practical engineering mechanisms.
“If you need an object to pierce or grip something, it needs to be more than just sharp,” he said.
Snakes live in a variety of habitats throughout the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. Each year, 7,000 to 8,000 people in the country are bit by venomous snakes, per data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.