|
88661
I don't know why, but late the other night while feeding my Hognosed snake...I got to wondering why an animal that feeds on such non-threatening prey such as frogs, toads, anoles etc in the wild would need rear fangs. It isn't like they use them to secure the prey or to kill them with.....Their prey is already well on it's way down the gullet before it ever gets a dose of the usually mild venom....digestion aid? In many cases I'm sure this is part of it but hardly enough reason to evolve such a thing so widespread across the globe. The one common denominator among most if not all rear fanged colubrids is that frogs and/or toads are a large part of the diet. So for now...forget the snakes and think about how frogs and toads defend themselves against predation. They have a knack for bloating themselves with air like a little balloon when something is trying to eat them. This could be a problem I guess for a slender snake to all of a sudden have it's prey bloat up while trying to swallow them...SO...I think the primary use for rear fangs is just to pop frogs and let the air out to make them easier to swallow...any thoughts on this pro or con?
[addsig]
|
