tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443075087825368900.post3176369750409168700..comments2024-01-04T05:26:02.451-07:00Comments on Life is short, but snakes are long: Basics of Snake FangsAndrew Dursohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720822623046554913noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443075087825368900.post-1990747387433457162019-08-30T11:20:30.626-06:002019-08-30T11:20:30.626-06:00Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! I don't think the...Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! I don't think the brow ridge is connected with the fang extension system in any way. There are several functional morphology studies that explore this and show that the dorsal constrictor muscles (retractor vomeris; protractor, retractor, and levator pterygoidei; protractor quadrati) originate on the ventral side of the braincase, directly caudal to the snout. I have to admit that I haven't read into this extensively, but a muscle that attached to an area above the eye could only pull its target up towards the eye, which is not what happens when a viper strikes—the maxilla and fangs are pushed forward by the quadrate, which is pulled towards the back of the head by the muscles above. Our brow ridges (and gorillas') work because our lower jaw power is directed upwards, to grind food between our lower & (stationary) upper jaws.Andrew Dursohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04720822623046554913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443075087825368900.post-70390280822914597292019-08-27T15:15:26.752-06:002019-08-27T15:15:26.752-06:00Great article! I've been trying to figure out ...Great article! I've been trying to figure out the full function of the "sinister brow" on pit vipers like the canebrake rattlesnake. (Pictures are not as easy to find as I would've thought, so thank you for sharing the diagram of the solenoglyphous skull.) In other animals, bony ridges either shelter vulnerable bits (like the eyebrow sheltering the eye) or serve as places for strong muscles or ligaments to attach (as with the bony ridge on top of a gorilla's head). My hunch has been that in, say, a rattlesnake or copperhead, the ridge both shelters the heat pit and provides an anchor for the extensor muscles that erect the fang. Is this anywhere near accurate? In the illustration, it does seem as if the premaxilla is part of the bony ridge.<br /><br />In addition, what muscles erect those fangs? I would think that, if the fangs don't necessarily pop up when the mouth is wide open, it can't be just a ligament -- there has to be a flexor muscle somewhere that can be activated to raise the fang if needed. People Whohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08147144019515583548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443075087825368900.post-10082253939174926102016-09-09T13:15:27.788-06:002016-09-09T13:15:27.788-06:00Great! Thank you!Great! Thank you!Andrew Dursohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04720822623046554913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443075087825368900.post-75753579584725683232016-09-07T22:56:18.468-06:002016-09-07T22:56:18.468-06:00Really helpful. Thank you sir. You cleared all my ...Really helpful. Thank you sir. You cleared all my doubts about snake fangs and their structure and types. Thank you very much.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10084522069107470144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443075087825368900.post-22750819105528525132015-08-10T14:24:29.266-06:002015-08-10T14:24:29.266-06:00You're right! I'm not sure where I got tha...You're right! I'm not sure where I got that number, could be a typo. Sorry about that! I'll make an edit right away.Andrew Dursohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04720822623046554913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443075087825368900.post-5495687513012783952015-08-10T14:20:21.748-06:002015-08-10T14:20:21.748-06:00You write that the ancestor of elapids lived 11mya...You write that the ancestor of elapids lived 11mya. OTOH cobras radiated from their origin (Africa) into Asia 20mya when the african plate collided with eurasia, see http://pages.bangor.ac.uk/~bss166/Publications/2007_Cobras_MPE.pdfRalf Muschallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04261178237250734174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443075087825368900.post-22966705959421645972014-07-23T09:30:45.036-06:002014-07-23T09:30:45.036-06:00I'm so glad to hear you found your answer and ...I'm so glad to hear you found your answer and that you found the rest of the article interesting and accessible! That's my goal. It must be challenging to live around so many venomous snakes. I'd love to get out there someday and see Australia's snakes firsthand. Don't hesitate to write with snake questions: amdurso@gmail.com.Andrew Dursohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04720822623046554913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443075087825368900.post-12786233497771834272014-07-23T07:02:24.942-06:002014-07-23T07:02:24.942-06:00Brilliant! I live with these buggers here in North...Brilliant! I live with these buggers here in North Eastern Australia basically daily, but do not know enough about them. Thanks for keeping this article somewhat accesible to your average Joe. I came here to answer a simple question and happily read through till the end after finding my answer in the first paragraph. For the record all snakes are intriguing beautiful creatures. Except for king browns, sneaky cranky bastards they are. Said the scared human of the misunderstood creature : ) still, browns are the only snake that scares me and I remove at least a dozen snakes of various breeds a year from my home.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10772842492557823123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443075087825368900.post-66173575269095566942013-09-26T10:54:47.536-06:002013-09-26T10:54:47.536-06:00Thanks Jeremy. There's definitely a difference...Thanks Jeremy. There's definitely a difference between 'dangerously venomous to humans' and 'technically descended from venomous ancestors' that is important to make in communicating about snakes. Even many snakes that are dangerously venomous aren't actually all that dangerous, either due to their disposition (sea snakes), the remoteness of their range (taipan), or the high quality of the medical care available where they occur (copperheads, cottonmouths, and rattlesnakes). It's not that anyone should advocate being incautious with these snakes so much as that fear of them is way out of proportion to the actual risk. It's something we humans are very bad at estimating.Andrew Dursohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04720822623046554913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7443075087825368900.post-11888032653772783942013-09-26T09:46:41.632-06:002013-09-26T09:46:41.632-06:00I loved it. Here is my favorite paragraph: "A...I loved it. Here is my favorite paragraph: "Additionally, vestigial Duvernoy's glands have been found in ratsnakes, egg-eaters, pareatid slug-eaters, and other nonvenomous aglyphs, a discovery that has led to the misleading generalization that all snakes are venomous and much subsequent misunderstanding among the non-scientific community. Toxic saliva does not a venomous animal make, as evidenced by the fact that even human saliva injected subcutaneously will produce pain and swelling."<br /><br /> Supports several arguments I have been making on the definition of the term venomous with non scientists and some scientists such as Bryan Fry (who lists pythons as venomous.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com