skip to content
Sweeping and striking: a kinematic study of the trunk during prey capture in three thamnophiine snakes.
ClosePreview this item

Sweeping and striking: a kinematic study of the trunk during prey capture in three thamnophiine snakes.

Author: ME Alfaro
Edition/Format: Article Article : English
Publication:The Journal of experimental biology, 2003 Jul; 206(Pt) 14: 2381-92
Database:From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Summary:
The trunk plays an obvious and important role in the prey capture behavior of many species of snake, yet trunk function during predatory strikes is poorly understood. Axial kinematics of three thamnophiine snakes (Thamnophis couchii, Thamnophis elegans and Nerodia rhombifer) were studied to quantify differences between sideways-directed and forward-directed attacks and to investigate strike diversity at relatively  Read more...
Rating:

(not yet rated) 0 with reviews - Be the first.

 

Retrieving...

Find a copy in the library

Retrieving... Finding libraries that hold this item...

Details

Document Type: Article
All Authors / Contributors: ME Alfaro
ISSN:0022-0949
OCLC Number: 111134338
Language Note: English
Awards:

Abstract:

The trunk plays an obvious and important role in the prey capture behavior of many species of snake, yet trunk function during predatory strikes is poorly understood. Axial kinematics of three thamnophiine snakes (Thamnophis couchii, Thamnophis elegans and Nerodia rhombifer) were studied to quantify differences between sideways-directed and forward-directed attacks and to investigate strike diversity at relatively low phylogenetic levels. Feeding strikes were filmed at 60 Hz, and 13 points along the head and body were digitized. These points were used to calculate body segment displacement, rotation and velocity during predatory strikes. Kinematic analysis revealed significant differences in the foraging modes of these aquatic-feeding species. T. couchii displayed a stereotypical pre-strike posture in which the entire body was arranged in a series of loops directed towards the prey. Forward displacement of body segments sometimes occurred over the entire body in T. couchii but was restricted to the anterior one-third of the trunk in T. elegans and N. rhombifer. T. couchii and N. rhombifer both struck rapidly compared with T. elegans, although N. rhombifer typically had a short strike distance. N. rhombifer struck significantly faster than T. elegans. Aquatic prey capture diversity appears to reflect ecological diversity in thamnophiine snakes.

Reviews

User-contributed reviews
Retrieving weRead reviews...
Retrieving GoodReads reviews...
Retrieving Amazon reviews...

Tags

Be the first.
Confirm this request

You may have already requested this item. Please select Ok if you would like to proceed with this request anyway.

Close Window

Please sign in to WorldCat 

Don't have an account? You can easily create a free account.