Scientists find first snake that doesn't eat prey whole.

[Orstio]

11 July 2002
MICHAEL HOPKIN


Zoologists have found a snake that tears its victims into bite-sized pieces. The other 2,700 or so known snake species are thought to swallow their prey whole.

Living throughout southern Asia, Gerard's water snake (Gerarda prevostiana) eats freshly moulted crabs often bigger than itself. "There's a very limited time window during which crabs are helpless - these guys are pretty ruthless about exploiting it," says Bruce Jayne of the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, who led the study.

Jayne's team investigated G. prevostiana's feeding behaviour after finding pieces of large crabs in its gut, despite its small gape. They used infrared cameras to catch the animals unawares.

G. prevostiana seizes a crab in its mouth, then forms a loop with its body through which it puts its head. Having tied itself in a knot around the hapless crustacean, the snake tugs until it tears a piece off.

The closely related snake Fordonia leucobalia occasionally pulls legs off prey, but its taste for hard-shelled crabs means it usually has to devour them whole. "Fordonia eat modest-sized crabs - and they often have trouble," says Jayne.

G. prevostiana's more opportunist approach to dinner means that the two snakes, which live side by side, are not in direct competition for prey.

[archiebald]

Wow, must have some decent teeth then even if the crabs are still soft.  I guess it must hold onto the crab with its tail and body.

BTW, there's a coincidence!!!

Out riding on my bike, litereally just a few minutes ago with my dog (she runs, I ride ) and we picked up a whole snake-skin that had just been sloughed.

Japan has got 46 species of snake, about 6 of which are poisonous (those tend to live in the South).

The skin is just around 1.5 meters long and was still very soft and pliable when we found it.  Now is a busy time for snakes here, I've seen 3 in the last 2 weeks, because it's the rainy season and there are lots of young froglets just coming out of the rice paddies.

I'm saving it for my 3 year old daughter when she gets back from England, she is potty about snakes.