Influence of prey odor concentration on the poststrike trailing behavior of the Northern Pacific rattlesnake
Rattlesnake predatory behavior is defined by a strike and then release of rodent prey. Poststrike, the released envenomated prey dashes off and dies. Therefore, the snake must relocate the prey relying largely upon chemosensory cues emitted by the struck prey. Assessing these poststrike chemosensory cues is important to the snake as these cues may contain […]
The forked tongue and edge detection in snakes (Crotalus oreganus): An experimental test
Many stimulus-detection systems are lateralized to allow for simultaneous comparison of paired stimuli. It has been hypothesized that the deeply forked tongue of snakes and some derived lizards functions as a chemical edge detector where cues gathered by each tine are kept separate to provide two points of lateral odor assessment by the central nervous […]