NFC: For you Snakeheads

["James Capelle" <jcapelle at tampabay_rr.com>]

I found this in "ArcaMax Science News" today thought of yo'all.  JiM C.
RESEARCHERS FIND SNAKE THAT CHEWS ITS FOOD
    University of Cincinnati researchers have discovered a tropical snake that feasts on soft-shelled crabs by tearing them apart and swallowing one bite at a time. "The snake literally rips the crab's body apart," researchers said. "They'll tug and pull on it to tear it apart." The researchers were trying to understand the diets of two snakes found in Singapore -- Fordonia leucobalia and Gerarda prevostiana. Both eat crabs, which is unusual for snakes, but while examining stomach contents, it became obvious that crabs eaten by Gerarda were in pieces. Because crabs can drop their limbs and because their joints can break as they are captured and eaten, it was important to verify how the crabs actually were pulled apart. So, researchers brought the snake into the laboratory and recorded Gerarda's feeding behavior. The snake forms itself into a loop and uses the loop to hold and tear apart its prey. The ability to rip the crabs apart was a surprise, because snake teeth are not adapted for slicing and cutting. Instead, they curve back into the mouth, an adaptation for holding prey.



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