The Twisted Truth About Snake Tongues | Deep Look
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- čas přidán 8. 05. 2023
- To us, a snake's forked tongue evokes danger and deceit. But the tongue's two sensitive tips, called tines, actually help the snake smell in stereo. That's bad news if you're a mouse ...
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It’s the most infamous tongue in the world. But for snakes, that flicking tongue is the way they experience the world around them.
“In snakes, the tongue has been so reduced to this little skinny, highly protrusive organ,” says the University of Connecticut’s Kurt Schwenk, who studies the unique ways snakes and lizards use their tongues.
Like us, snakes have nostrils to breathe in air and sense odor. But snakes have a whole second system to help them track down prey, find mates and avoid predators. In a single second-long flick, a snake might wave its tongue up and down as many as 15 times to collect odor molecules.
As the snake retracts its tongue, it will often drag the forked tips on the ground. “Back inside the mouth, each of the tongue tips fits into a separate groove once it comes into the mouth,” says Schwenk. “Those two grooves go back separately to the opening of the vomeronasal organs.”
The two vomeronasal organs, which act like a second odor-collecting system, allow the snake to pick up tiny concentrations of scents. By having two vomeronasal organs, one each? on the right and left side, the snake can smell in stereo.
--- How do snakes move?
Snakes don’t have limbs, so they use their long, flexible bodies to crawl on surfaces. Undulating waves of muscular contractions create forward momentum, and scales on their bellies help snakes get traction on the ground to push forward.
--- Why do snakes shed their skin?
As snakes grow, their skin doesn’t stretch, so they periodically shed it. The process of shedding, called ecdysis, also allows snakes to replace worn or damaged scales and get rid of parasites on the skin’s surface.
--- Why do snakes hiss?
Snakes hiss as a warning to predators and other threats. To make the hiss sound, a snake will force air through its glottis, an organ it uses to breathe.
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Kurt Schwenk at the University of Connecticut studies how snakes and lizards use their tongues to feed and sense the world around them.
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I mean they would look kinda silly if they have spoon tongues instead
It's fascinating, never heard before about snakes actually touching the ground and objects with their tongues. I'd call it a "Stereo sniffer"
They use their tongues to pick up the spice melange in the air, which helps them to safely navigate between the stars.
that snake looks adorable ngl
Sad that alot of people think they are all venemous and dangerous. I actually learned alot from that video, real in depth. Well put together. 🙌🙌🙌💯😁
Does snake move the muscle on their tounge on command or does it act more like our lungs/eyelids that are "automatic"?
I used to wonder why the gecko in my house is always licking the wall. Cool stuff
The tiny gradient in molecule concentration they have to differentiate left and right is mind-blowing.
Snakes are so interesting! It would be great if people didn't demonize them. Knowledge is power.
It evolved that way, so that Deep Look could do a video in 2023.
the best 4 minutes 31 second of 'mlelelep' snek vids i've see 🐍🐍
Boop the snoot
This is the kind of quality content I subscribed for! Fascinating!
So fascinating! I've always wished I could turn into different animals (including snakes), so I could experience and compare the differences in how each one processes sensory information. Imagine viewing the world from the perspectives of a snake, dragonfly, or a mantis shrimp...
Whoever does Foley/sound design for these videos needs a freaking raise!
This channel is fascinating, educational and entertaining. Thank you Deep Look for this amazing videos ❤
Now I know a bit about snakes but even then, you can always learn more and this video proves that! I had no idea they were stereo sniffers and how intense their smelling system worked! Thanks, Deep Look for being an awesome, in detail, channel!! I love all the videos!
Informative as always!
Amazing episode as always, deep look never disappoints ❤
The music is so fitting! I love the fact that every soundtrack is unique to the video!