Eyes

[ssssnakeluvr]

What I've been taught, the teeth in back rotate forward to puncture and deflate the toad and the paralizing toxin is in the saliva of the Hognose.

rotate forward??? never heard of that...only moving teeth I have heard of are the pit vipers fangs, they lay flat on the roof of the mouth and are pulled out when the mouth opens...

[Garter_Gertie]

Yeah, Steven! WOW! Fascinating. I like the first paragraph as it explains "Why?" to me. So, like if we could live a million years and watch the cat-eyed snakes like up in MN, MAYBE evolution would change their eyes to round. Do alligators have cat-eyes? I'll have to check since they're found in warm zones.

Are there any warm-zoned snakes that *don't* have cat eyes? If so would they then be active during the heat of the day? But red bellies are active at nite (I think I read that here; I'm positive I did) and they have round pupils.

It's all very confusing to me. But fun and interesting and I'm sure I'll get it once I get education on boas, pythons, genus, species, locales, etc. It's just a matter of learning. Keep the info coming! This eye-thing is ssssoooo fun to learn about.

Gertie, the wannbe herpatologist

[Garter_Gertie]

P.S. So, regarding the 'turned-on-gene,' garter's don't have it turned on, Hoggies kind'a do, and vipers REALLY do. That correct?

I thought lizards evolved from snakes! That snakes wanted to get somewhere, didn't have leges and develope them. So, lizards got lazy and lost their legs?

And lizards and geckos just don't have the gene whatsoever?

[anji1971]

This is interesting stuff!
Good topic, Gertie............I'm learning a fair bit, too!

As for all the evolution, I like to think that one day when I pass on, God will be able to "show" me how everything happened, so I can finally say "Aaaahhhh.............now it all makes sense!"
If only we could go back in time...........

[infernalis]

If only we could go back in time...........

Where would one even begin Anj? how far back? you have entered a dimension of time and space........

[Stefan-A]

P.S. So, regarding the 'turned-on-gene,' garter's don't have it turned on,

Apparently they do have a venom production gene turned ON, considering that..

Secretion from Thamnophis had an LD50 of 33.3 micrograms/gm;

Lethal factors and enzymes in the secretion from D...[J Exp Zool. 1985] - PubMed Result

[ssssnakeluvr]

I thought lizards evolved from snakes! That snakes wanted to get somewhere, didn't have leges and develope them. So, lizards got lazy and lost their legs?

not all did....boas and pythons have spurs and small bones inside at the base of the spurs. I read they are vestigial hip bones. there are fossils of boas and pythons, but I read somewhere that there are fossil colubrids. I don't believe they would be evolved from lizards.

[drache]

I thought lizards evolved from snakes! That snakes wanted to get somewhere, didn't have leges and develope them. So, lizards got lazy and lost their legs?

I know this is a bit off topic
but legs don't necessarily make for better locomotion
in fact, when my plated lizards want to go faster, they tuck their legs flat to their sides and slither

[Stefan-A]

Indeed. Especially in tight places legs will just get in the way.

About the whole venom thing, venom probably predates constriction as a method of subduing prey.

[Steven@HumboldtHerps]

About the whole venom thing, venom probably predates constriction as a method of subduing prey.

I am not so sure about that. I was under the impression that colubrids and vipers are the "newer" snakes and that the intricate varieties of venom (whether lethal or not) are the "cutting edge" of snake evolution.

Fossil record indicate boids to be among the oldest snakes (with their vestigial hips and spurs). I would think (don't quote me on that) death by constriction may go way back!

Steve