Until recently, it was believed that ophidians (a group of animals that include snakes) only use sound feedback through ground vibrations. Now, a group of researchers from the University of Queensland, Australia, has discovered that – in addition to ground vibrations – snakes are also capable of hearing and reacting to ambient sounds.
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“Since snakes don’t have external ears, people often think they are deaf and can only feel vibrations through the ground and into their bodies,” she said. Christina Zdenek, a member of the UQ School of Biological Sciences.
The researchers played three different sound frequencies to captive-raised snakes, one at a time, in a soundproof room, and observed their reactions.
Our research – the first of its kind using non-anesthetized, free-moving snakes – found that they react to sound waves traveling through the air and possibly to human voices. […] We played a sound that produced vibrations in the ground, while the other two were just aerial. This meant that we were able to test both types of “hearing” – tactile hearing through the scales on the snakes’ belly and airborne hearing through the inner ear.
Christina Zdenek,
- That study involved 19 snakes.
- Reactions depended heavily on the gender of the snakes.
- Only the woma python tended to move towards the sound, while the rest were more likely to move away from it.
- The types of behavioral reactions also differed, with taipans in particular more likely to display defensive and cautious responses to the sound.
- Perhaps this is explained by the fact that taipans are preoccupied with birds of prey and also actively pursue their prey – so their senses must be much more acute.
”Our study shows that sound can be an important part of their sensory repertoire […] Snakes are very vulnerable and shy creatures that hide most of the time, and we still have a lot to learn about them,” concludes Christina.
Via: Phys.Org
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