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Sea snakes: the most abundant of the marine reptiles, there are over 60 different species of sea snakes. They inhabit the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans , though very limited reports of sightings suggest they may be extending into the Atlantic Ocean .
Snakes primarily rely on undulatory locomotion to move through a wide range of environments. Undulatory locomotion is the type of motion characterized by wave-like movement patterns that act to propel an animal forward. Examples of this type of gait include crawling in snakes, or swimming in the lamprey. Although this is typically the type of ...
It then forms anterior grips and pulls the body forward, again demonstrating the 'path following' characteristic. Unlike tunnel concertina locomotion, this mode avoids any obstacle which falls between the bends of the snake's body. [5] However, it is exceptionally slow, with snakes rarely moving faster than 2% of their length per second. [5]
Paddle-tailed sea snakes prey on fish eggs extracted from coral reef crevices. Some tree snakes have specialized jaws to extract snails from their shells, and use special chemicals to "de-slime" them.
At a small tilt angle, the lift is greater for flat fish than it is for fish with narrow bodies. Narrow-bodied fish use their fins as hydrofoils while their bodies remain horizontal. In sharks, the heterocercal tail shape drives water downward, creating a counteracting upward force while thrusting the shark forward.
In sea snakes, the posterior sublingual glands, located under and around the tongue sheath, allow them to expel salt with their tongue action. [5] [9] Scalation among sea snakes is highly variable. As opposed to terrestrial snake species that have imbricate scales to protect against abrasion, the scales of most pelagic sea snakes do not overlap.
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Rectilinear locomotion relies upon two opposing muscles, the costocutaneous inferior and superior, which are present on every rib and connect the ribs to the skin. [5] [6] Although it was originally believed that the ribs moved in a "walking" pattern during rectilinear movement, studies have shown that the ribs themselves do not move, only the muscles and the skin move to produce forward ...