Biology Department, Saint Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire.
J Exp Zool A Ecol Integr Physiol. 2017 Aug;327(7):453-457. doi: 10.1002/jez.2131. Epub 2017 Dec 1.
The rapid strike of snakes has interested researchers for decades. Although most work has focused on the strike performance of vipers, recent work has shown that other snakes outside of the Viperidae can strike with the same velocities and accelerations. However, to date all of these examples focus on performance in adult snakes. Here, we use high-speed video to measure the strike kinematics and performance of 10 juvenile (<6 months of age) ball pythons, Python regius. We find that juvenile P. regius strike at levels comparable to larger snakes, but with shorter durations and over shorter distances. We conclude that the juvenile P. regius maintain performance likely through manipulation of the axial musculature and accompanying elastic tissues, and that this is a first step to understanding ontogenetic changes in behavior and a potential avenue for understanding how captivity may also impact behavior.
蛇类的迅猛突袭引起了研究人员数十年来的兴趣。尽管大多数研究都集中在蝰蛇的突袭表现上，但最近的研究表明，蝰蛇科以外的其他蛇类也能以相同的速度和加速度进行突袭。然而，迄今为止，所有这些例子都集中在成年蛇的表现上。在这里，我们使用高速视频来测量 10 条幼年（<6 个月大）球蟒，Python regius 的突袭运动学和性能。我们发现，幼年的 P. regius 的突袭水平可与较大的蛇相媲美，但持续时间更短，距离更短。我们得出结论，幼年的 P. regius 通过操纵轴状肌肉和伴随的弹性组织来维持性能，这是理解行为发生变化的第一步，也是理解圈养如何可能影响行为的潜在途径。
