Research shows that they are a distant relative of the reptiles that once dominated the earth. The are not descendants of the dinosaurs, but rather a cousin, as snake fossils have been found to date back to the period of the dinosaurs (Karbahl, 2012)
The entire skeleton has morphed in order to account for this evolutionary process that allowed snakes to succeed in a wide variety of environments. According to the research, a snake's skeleton is "a complicated-architecturally and functionality -- skull at its head is followed, to the tail, by at least five divisions of vertebral structures" (Cates, 2012)
From their legged ancestors, snakes evolved to move without limbs, allowing for greater flexibility and dexterity. However, the presence of these claws are signs of vestigial structures, or parts of the body that are no longer needed which "are leftovers from a previous form of the species before speciation occurred" (Scoville, 2012)
Morphological and Behavioral Mechanisms To accomplish the feat of swallowing prey items substantially larger than the snake's head, the snake has evolved three specific morphological and behavioral adaptations. Snakes have evolved the ability to open their mouths much wider than their heads by virtue of the anatomical mechanism of a specialized quadrate bone attaching the upper and lower jaw (Carr, 1993; Gould, 1991; Gould, 1995)
Because the snake's unique constriction methods allow it to kill much larger prey, this would naturally have driven the adaptations necessary to allow it to swallow whatever it could kill. Since venomous snakes evolved their additional adaptations of specialized saliva much later (Gould, 1996), they would also have benefited from the same factors
Because the snake's unique constriction methods allow it to kill much larger prey, this would naturally have driven the adaptations necessary to allow it to swallow whatever it could kill. Since venomous snakes evolved their additional adaptations of specialized saliva much later (Gould, 1996), they would also have benefited from the same factors
Because the snake's unique constriction methods allow it to kill much larger prey, this would naturally have driven the adaptations necessary to allow it to swallow whatever it could kill. Since venomous snakes evolved their additional adaptations of specialized saliva much later (Gould, 1996), they would also have benefited from the same factors
Despite being cold-blooded, snakes can survive in a wide variety of environment ranging from the hottest deserts, the depths of the oceans to the extreme cold of North Europe. (Shine, 2005) Physical Characteristics All snakes have a long, flexible body covered with overlapping scales whose main function is to prevent water loss