The rhinoceros among Serpents: Comparative anatomy and experimental biophysics of Calabar burrowing python (<i>Calabaria reinhardtii</i>) skin

Han, Dawei; Young, Bruce A.

doi:10.1002/jmor.20756

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 55 publications

(77 reference statements)

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“…Antipredatory defenses involving both deflection of attacks and warning colourations may not be restricted to Uropeltidae. Fossorial reptiles, especially snakes, tend to have long trunks and short rounded tails (Wiens & Slingluff, 2001; Wiens, Brandley & Reeder, 2006), the latter of which many species display to divert attacks from the head to the tail (Greene, 1973, 1979, 1988; Han & Young, 2018). Several fossorial snakes (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conspicuous colours reduce predation rates in fossorial uropeltid snakes

Cyriac

Kodandaramaiah

2019

PeerJ

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Uropeltid snakes (Family Uropeltidae) are non-venomous, fossorial snakes that are found above ground occasionally, during which time they are exposed to predation. Many species are brightly coloured, mostly on the ventral surface, but these colours are expected to have no function below the ground. Observations have shown that the cephalic resemblance (resemblance to heads) of uropeltid tails may direct attacks of predators towards the hardened tails, thereby potentially increasing handling times for predators. Experiments have also shown that predators learn to avoid prey that are non-toxic and palatable but are difficult to capture, hard to process or require long handling time when such prey advertise their unprofitability through conspicuous colours. We here postulate that uropeltid snakes use their bright colours to signal long handling times associated with attack deflection to the tails, thereby securing reduced predation from predators that can learn to associate colour with handling time. Captive chicken experiments with dough models mimicking uropeltids indicate that attacks were more common on the tail than on the head. Field experiments with uropeltid clay models show that the conspicuous colours of these snakes decrease predation rates compared to cryptic models, but a novel conspicuous colour did not confer such a benefit. Overall, our experiments provide support for our hypothesis that the conspicuous colours of these snakes reduce predation, possibly because these colours advertise unprofitability due to long handling times.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conspicuous colours reduce predation rates in fossorial uropeltid snakes

Cyriac

Kodandaramaiah

2019

PeerJ

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“…We were quite surprised that we did not find dermal armour in the Calabar burrowing python ( C. reinhardtii ), as its body is very hard to the touch (like in gerrhosaurids, cordylids, and anguids). Nevertheless, a detailed analysis of the mechanical properties of their skin 82 revealed a highly structured lamellar arrangement of the dermal collagen bundles, markedly thick integumentary layers, and a reduction of the hinge region in between the scales, which in mutual combination provide enormous penetration resistance. The authors hypothesised that these skin properties of Calabar pythons serve as a passive defensive mechanism against penetrative bites from maternal rodents and predators.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The first description of dermal armour in snakes

Frýdlová

Janovská

Mrzílková

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Osteoderms, also called dermal armour, often play a role in predator defence. The presence of osteoderms is highly irregularly distributed across the squamate phylogeny and they have not been found in snakes. In this study, we searched for candidate snake species that would benefit from such armour to protect their body, focusing primarily on fossorial species with defensive tail displays. We examined the tail morphology of 27 snake species from different families using micro-computed tomography (µCT) and micro- radiography. We discovered dermal armour in four species of sand boas (Erycidae) that also feature enlarged and highly modified caudal vertebrae. This is the first description of dermal armour in snakes. Ancestral state reconstructions revealed that osteoderms likely evolved once or multiple times in Erycidae. We have not found osteoderms in any other examined snake species. Nevertheless, similar structures are known from unrelated squamate clades, such as gerrhosaurids and geckos. This supports the idea of underlying deep developmental homology. We propose the hypothesis that osteoderms protect sand boas like the “brigandine armour” of medieval warriors. We interpret it as another component of the sand boas' rich defence strategy.

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“…3A), VE (Figure S2), and D (Figure S3). (Bordoloi, 2021;Chintapalli et al, 2014;Han and Young, 2018;Wang et al, 2016;Wollina et al, 2001;Yang et al, 2019). Silhouettes and animal images taken from Adobe CC Images.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Second Harmonic Generation Imaging Reveals Entanglement of Collagen Fibers in the Elephant Trunk Skin Dermis

Schulz¹,

Plotczyk

Sordilla

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Form-function relationships often have tradeoffs: if a material is tough, it is often inflexible, and vice versa. This is particularly relevant for the elephant trunk, where the skin should be protective yet elastic. To investigate how this is achieved, we used classical histochemical staining and second harmonic generation microscopy to describe the morphology and composition of elephant trunk skin. We report structure at the macro and micro scales, from the thickness of the dermis to the interaction of 10 µm thick collagen fibers. We analyzed several sites along the length of the trunk, to compare and contrast the dorsal-ventral and proximal-distal skin morphologies and compositions. We find the dorsal skin of the elephant trunk can have keratin armor layers over 2mm thick, which is nearly 100 times the thickness of the equivalent layer in human skin. We also found that the structural support layer (the dermis) of elephant trunk contains a distribution of collagen-I (COL1) fibers in both perpendicular and parallel arrangement. The bimodal distribution of collagen is seen across all portions of the trunk, and is dissimilar from that of human skin where one orientation dominates within a body site. We hypothesize that this distribution of COL1 in the elephant trunk allows both flexibility and load-bearing capabilities. Additionally, when viewing individual fiber interaction of 10 µm thick collagen, we find the fiber crossings per unit volume are five times more common than in human skin, suggesting that the fibers are entangled. We surmise that these intriguing structures permit both flexibility and strength in the elephant trunk. The complex nature of the elephant skin may inspire the design of materials that can combine strength and flexibility.

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The rhinoceros among Serpents: Comparative anatomy and experimental biophysics of Calabar burrowing python (Calabaria reinhardtii) skin

Cited by 8 publications

References 55 publications

Conspicuous colours reduce predation rates in fossorial uropeltid snakes

Conspicuous colours reduce predation rates in fossorial uropeltid snakes

The first description of dermal armour in snakes

Second Harmonic Generation Imaging Reveals Entanglement of Collagen Fibers in the Elephant Trunk Skin Dermis

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