How are the mouths on Burmese pythons adapted to finding prey and swallowing large prey?

Answer 1

The mouth of a snake is expertly suited to swallowing large prey because...

The upper jaw consists of six pieces connected by ligaments and muscle - the lower jaw is in two pieces again connected by ligaments and muscle. This allows the snakes jaws to stretch to accommodate large prey.

Answer 2

They flick out their tongue which takes in particles in the air and analyzes it using the Jacobson's gland in their mouth, to know whats near by. Also the have many rows of teeth. All 6 of them they have. They help position the prey in its mouth and help shove it down it's throat.

Answer 3

Pythons, like many snake species, possess heat-sensitive 'pits' which detect Infra-Red heat sources - even on total darkness !

Additionally - snakes jaws are not fixed, but in separate pieces (6 on the top jaw and 2 in the lower jaw) connected by muscles. Also - they can 'unhinge' their jaws allowing them to swallow prey up to seven times the diameter of their heads.

Answer 4

All snakes have an organ in the roof of the mouth called the Jacobson's organ, which the tips of the forked tongue flick into when withdrawn into the mouth. Molecules from the air which have been collected on the tongue are transferred to the Jacobson's organ in this way, producing a sense somewhere between smell and taste. This is a snake's primary sense - snakes have poor eyesight and are deaf to airborne sound, since they have no external ears - and is how they locate prey.

Answer 5

Like many snake species, their mouths are lined with heat-sensitive 'pits' - which detect infra-red radiation given off by their prey. Snakes jaws are not fixed like most animals. Instead, the bottom jaw is split into two pieces - joined at the front my ligaments. The upper jaw is split into six - again joined by ligaments. When the snake eats, the ligaments stretch - enabling it to eat prey larger than the snakes head.

Answer 6

They have a line of heat-sensitive 'pits' around the upper jaw - which find their prey by the heat given off. Their top jaw is 'split' into six pieces, connected by elastic ligaments, their bottom jaw is divided in two - again connected by ligaments. When swallowing prey, the ligaments stretch, enabling them to swallow large meals.

Answer 7

They swallow large prey by detaching their jaw.

Answer 8

they eat cheese

Answer 9

Adaptions