don’t they have gag reflexes? how are they able to “surpass” that reflex?
In: Biology
Because they do not have a “gag *reflex*”.
Reflexes are an involuntary action performed when a cluster of nerves become stimulated and result in an involuntary action… like closing your eyes when something pokes them, or taking a breath, moving your leg when your patella is hit, or gagging when your throat is blocked.
Snakes can throw up or swallow voluntarily. But both actions are *voluntary*, not reflexive, for them.
e: grammar
Lots of animals swallow their prey whole. Being able to chew or to bite off chunks takes a fair bit of specialisation.
Some animals take that a lot further though. Snakes, for instance, have evolved to be able to swallow disproportionally large prey whole. Their lower jaw can dislocate from the rest of their skull, that lower jaw is also split at the front. The different parts of their skull are held together with very stretchy ligaments.
This allows a snake to disconnect and stretch their jaws around large prey while they slowly swallow it. They even have a special breathing tube in their mouth that they extend while they slowly swallow so they don’t suffocate.
They’re not the only animal that can do this though. In the darkness of the deep sea, food is very scarce. Deep-sea predators have many adaptations to make sure they don’t have to pass up meals when they finally find one.
Some deep-sea fish don’t just have stretchy jaws like a snake, their stomach and entire body is made of very stretchy tissue to the point where they can eat prey animals that are larger than they are.
Latest Answers