Of the almost 4,000 species of snakes, about 600 are considered “medically significant”, meaning they can deliver a bite that would require hospital treatment, but many more have small fangs and are only mildly venomous. In certain species, these structures evolved into grooves running the length of the tooth, which served as a handy conduit to deliver venom. Our new research, published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, reveals this happened via a modification of tooth structures that probably served to help anchor snakes’ teeth in their sockets. Uniquely among animals, grooved and tubular teeth have evolved many times in snakes. Venomous snakes inject a cocktail of toxins using venom fangs - specialised teeth with grooves or canals running through them to guide the venom into a bite wound.
King's College London provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.įlinders University provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU. Monash University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU. Postdoctoral Fellow in Vertebrate Palaeontology, King's College LondonĪlessandro Palci is affiliated with Flinders University and the South Australian Museum, and receives funding from the Australian Research Council.Īaron LeBlanc currently receives funding from the European Commission for a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship and previously received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for a Postdoctoral Fellowship.ĭr Olga Panagiotopoulou is affiliated with Monash University, Australia and previously received funding from EU Marie Curie and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Research Associate in Evolutionary Biology, Flinders University
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