However, when the ribs toward the rear of the lung were constricted, the snakes breathed using the ribs closer to the head. When the blood pressure cuff gripped boa constrictors a third of the way along their bodies, the animals breathed using the ribs further back. Reconstructing the boa constrictors’ rib movements, it was clear that the animals were able to control the movements of ribs in different portions of the rib cage independently.

“Hissing provided us with an opportunity to measure some of the biggest breaths snakes take,” Capano says. Some of the snakes reacted to the feeling of the cuff by hissing defensively, thus filling their lungs with air and expanding their ribs. Then he positioned a blood pressure cuff over the ribs in both regions and gradually increased the pressure to prevent the ribs from moving. Capano attached tiny metal markers to two ribs in each reptile-one set of markers a third of the way down the snake’s body and another halfway along-to visualize how the ribs moved using X-rays. In the experiments, Capano and Brainerd secured a blood pressure cuff around the ribs of boa constrictors to restrict their movements. XROMM combines 3D models of bone morphology with movement data from x-ray video to create highly accurate re-animations of the bones moving in space (for example: birds flying, frogs jumping, and snakes breathing). To quantify individual rib motions, Capano and Elizabeth Brainerd, a professor of biology and medical science, used a 3D imaging technology called X-ray reconstruction of moving morphology (XROMM), which can show the rapid skeletal movement of live creatures. Snakes don’t have diaphragms, so they rely entirely on the motions of their ribs to breathe, Capano says. “By showing how snakes were able to circumvent the mechanical constraints of constriction and large prey ingestion-the very things that helped distinguish them from other limbless elongate animals-this study provides a new perspective on snake evolution,” says John Capano, a postdoctoral research associate in the lab of Matt Fuxjager, an associate professor in the ecology, evolution, and organismal biology department at Brown University, and lead author of the paper in the Journal of Experimental Biology. The new findings show that snakes have clearly overcome-some might even say mastered-the challenges of breathing while eating. The mechanics of squeezing a creature to death and then swallowing it whole create pressure on the boa’s ribs and lungs, restricting their ability to fill their lungs with oxygenated air. Send us feedback.New research show how boa constrictors are able to adjust which region of the ribcage they use to inhale, depending on whether they are resting, constricting, or digesting.Įating dinner puts the snake in a bit of a bind.

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'constrictor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Gena Steffens, Smithsonian, 11 July 2019 See More

Gena Steffens, Smithsonian, 11 July 2019 Large constrictor snakes have not existed in North America for millions of years. 2019 The pythons are mostly ambush hunters, and constrictors. Lauren Caruba,, 9 July 2020 Scientists say the giant constrictor snakes, which can grow over 20 feet (6 meters) long, have eliminated 99% of the native mammals in the Everglades, decimating food sources for native predators such as panthers and alligators. 2020 The function of this ACE2 is to break down angiotensin 2, a vasal constrictor. 2021 How about python jerky, a plate of constrictor and grits for breakfast or maybe a nice Christmas cookie whipped up with snake-yolk dough? 2022 Police said the younger man kept 11 non-venomous constrictor snakes and a gecko in his apartment, in terrariums and drawers.įox News, 5 July 2021 Case in point: Corn snakes, a popular, nonvenomous pet which winds around prey constrictor-style, love dining on mice.Īdam Hadhazy, Popular Mechanics, 9 Mar. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 24 Mar. Recent Examples on the Web The constrictor cuts off blood flow to the heart and brain.

Snake constrictor