Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
(A)
(B)
(C)
Plate 2.4
(A-C) Skull of
Malpolon monspessulanus
and close-up of enlarged posterior
maxillary teeth
.
The teeth are notably enlarged and posterior on the maxillae (
Plate 2.4A and
B
, Spain). Note the deep groove that is present for almost the entire length of the teeth (
Plate
2.4C
, Bulgaria).
Plate 2.4
A and B, copyright to Javier José Carrasco Araújo;
Plate 2.4C
, photo
copyright to Zoltan Takács.
volumes of Duvernoy's secretions, and thus potential ranges of yields are far narrower
(see Appendix B for Duvernoy's secretion yields of some representative species). The
largest yields are usually produced by large adult specimens of the brown tree snake
(
Boiga irregularis
, Section 4.4), and to date these are usually less than 20 mg dry
weight even with parasympathomimetic stimulation of the Duvernoy's glands (Chiszar
et al., 1992; Mackessy et al., 2006; Weinstein et al., 1991; see later). This also empha-
sizes the lack of any significant storage capacity in the majority of colubrid species
studied to date. Unlike the case with many viperids and elapids, attempts to increase
yields by manual pressure on the Duvernoy's glands do not usually succeed. Thus, it is
unlikely that manual pressure exerted on the head of a snake during attempts to remove
it while inflicting a protracted or sustained bite would substantially increase the vol-
ume of secretion. Such concerns (e.g., per bites inflicted by the green palm snake,
Philodryas viridissimus
; Means, 2010; see later) should probably focus on avoid-
ing increased maxillary mobilization (e.g., “walking” of the jaws on the bitten site)
