Page 82 - Reptiles & Dinosaurs (Britannica Illustrated Science Library)

78 TURTLES AND SNAKES

Egg Eaters

2 to 4 times
he egg-eating snake is both harmless and common. Its body is about as thick as an
adult's fourth finger. The egg-eating snake eats bird eggs and hen eggs that are larger THE EGG CAN BE THIS
T than its body. Although it might be confused with a true viper because of its size and MUCH WIDER THAN THE
coloring, it is classified as an oophagous (egg-eating) snake in the family Dasypeltis. Snakes SNAKE'S MOUTH.
in this family are distinguished by special vertebrae that help break the shell of an egg as it
is swallowed. It selects eggs very carefully, using its highly refined sense of smell to make
sure that they are not rotten.

Unique Diet Regurgitation
These snakes do not find eggs every day, so they 4 The snake drags its throat along
regurgitate the shells to create more space in their the ground and arches its spine.
stomachs for the eggs they will find in the future. Then it raises its head and expels
The folds in the snake's the eggshell by a series of muscle
mouth hold the egg, contractions.
moving it toward the The egg slowly
throat. enters the
1 inch 2 inches
(3 cm) (6 cm) mouth until it
is completely
inside. RHOMBIC EGG-
EATING SNAKE
Dasypeltis scabra
SIZE COMPARISON
The egg is two to four times wider
than the snake's body.
Habitat Southern Africa
Lifestyle Nocturnal
Reproduction Egg-laying
The interlocking scales Ingestion 2 feet (70 cm)
separate when the skin 1
is stretched. The snake starts to swallow the egg
in successive motions. The jaw opens It opens its mouth wide
wider and wider, and the skin on the and expels the shell, which
The egg is tough throat becomes distended. is rolled into a thin cylinder.
and does not break
until it reaches the
bony spines.
The throat
returns to its
normal position.

15 minutes

THE TIME IT TAKES TO
SWALLOW AN EGG Rupture
2 The egg reaches the esophageal
teeth, which puncture the eggshell;
the head and neck muscles then
A valve blocks crush it.
the passage of 1 hour THE TIME IT CAN TAKE TO
eggshell REGURGITATE THE SHELL
fragments.
Dasypeltis
3 Pause The name of the genus of egg-eating snakes. Dasypeltis scabra is
The food is processed in the digestive
usually gray or brown with darker marks below its back. It has
tract until the large bulge below the teeth in its upper jaw, and only three to seven small, rudimentary
head disappears and the animal returns teeth in the back of its jaw. Its teeth are no obstacle to ingesting
to its normal shape. It forces the enormous eggs.
eggshell back into its mouth.