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Tonicity in Animals

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The tonicity of a solution determines if a cell gains or loses water in that solution. The tonicity depends on the permeability of the cell membrane for different solutes and the concentration of nonpenetrating solutes in the solution within and outside of the cell. If a semipermeable membrane hinders the passage of some solutes but allows water to follow its concentration gradient, water moves from the side with low osmolarity (i.e., less solute) to the side with higher osmolarity (i.e.,...

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Modeling Alcohol Consumption in Rodents Using Two-Bottle Choice Home Cage Drinking and Microstructural Analysis

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Drinking in snakes: resolving a biomechanical puzzle.

David Cundall¹, Elizabeth L Brainerd, Joseph Constantino

¹Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Williams Annex, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA. dlc0@lehigh.edu

Journal of Experimental Zoology. Part A, Ecological Genetics and Physiology

|February 8, 2012

Summary

Snakes may drink using a novel sponge-like mechanism, utilizing mucosal tissues and head muscles. This discovery challenges the traditional buccal-pump model, revealing a slower, gravity-defying water transport method in some snake species.

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Area of Science:

Zoology
Biomechanics
Comparative Physiology

Background:

The traditional understanding of snake drinking relies on a two-phase buccal-pump mechanism.
Recent observations suggest some snakes drink without fully sealing their mouths, questioning the universality of the buccal-pump model.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate alternative drinking mechanisms in snakes beyond the buccal-pump model.
To correlate anatomical features with functional data to understand snake drinking mechanics.

Main Methods:

Synchronized ciné and electromyographic recordings of muscle activity in three snake species.
Synchronized video and pressure recordings in a fourth snake species.
Correlation of functional data with anatomical features.

Main Results:

Some snakes utilize sponge-like oropharyngeal and esophageal mucosa for water transport.
Specific head muscles and bones facilitate a sponge-compressing function.
Water transport occurs slowly against gravity, differing from typical vertebrate drinking.
Mouth sealing is incidental in some species, challenging previous assumptions.
Muscles with minor feeding roles are crucial for drinking, and vice versa.

Conclusions:

A sponge-like drinking mechanism, possibly an exaptation of mucosal folds driven by feeding, is proposed for some snakes.
This mechanism explains drinking behaviors inconsistent with the buccal-pump model.
Snake drinking mechanics are more diverse than previously understood, involving unique anatomical and muscular adaptations.