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Does aquatic foraging impact head shape evolution in snakes?

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  • 1UMR CNRS/MNHN 7179, Mécanismes Adaptatifs: des Organismes aux Communautés, 55 Rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes (PMMH), UMR CNRS 7636; PSL-ESPCI, 10 Rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France Sorbonne Paris Cité-UDD, Univ. Paris 07, Paris, France marion.segall@live.fr.

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Aquatic snakes evolved narrower heads and upward-facing eyes/nostrils, demonstrating environmental constraints on head shape evolution. This convergence suggests water

Keywords:
aquatic snakesconstraintsconvergencegeometric morphometricshead morphologyhydrodynamics

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Comparative anatomy
  • Biomechanics

Background:

  • Environmental factors, particularly water's physical properties, constrain aquatic animal feeding morphology.
  • Hydrodynamic forces in water necessitate adaptations like suction feeding in many aquatic vertebrates.
  • Snakes, lacking suction feeding, have independently colonized aquatic environments multiple times.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if aquatic environments constrain head shape evolution in snakes.
  • To determine if snake head morphology converges with predictions from biomechanical models for aquatic feeding.
  • To understand the role of environmental pressures in shaping evolutionary trajectories.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized three-dimensional geometric morphometrics to analyze snake head shapes.
  • Employed comparative, phylogenetically informed analyses across a large sample of aquatic snake species.
  • Compared observed head morphologies with predictions derived from biomechanical models.

Main Results:

  • Aquatic snakes exhibit a narrower anterior head region.
  • Eyes and nostrils are positioned dorsally in aquatic snakes.
  • These morphological adaptations occur across diverse snake lineages, independent of phylogenetic relationships.

Conclusions:

  • The aquatic environment significantly drives head shape evolution in snakes.
  • Observed head morphology partially aligns with biomechanical predictions for aquatic life.
  • Environmental pressures impose constraints, biasing the evolutionary trajectory of aquatic snakes.