Pythons have famously cartoonish eating habits, and they might be even better at it than we thought. A new study has found that Burmese pythons can eat even larger prey than was thought mathematically possible.
Pythons don’t bite and chew their food – instead, they open their mouths incredibly wide and just swallow their prey whole. And it’s not just small animals like rats and birds, they've been known to chow down on pigs, goats, deer and even alligators.
This ability is made possible by their special jaw structure. Contrary to popular belief, pythons don’t “unhinge” their jaws, but have super stretchy skin and unfused lower jawbones that allow their mouths to open wide enough to accommodate a big meal. The diameter of their open mouth, or their “maximal gape,” is the deciding factor in how big an animal the python can eat.
For the new study, researchers at the University of Cincinnati studied three of the biggest Burmese pythons captured in Florida, where they’re considered an invasive species. These huge snakes measured 15, 17 and 19 ft (4.6, 5.2 and 5.8 m) long, the lattermost being the longest ever caught in the sunshine state.
All three pythons had maximal gape diameters of 10.2 in (26 cm), making them bigger than the previous known record-holder of 8.7 in (22 cm). That makes the diameter 18% bigger, and the total area a massive 40% bigger, than was previously thought possible.
If you’re having trouble picturing that, the largest python measured had a gape circumference of over 32 in (81 cm) – so if you wear size 32 pants, you could fit in there like a sleeping bag. Don’t worry though: attacks on humans are extremely rare, and it wouldn’t be able to get past your shoulders. If anything, we're more likely to eat them.
The pythons do try to make the most of their abilities though. The smallest of the snakes studied was captured mid-meal, swallowing a 77-lb (35-kg) deer. That’s two-thirds of its own mass, and 93% of its maximal gape area.
“It’s almost a certainty that we have yet to capture the biggest Burmese python in Florida,” said Bruce Jayne, lead author of the study. “So, it seems very plausible that a record-breaking python with a gape of 11.8 in (30 cm) could eat a 120-lb (54-kg) deer.”
The goal of the study wasn’t just a snake-measuring contest – the researchers wanted to better understand the environmental effect that Burmese pythons have on Florida. Their appetite for large animals gives them an outsized impact on ecosystems, which could be a problem as they spread across the region.
The research was published in the journal Reptiles & Amphibians.
Source: University of Cincinnati