Vipers小蝌蚪APP攙enomous snakes such as rattlesnakes and cottonmouths小蝌蚪APP攁re commonly thought to possess the quickest strikes.
Not so fast, according to three researchers at the 小蝌蚪APP.
David Penning, a doctoral student; Baxter Sawvel, a graduate student; and Dr. Brad Moon, an associate professor; have authored an article titled 小蝌蚪APP淒ebunking the Viper's Strike: Harmless Snakes Kill a Common Assumption.小蝌蚪APP
The article was recently published in the international scientific journal 小蝌蚪APP淏iology Letters,小蝌蚪APP and sheds new light on this assumption. It challenges some popular notions about vipers, namely that their strikes may not be fastest among snakes.
小蝌蚪APP淭here小蝌蚪APP檚 a misconception, both in common lore, and popular documentaries and scientific literature. It小蝌蚪APP檚 always either an implied assumption, or a direct statement, about vipers being the fastest snakes on the planet. We just basically point out that isn小蝌蚪APP檛 necessarily true,小蝌蚪APP explained Penning, the paper小蝌蚪APP檚 lead author.
The discovery came in a roundabout way. While conducting a research project to determine how quickly snakes can strike in relation to their size, the researchers discovered something amazing.
While observing the strike speeds of nonvenomous Texas rat snakes, which were being filmed with cameras capable of capturing high-speed action, the researchers noticed that the rat snakes struck with about the same velocity and acceleration as the two vipers.
At first, Penning assumed that an error had been made in the calculations. However, 小蝌蚪APP渁fter checking multiple times, we kept producing the same numbers,小蝌蚪APP he explained.
Intrigued, the three researchers decided to conduct comprehensive tests. They studied the strike speeds of 14 Texas rat snakes, 12 western diamondback rattlesnakes, and six cottonmouths, which are also known as water moccasins.
They measured defensive strike performance by waving padded gloves, attached to long, wooden dowels, in front of snakes. The snakes were enclosed in customized aquariums.
The nonvenomous rat snakes were consistently as fast, and in some cases faster, than cottonmouths and western diamondback rattlesnakes when striking a short distance.
小蝌蚪APP淭he primary conclusion is that vipers are not notably faster than other snakes,小蝌蚪APP Penning said. 小蝌蚪APP淰ipers strike incredibly quickly. That小蝌蚪APP檚 without a doubt. But so do others. That小蝌蚪APP檚 the kicker.小蝌蚪APP
The research found that, overall, rattlesnakes struck fastest, producing accelerations of 28 Gs, which is the force exerted due to acceleration or gravity. The rat snakes, however, weren小蝌蚪APP檛 far behind, clocking in at 27 Gs. 小蝌蚪APP淔or comparison小蝌蚪APP檚 sake, it would be considered exceptional if a fighter pilot stayed conscious for even a brief time at 15 Gs,小蝌蚪APP Penning said.
The findings were detailed in 小蝌蚪APP淏iology Letters,小蝌蚪APP a peer-reviewed journal that publishes articles about the biological sciences. It is published by The Royal Society, the United Kingdom小蝌蚪APP檚 小蝌蚪APP渘ational science academy, and a fellowship of some 1,600 of the world小蝌蚪APP檚 most eminent scientists,小蝌蚪APP according to its website.
The article and its findings are garnering notice from dozens of media outlets and scientific publications, including the "Los Angeles Times," "Discover," the Huffington Post," and "Yahoo."
View the article at