A University of Queensland-led study has found that as well as ground vibrations, snakes can hear and react to airborne sound.
A University of Queensland-led study has found that as well as ground vibrations, snakes can hear and react to airborne sound.
Dr Christina Zdenek from UQ’s School of Biological Sciences, in collaboration with QUT’s Professor Damian Candusso, played three different sound frequencies to captive-bred snakes one at a time in a soundproof room and observed their reactions.
“Because snakes don’t have external ears, people typically think they’re deaf and can only feel vibrations through the ground and into their bodies,” Dr Zdenek said.
“But our research - the first of its kind using non-anesthetised, freely moving snakes - found they do react to soundwaves travelling through the air, and possibly human voices.”
Read more at University of Queensland
Image: Woma python (Credit: Dr Christina Zdenek)
