Biologists from the University of Queensland have discovered that snakes can hear sounds without external ears. To work published In PLOS ONE magazine.
It is believed that snakes cannot hear the vibrations of the earth, but can only feel it. To refute this, the authors placed 19 different snakes from five families in a soundproof room.
Inside the room, the scientists turned on three sounds, one that caused the ground to tremble and the other two that didn’t. The snakes responded to all three sounds, with responses varying depending on the type of snake.
Thus, black-headed pythons (Aspidites) began to move in the direction of the sound source. Other species – taipans (Oxyuranus), brown snakes (Pseudonaja) and especially deadly snakes (Acanthophis), on the contrary, tried to get away from it.
According to scientists, this behavior of snakes is due to their behavior in the wild. Pythons are nocturnal hunters and have no competitors, so they are more daring. Taipans, on the other hand, are vulnerable to other predators, so they prefer to hide.