ASMR: Measuring a python and an adder from our snake collection
So we're working on a project
looking at the evolution of reptiles
and specifically how snakes and lizards have evolved
to look the way they look and live the places they live.
And so part of our project is kind of explaining
the morphological variation there is in lizards and snakes.
Snakes are a type of lizard that just don't have any legs,
so we take a standard set of morphological measurements
across their body and we can use it to compare between species
to kind of understand how their form
explains their lifestyle and where they occur.
So this is a green tree python
which is found in northern Australia and New Guinea and Indonesia.
In life it would be really leaf green, lime green colour,
but in preservative it's come out a bit blue.
The yellow pigment breaks down.
Measuring snakes can be a bit of a pain
because they generally aren't preserved straight.
So we use a bit of string or rope
to capture the straightest path along all the curves.
So green tree pythons are designed very specifically for life in the trees.
First thing is their colour, so they match in really well with leaves.
Second thing is they have a prehensile tail.
So it curls up and can curl around
which they can kind of suspend themselves from the branches.
They have really long teeth, which is kind of hard to see
but you can see some sticking out just here.
They have lots of these long teeth which are for grabbing prey
whereas something that's venomous can have relatively short fangs
and then follow its victim.
These guys live in the trees,
so they have to catch and hold on.
They also have bodies that are really laterally flattened.
And that's for kind of clinging onto the branches
and coiling up in the branches.
So these jars are old and they're kind of a
bit of a piece of artwork in themselves.
They were generally made specific for the specimens that came into the collections
and so they were designed to fit a specific animal.
And they're sealed with paraffin wax
around a glass stopper that fits into the top, which looks a bit antique,
but is extremely effective in keeping the spirits in the jar,
the ethanol in the jar, keeping it from evaporating.
So this is the European adder
that's found across the UK, including some populations still holding on in
some more suburban parts of London.
They often have a really beautiful
variegated pattern down the back,
this kind of stripey pattern, that breaks up their outline
when they're laying in the grass or leaves
or under heath or something.
They're really variable in pattern and colour and they give live birth as well.
They're a pretty spectacular species.
Thanks for listening in
and watching me measure some snakes.
I hope you enjoyed it.