Friggin' snakes (was Re: [thechat] he ain't heavy, he's my hampsterdance.)

[Luther, Ron]

Hi David,


I'm pretty sure the spurs are vestigial structures ... so you're only going
to find them on "more primitive" or "older model designs" -- like the Boas
and Pythons. The "newer"/"more recently evolved" snakes - like the Ratsnake
family don't really have spurs.

Also - the spurs are on the sides of the snake and don't extend from
the cloaca.


RonL.
(Useless facts?  Like the one about the male snakes storing their male
'pieces-parts' inside out, [Ouch!], inside their tails?)


-----Original Message-----
From: David Wagner [mailto:dave at worlddomination.net]

> Are you talking about the little prong thingies that extend out from the
> cloaca (another great word)?

The "prong thingies" are called spurs, and they exist in pairs on both
male and female snakes (at least all of the snakes I know about). They are
used during mating, allowing two limbless animals to hang on to (and
stimulate) each other long enough to get the job done.