Re: Venom in Sinornithosaurus

[Jura <pristichampsus@yahoo.com>]

--- On Thu, 12/24/09, don ohmes <d_ohmes@yahoo.com> wrote:

> From: don ohmes <d_ohmes@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: Venom in Sinornithosaurus
> To: dinosaur@usc.edu
> Date: Thursday, December 24, 2009, 2:42 PM
> Aw, c'mon! Cobras are cursorial
> relative to what? Vipers? 
> 
> Perhaps I used "cursorial" in an inexact manner here, but
> on a functional level, snakes are _slow_. They require slow
> prey, or some strategy (e.g., venom or ambush) to negate the
> speed advantage of (e.g.) a rabbit.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I think your view of snakes might be a bit skewed (likely due to the greater 
attention in popular culture that vipers and boas get compared to other 
snakes), but there are cursorial species. In fact, a large chunk of Serpentes 
is composed of fast moving species that actively chase after and physically 
overpower their prey. Part of the reason why one does not typically see 
elapids, boomslangs, and racers in pet stores is because they are nervous 
animals that are always moving around. They don't handle captivity well, and 
are not very "user friendly." 

Jason