When looking at the snakes, you may notice that it has no visible ear. One might think that they are incapable of hearing sounds, but this is not necessarily the case. The way they listen to sounds may only be different from humans. It will not be right to think that snakes are deaf just because they don't have external ears. Some pieces of evidence will support that snakes have hearing devices in their heads that are attached to their jaws. Therefore, they are capable of hearing sound in the lower frequency, and they can also detect vibrations.
How Do Snakes Hear Without Ears?
Scientists have long been baffled on how the snakes can hear the sound without external ears. Recent studies show that the sound creates vibrations, which these animals can detect. The message will then be sent to their brain, allowing them to interpret the vibration. Although it is still unknown whether this animal is capable of detecting sounds that travel through the air, there is already sufficient evidence that the soundwaves directly on the air are causing vibration in their bone, enough for the snake to sense it.
Do Snakes Have Eardrums?
Snakes are not armed with eardrums. Nonetheless, they still have an inner ear system that comes with the cochlea. It helps in detecting the vibration when they are slithering on the ground. We've already mentioned before that each jaw of the snake is moving independently. It allows the snake to sense the vibration on both their left and right side. They can also identify the direction of the sound.
What Are Mechanoreceptors?
Snakes have sensory nerves that are spread throughout their skin and connected to their spines called mechanoreceptors. These are also used in determining the vibrations that happened on the ground. The vibration will be felt throughout their body, and the signals will be sent through the snake's brain that will help them interpret the information and recognize the source of the sound. These nerves are extremely sensitive and will immediately react to any stimuli.
How Do They Pick Up the Sound That Moves Through the Air?
Snakes are capable of picking the sounds that move through the air. When soundwaves hit their skin, their skulls will vibrate, causing them to detect these sounds. However, it has also been discovered that snakes are better at picking the sound in the lower frequency since this is the sound that they will often hear in the wild. The sound will move directly in their skull and into their inner ear, wherein the sound will be picked up by the brain.
Snakes have a very sensitive sensory perception that enables them to pick up the location of these soundwaves while they are moving through the ground. Their body will sense the small ripples that happen in the sand at a very rapid pace. An average human has a hearing capacity of 20-20,000Hz. The snake can pick up sound at 200-300Hz. A human voice averages at 250Hz; therefore, it is possible that the snakes can hear you.
Go back to the home page: Snakes of Montgomery