Vipers target with precision, elapids bite repeatedly and colubrids saw their way in – and if they strike too fast, they might lose their teeth
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Venomous snakes must strike fast to sink their fangs in prey before they startle – as quickly as 60 milliseconds when hunting rodents.
New research has captured – in slow-motion footage – the differences in how venomous serpents bite their targets.
Scientists studied 36 species of venomous snake, filming them at 1,000 frames a second as they struck an object made of ballistic gel that resembled the structure of human skin and muscle.
