Another good find in the science section of today’s New York Times: an examination of vipers, from their behaviors to their unique physiology. Most interesting to me was the fact that certain vipers can go over a year without defecating, using retained feces as metabolically-inert ballast that anchors the tail ends of their bodies to the ground as they strike out with their fangs.

Nature is damn cool.

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http://q.queso.com/index.php?archives/001101.php

• Pinged by anil dash's daily links on Dec 11, 2002, 1:09 AM

Rattlesnakes that look after their babies. Japanese pitvipers that digest frogs at extremely low temperatures. Vipers that use retained feces as ballast. An emphasis that all snakes want is to be left alone and that even venomous snakes rarely bite un…

• Pinged by The McWetlog on Dec 11, 2002, 8:28 AM