Mechanics of snake biting: Experiments and modelling

Abstract

Among all the vertebrates, snakes possess the most sophisticated venom delivering system using their fangs. Fangs of many animals are well adapted to the mechanical loads experienced during the functions such as breaking the diet and puncturing the skin of the prey. Thus, investigation and modelling of puncturing mechanics of snakes is of importance to understand the form-function relationship of the fangs and tissue-fang interactions in detail. We have thus chosen fangs of two snake species i.e. viper (Bitis arietans) and burrowing snake (Atractaspis aterrima), with different shape and size and performed insertion experiments using tissue phantoms. Our results showed that both the species have similar mechanical properties but there was a difference in the insertion forces owing to the difference in shape of the fang. Also, our modelling of the fang-tissue interactions predicted some parameters close to the experimental values. Thus, our study can help in the development of bioinspired needles that can potentially have reduced insertion forces and less damage to the tissue.

Fang evolution in venomous snakes: Adaptation of 3D tooth shape to the biomechanical properties of their prey

“…Of importance in these studies is the assignment of correct material properties to the structures being tested. A very recent study demonstrates more accurate data on the material properties of venomous snake fangs and a detailed methodology of how to test them (Kundanati et al., 2020). Future studies are now able to run similar computer simulations to test the penetrative ability of different fang shapes into multiple tissue types.…”