How rattlesnakes collect water in the desert

Prairie rattlesnakes have evolved an easy solution to quickly make the most of rainfall to quench their thirst. They curl up and turn themselves into funnels that collect rainwater.

Because rattlesnakes are reclusive and rain in arid environments is uncommon, Dr. Scott Boback, a herpetologist and ecologist at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, and his colleagues had to create rain using sprinklers. garden and video camera at a hibernating rattlesnake nest on the outskirts of Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

The team videotaped nearly 100 snakes reacting to simulated rain, allowing them to determine behavior and stage it. Not only did they observe the snakes drinking water dripping from their rafts as well as the ground, but they also leaned over and sipped from their neighbors’ body water. Researchers found that snakes gathered in large numbers were more likely to drink water from the bodies of their own species than snakes in small clusters. In research published in the journal Current Zoology, this shows that warmth and protection are not the only benefits for rattlesnakes living in burrows together.

The scientist also watched some rattlesnakes curl their bodies out over rock ledges like cantilevered beams to create horizontal rainwater collection platforms on rough ground. They sometimes also rush their whole body forward, rolling water into their mouths like humans use a spoon to scoop up porridge. About 12 snakes appear to drink water that falls on their heads and flows down through the arrangement of the snake’s scales. The scales are waterproof enough to make water drops roll away, but also absorb enough water to prevent raindrops from falling off the snake’s body.

Gordon Schuett, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Georgia and co-author of the study, said he had witnessed rattlesnakes collecting rainwater many times, but the scale of the sample made the new study stand out. turn on.