A nearly 15-foot-long Burmese python devours a 77-pound deer in Florida. Photo/Ian Bartoszek/Conservancy of Southwest Florida 
Wildlife & Biodiversity

Invasive Burmese pythons are wreaking havoc in Florida; the reason lies in their jaws

The lower jawbone is not fused at the front allowing the jaws to stretch wide; these pythons can thus prey on any large animal

Rajat Ghai

Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus), native to the rainforests of southeast Asia, were introduced to the wilderness areas of the US state of Florida through the pet trade as escapees and intentional releases from irresponsible owners. An invasive species, they have established themselves as top predators in their new home. Scientists have now found the reason: Their gape.

University of Cincinnati biologist Bruce Jayne, with colleagues Ian Bartoszek and Ian Easterling, studied three snakes captured in and around Florida’s Everglades National Park.

These snakes were 15, 17 and 19 feet long. Previously examinded Burmese pythons were found to have a gape of 22 centimetres (or 8.7 inches) in diameter.

“But the largest of the snakes Jayne’s research partners captured had a maximal gape of 26 centimetres (or 10.2 inches),” a statement by the University noted.

The total area of the gape increased by a whopping 40 per cent, according to Jayne. “The largest snakes had a gape circumference of more than 81 centimetres — the equivalent of a 32-inch waist on a pair of pants,” the statement added.

Invasive havoc

The results of the study by Jayne and his colleagues could explain why the Burmese python has been so successful in Florida and the Everglades.

These non-venomous constrictors are born small. They are about 24 inches long and weigh about 4 ounces when they hatch, but they grow fast. As per the University, the pythons can double their length and body weight in a year. The biggest adults can stretch nearly 20 feet and weigh more than 200 pounds.

Besides their bulk and body size, their jaws give them an enormous advantage.

“The lower jawbone is not fused at the front allowing the jaws to stretch wide. And their skin is so soft and super stretchy that it accounts for more than half the circumference of their gape, allowing the pythons to consume prey six times bigger than that of other similar-sized snake species,” the statement observed.

Burmese pythons have already decimated populations of foxes, bobcats, raccoons and other animals in southern Florida.

They have been recorded eating even bigger prey including deer and the other top predator of the Everglades, the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

The researchers also observed one snake consuming a 77-pound deer representing two-thirds of its total mass.

“Jayne said this enormous capacity to eat prey is a big concern if pythons spread to other parts of Florida and potentially the rest of the American Southeast. Burmese pythons are showing up in more places across Florida,” as per the statement.

Big pythons, big gape, and big prey was published in the journal Reptiles and Amphibians.