Caudal luring is a form of aggressive mimicry characterized by the waving or wriggling of the predator's tail to attract prey. [1] This movement attracts small animals who mistake the tail for a small worm or other small animal. [1] When the animal approaches to prey on the worm-like tail, the predator will strike. [1] This behavior has been recorded in snakes, [2] sharks, [3] and eels. [4]
The tail of a species may serve various functions, such as aggression, defense and feeding. [5] Caudal luring behavior was first recorded in 1878 [6] and is an instance of aggressive mimicry. [7] Predators attract their prey by moving their caudal section to mimic a small animal, such as a worm, and attract prey animals. [1] The prey is intrigued by caudal movement and will investigate assuming it is their own prey, and the predator will strike. [5]
Caudal luring behavior is found in over 50 different snake species. [2] It is most common in boas, pythons, tropidophiids, colubrids and elapids of the genus Acanthophis , and the most evident in vipers and pit vipers, especially in rattlesnakes. [8] [9] [10] When the snake is foraging, it waits coiled up with its tail elevated and visible, wiggling around in a way that mimics a smaller animal and captures the attention of its prey. [1] Once the prey is in striking range, the snake attacks. [1] An immobile tail does not attract prey, confirming that it is the moving lure that tricks and attracts prey. [11] Caudal luring behavior is only elicited when prey are nearby. [11] Due to the tail resembling a writhing caterpillar and another worm-like insect larvae, the tail of the snake is often referred to as a vermiform. [2] Some species have developed elaborate lures to mimic a specific animal, such as the spider-tailed horned viper, which employs a highly modified tail to mimic a spider's form and locomotion. [12]
Of the snakes that practice the caudal luring behavior, 80% are juvenile. [13] The tails of juvenile snakes are typically conspicuously colored and fade to become more similar to the rest of the body with age. [1] [14] This has been theorized to be an explanation for why caudal luring is most successful and prevalent in juveniles. [15] However, this explanation has been contested. [15] Experimental manipulation of Sistrurus miliarius ’ tail color to make the tail match the rest of the juvenile's body revealed no significant difference in foraging success. [15] Another theory for juvenile success has been that their small tails are more effective lures compared to an adult's larger tail. Studies have confirmed that a smaller lure is more effective in attracting prey, as it is closer to the size of the worm-like prey. [11]
Caudal luring also occurs in sharks, most common among Alopias vulpinus , Alopias superciliosus and Alopias pelagicus. [3] Their tails are all of varying shapes and sizes, but are all used to attract and immobilize prey. [3] Evidence of caudal luring comes from their diet, which consists largely of small schooling fishes which are susceptible to the luring strategy. [3]
The tasselled wobbegong (Eucrossorhinus dasypogon), a carpet shark, has a caudal fin that resembles a small fish with a small dark eyespot. [16] The caudal fin is waved slowly to attract and immobilize prey. [16] [17]
Caudal luring is suspected to occur in the family Saccopharyngidae . [4] The caudal organs of these eels are luminous and equipped with filaments that would facilitate luring. [4] These eels prey solely on relatively large fishes, suggesting the use of a lure to trap their prey. [4]
It has been suggested that caudal luring was involved in the evolution of the tail vibration rattle of rattlesnakes, a warning signal and a way of auditory communication, though this has been challenged. [18] [19] [20] [5] Prey luring, in general, is confounded by false interpretation, as the wiggling of an appendage could have other behavioral meanings including aposematism, defense, or nervous release, and experimental evidence has been weak. [5] [21] [19]
Caudal luring is thought to have evolved from a caudally localized intention movement [19] (a behavior derived from locomotor movements). Essentially, the act of remaining stationary while sensing prey produces general nervous system excitation that gets released in the form of tail movements. [19] Caudal luring is not merely tail undulations, but must specifically be attractive to prey. [22] Caudal distraction is another behavior used by snakes, and the tail motions are similar to caudal luring. [22] The difference is in the snake's posture and especially in the nature and outcome of the behavior in reference to the encounter with prey. [22] Other caudal luring-like movements occur as warning signals and are induced by stressful circumstances. [5]
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved venom apparatus, such as fangs or a stinger, in a process called envenomation. Venom is often distinguished from poison, which is a toxin that is passively delivered by being ingested, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin, and toxungen, which is actively transferred to the external surface of another animal via a physical delivery mechanism.
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Agkistrodon piscivorus is a species of venomous snake, a pit viper in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. It is one of the world's few semiaquatic vipers, and is native to the Southeastern United States. As an adult, it is large and capable of delivering a painful and potentially fatal bite. When threatened, it may respond by coiling its body and displaying its fangs. Individuals may bite when feeling threatened or being handled in any way. It tends to be found in or near water, particularly in slow-moving and shallow lakes, streams, and marshes. It is a capable swimmer, and like several species of snakes, is known to occasionally enter bays and estuaries and swim between barrier islands and the mainland.
Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae. All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small animals such as birds and rodents.
The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers, or pit adders, are a subfamily of vipers found in Asia and the Americas. Like all other vipers, they are venomous. They are distinguished by the presence of a heat-sensing pit organ located between the eye and the nostril on both sides of the head. Currently, 23 genera and 155 species are recognized: These are also the only viperids found in the Americas. The groups of snakes represented here include rattlesnakes, lanceheads, and Asian pit vipers. The type genus for this subfamily is Crotalus, of which the type species is the timber rattlesnake, C. horridus.
Acanthophis is a genus of elapid snakes. Commonly called death adders, they are native to Australia, New Guinea and nearby islands, and are among the most venomous snakes in the world. Despite their common name, they are not adders at all and belong to the Elapidae family. The name of the genus derives from the Ancient Greek akanthos/ἄκανθος ('spine') and ophis/ὄφις ('snake'), referring to the spine on the death adder's tail.
Keeled scales refer to reptile scales that, rather than being smooth, have a ridge down the center that may or may not extend to the tip of the scale, making them rough to the touch. According to Street's (1979) description of European lizards and snakes, in those that have keeled scales the keels are usually stronger in male specimens and are consistently arranged according to the species of reptiles, even though many others do not have them. With European lizards, the dorsal scales are usually well keeled, while those on the flanks are more weakly keeled and those on the belly smooth. Non-European lizards such as Sphaerodactylus macrolepis also display keeled scales.
Crotalus scutulatus is known commonly as the Mohave Rattlesnake. Other common English names include Mojave Rattlesnake and, referring specifically to the nominate (northern) subspecies: Northern Mohave Rattlesnake and Mojave Green Rattlesnake, the latter name commonly shortened to the more colloquial “Mojave green”. Campbell and Lamar (2004) supported the English name “Mohave (Mojave) rattlesnake” with some reluctance because so little of the snake’s range lies within the Mojave Desert.
Cerastes is a genus of small, venomous vipers found in the deserts and semi-deserts of northern North Africa eastward through Arabia and Iran. Three species are currently recognized by ITIS, and an additional recently described species is recognized by the Reptile Database. Common names for members the genus include horned vipers, North African desert vipers, and cerastes vipers.
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Aggressive mimicry is a form of mimicry in which predators, parasites, or parasitoids share similar signals, using a harmless model, allowing them to avoid being correctly identified by their prey or host. Zoologists have repeatedly compared this strategy to a wolf in sheep's clothing. In its broadest sense, aggressive mimicry could include various types of exploitation, as when an orchid exploits a male insect by mimicking a sexually receptive female, but will here be restricted to forms of exploitation involving feeding. For example, indigenous Australians who dress up as and imitate kangaroos when hunting would not be considered aggressive mimics, nor would a human angler, though they are undoubtedly practising self-decoration camouflage. Treated separately is molecular mimicry, which shares some similarity; for instance a virus may mimic the molecular properties of its host, allowing it access to its cells. An alternative term, Peckhamian mimicry, has been suggested, but it is seldom used.
Crotalus concolor, commonly known as the midget faded rattlesnake, faded rattlesnake, and yellow rattlesnake, is a pit viper species found in the western United States. It is a small rattlesnake known for its faded color pattern. Like all other pit vipers, it is venomous.
The spider-tailed horned viper is a species of viper, a venomous snake, in the family Viperidae and genus Pseudocerastes. The genus is commonly known as "false-horned vipers".
Tail vibration is a common behavior in some snakes where the tail is vibrated rapidly as a defensive response to a potential predator. Tail vibration is distinct from caudal luring, where the tail is twitched in order to attract prey. While rattlesnakes are perhaps the most famous group of snakes to exhibit tail vibration behavior, many other snake groups—particularly those in the Colubridae and Viperidae families—are known to vibrate their tails.
Lingual luring is a form of aggressive mimicry in which a predator uses its tongue to fool potential prey into approaching close to what appears to be a small wriggling worm.
In evolutionary biology, mimicry in vertebrates is mimicry by a vertebrate of some model, deceiving some other animal, the dupe. Mimicry differs from camouflage as it is meant to be seen, while animals use camouflage to remain hidden. Visual, olfactory, auditory, biochemical, and behavioral modalities of mimicry have been documented in vertebrates.
