Why do rattlesnakes have forked tongues

If you listen to music holding only one side of your headphones to your ear , the whole orchestra sounds like it's crushed into one, tiny speaker. If you put your headphones on correctly, using both ears, the music becomes more three- dimensional.

Likewise, it's easier to judge the depth of a scene with both eyes open than with only one. The key herewith both ears and eyesis that your brain combines two different perspectives to make a more detailed, three-dimensional whole.

Because you have two separate eyes and two separate ears, you can see and hear in stereo. When a snake's tongue flicks out, the two tines of the fork spread as wide as they can. Here they evolved long, slender bodies and reduced limbs to negotiate the narrow nooks and crevices beneath the surface. Without light, their vision faded , but to take its place, an especially acute sense of smell evolved.

It was during this period that these proto-snakes evolved one of their most iconic traits — a long, flicking, forked tongue. Snake tongues are so peculiar they have fascinated naturalists for centuries. Scientists found that vomeronasal organs are, in fact, an offshoot of the nose, lined with similar sensory cells that send impulses to the same part of the brain as the nose , and discovered that tiny particles picked up by the tongue tips ended up inside the vomeronasal organ.

These breakthroughs led to the realization that snakes use their tongues to collect and transport molecules to their vomeronasal organs — not to taste them, but to smell them. Using a similar method, humans can often detect where a sound is coming from, thanks to the distance between our two ears.

Because snakes also have noses, we know that the vomeronasal sense is an additional sense, not a replacement for smelling, once again busting the myth that there are only five senses. Vomeronasal perception is thought to have evolved specifically for mating because it facilitates reproduction by detecting pheromones, but snakes also use it for detecting food and following their prey. Ammonia: Snakes dislike the odor of ammonia so one option is to spray it around any affected areas.

Another option is to soak a rug in ammonia and place it in an unsealed bag near any areas inhabited by snakes to deter them away. What smells do snakes dislike? You can use oils or sprays containing these fragrances or grow plants featuring these scents.

What repels snakes from your yard? If snakes seem to always find their way into your yard, keep them away with ammonia. Soak rags in ammonia and place them in unsealed plastic bags. A snake may be attracted to houses or yards if there is shelter and food that are unknowingly being provided by humans.

Taipans and brown snakes eat rodents and they are attracted to farm sheds or gardens where they can hunt mice or rats.

The python may eat chickens or other birds. Vinegar: Vinegar is effective at repelling snakes near bodies of water including swimming pools. Pour white vinegar around the perimeter of any body of water for a natural snake repellent.