Dancing Cobras in Asia

In the past it was a common belief that snakes couldn't hear much, if anything, since they have no external ears and don't seem to respond much to noises. However, some scientific research refutes this common misconception.

While snakes do not have external ears or eardrum, they do have inner ear structures. A bone called the quadrate bone (in the jaw) moves slightly in response to vibrations. It has been shown to respond to airborne vibrations as well as ground vibrations. As with other animal ears, this movement is transferred (via bones) to the inner ear, from which signals are sent to the brain and are interpreted as sound. How much snakes can hear or how they process and interpret this information remains largely a mystery. However, some researchers determined that snakes are able to detect low frequency airborne vibrations through their inner ears. Snakes also respond to airborne vibrations via the lungs, and to ground vibrations via receptors associated with their belly muscles. so snakes r not completely deaf. ~

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