Boa Constrictor Feeding Mechanisms

In Costa Rica, National Geographic Explorer Susan Perry captures a boa constrictor's encounter with an iguana. The boa uses its powerful muscles to constrict the iguana, demonstrating its strength. Unlike other predators, snakes swallow prey whole, using adaptations like the quadrate bone and inner teeth. These features allow the snake to consume large prey, but challenges arise when the prey is too big, stretching the snake's scales to the limit.

What does the boa constrictor rely on to capture its prey?

• Sharp claws

• Poisonous bite

• Speed

• Brute force

How much pressure can the largest constrictors exert?

• 1,000 lbs

• 9,000 lbs

• 5,000 lbs

• 12,000 lbs

What is unique about how snakes consume their prey?

• They chew their food

• They use their claws

• They dissolve it with saliva

• They swallow it whole

What bone allows the boa to open its jaw wide?

• Mandible

• Quadrate

• Maxilla

• Zygomatic

How wide could a human mouth open if it were like a snake's?

• 150°

• 180°

• 120°

• 90°

What feature allows the boa's mouth to stretch wider than its skull?

• Elastic skin

• Expandable throat

• Flexible tongue

• Separate lower jaw parts

What do the boa's inner teeth do during swallowing?

• Chew the prey

• Hold the prey in place

• Rock the skull back and forth

• Cut the prey into pieces

What happens to the boa's scales when it consumes a large meal?

• They become more colorful

• They fall off

• They stretch to the limit

• They harden

What injury does the boa sustain while eating the iguana?

• Damaged tail

• Lost teeth

• Torn scales near the mouth

• Broken jaw

How does Susan Perry view the encounter with the boa and iguana?

• As a dangerous situation

• As a rare event

• As an ordinary day in the field

• As a scientific breakthrough