Presenter: Emily Plant
Authors: Emily Plant, Helen Plylar
Faculty Advisor: Alan Savitzky
Institution: Utah State University
Most snakes in the family Pythonidae possess specialized sensory structures in their supra- and infralabial scales called pit organs. These pit organs allow pythons to detect and respond to environmental infrared radiation (IR), alerting the snakes to thermal stimuli and allowing them to gain a better understanding of their surroundings, such as the presence of predators and prey and the selection of warmer areas of their habitat. The behavioral response to IR stimuli has been well studied in many species of pitvipers, but studies of pythonids have been largely limited to the genusPython(e.g.,P. regius,P. molurus,P. bivittattus). Behavioral responses to thermal cues inAntaresia childreni, a terrestrial Australian pythonid, have received no attention, despite the presence of well-developed pit organs. I propose to study the response ofA. childrenito thermal stimuli at regular intervals from juvenile stages through early adulthood. I hypothesize that the behavioral response ofA. childrenito infrared radiation will be similar to that observed in other pythonid species and that this response will vary during ontogeny as their pit organs continue to develop and mature.