This whole process takes mere milliseconds and once the direction is set, it can’t be reversed. That triggers the C-start and sends the fish in the opposite direction. Disturbances in the water excite the nearest of this pair, which in turn excites a large network of motor neurons on one side of the fish’s body and blocks the equivalent network on the other side. Its C-start is driven by two giant nerve cells called Mauthner neurons. Sometimes, the fish swim directly into the snake’s mouth.įor the fish, there is no turning back. The snake anticipates this and executes a predictive strike, aimed at the position where the fish will end up. As the fish approaches, it ripples its body towards it, sending the hapless prey darting in the opposite direction, straight towards the snake’s angled head. But the snake has a way of tipping the odds in its favour – it feints. So the battle between the tentacled snake and its prey is a contest between two extremely fast movements – the strike versus the C-start. When it strikes, it does so explosively, covering the distance to its prey in 15-20 milliseconds. Thus contorted, it waits motionlessly for a fish to swim past. It relies on ambush, anchoring its tail and twisted the front of its body into a distinctive J-shape. The snake is a master fisherman and it hunts in the waterways of South-East Asia. The tentacled snake ( Erpeton tentaculatum) is a bizarre species, easily recognised by the pair of short “tentacles” on the front of its head. ![]() But one predator has a way of turning the fish’s defence against it, persuading the fish to swim towards danger. Their body contorts into a C-shape and with a flick of the tail, they rapidly zoom away from the potential threat. When they sense sudden disturbances in the water around them, they respond within five thousandths of a second with a defensive reflex called the C-start. ![]() Underwater, fish make very difficult prey.
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