The New York Times: This tiny snake has a big mouth
UC biologist discovers surprising distinction for harmless little African snake
The New York Times highlighted a discovery by a University of Cincinnati biologist that a harmless little African snake can eat the biggest prey relative to its size of any known snake.
UC Professor Bruce Jayne has spent years studying the extreme limits of snake abilities in his lab in UC's College of Arts and Sciences. His work has revealed surprising ways that snakes move and the incredible ways they hunt and swallow prey without benefit of hands, paws or claws.
His latest discovery revealed that the champion eater among snakes appears to be a drab little nonvenomous species, Dasypeltis gansi, or the Gans' egg-eater. True to its name, the snake swallows eggs whole before cracking them with its spine and spitting out the broken shell.
The Gans' egg-eater swallows a quail egg far larger than its head. The snake has the largest mouth relative to its size of any known snake, according to a new study by UC biologist Bruce Jayne. Photo/Bruce Jayne
While Burmese pythons can consume deer and 100-pound alligators, these meals still don't measure up to those consumed by the little egg-eater relative to either its length or mass.
Jayne presented his findings in the Journal of Zoology.
“This particular group of snakes may be No. 1 when it comes to big mouths in the snake kingdom,” Jayne told the Times.
Associate Professor Bryan Maritz at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa was not part of the study but has been conducting similar research on snake abilities, particularly “how the hell does a tiny, tiny snake like this swallow a bird egg?”
Maritz told the Times that Jayne's study stands out because it upends traditional thinking when it comes to estimating the size of prey a snake can swallow.
“We’ve always just relied on proxies for snake gape,” Maritz told the Times. “We’ve said, ‘Well, gape is correlated broadly with head length, and so you can measure a snake’s head length and you can estimate its gape.’ And this study really shows that that’s not the case.”
Read the New York Times story.
Featured image at top: A quail egg is just a snack for a Gans' egg-eater in a UC biology lab. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
UC Professor Bruce Jayne holds a Gans' egg-eater in his biology lab. Jayne discovered that this unassuming little snake holds the distinction of having the biggest mouth for its size of any known snake. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
Related Stories
Tips to avoid headaches this holiday season
December 15, 2025
A University of Cincinnati migraine expert offered a list of potential headache triggers around the holidays, and how you can try to avoid them, to 91.7 WVXU News. "There are a number of different factors that make this a very headache provocative time," said Vincent Martin, MD, professor of clinical medicine at the University of Cincinnati's College of Medicine and director of the Headache and Facial Pain Center at the Gardner Neuroscience Institute.
Local couple uses royalties from children's books to give gifts to kids in need
December 15, 2025
A local couple has found a unique way to give back to those in need this holiday season. Vic and Laura Troha wrote two children's books together, and this year, they are using the proceeds to buy Christmas gifts for Hamilton County foster kids. The couple are both graduates of the University of Cincinnati's College of Allied Health Sciences and met the day they graduated.
The hottest toys this holiday season
December 15, 2025
Local 12 turned to Lindner College of Business associate professor-educator of marketing Roseann Hassey to explain what’s got the trendiest items flying off the shelves.