Color Of Snake Tongues
Close relatives: a red tongue with a black tip is found in virtually all garter snake species. This includes the giant garter snake of California, terrestrial garter snake of high altitudes, and eastern ribbon snake of Pennsylvania. Snakes' tongues come in different colors, such as cream, blue, red, and even black! Even more astonishingly, snakes' tongues can sometimes have more than one color.
Some snakes even have tongues with two colors! For instance, a garter snake has a red tongue except at the tip, where it is black. Sadly, like me, not too many scientists have wondered about the colors of snake tongues and this issue has not been extensively studied. Be assured, from now on I will examine the tongues of every snake I meet.
Garter snake with red tongue Stock Photo - Alamy
Various snake species have different colored tongues. Some species have dark colored tongues, while others are bright red, blue or cream. In some species -- garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis ssp.) provide an excellent example -- the tongue is often red at the base, while the tips are black.
Individual variation exists in some species as well, with different specimens exhibiting differently. Snake tongue color. Image via Unsplash The color of a snake's tongue can be a direct reflection of its physical health.
Color Snake Tongue - castingdopca
In many cases, a healthy snake will have a brightly colored or consistent-toned tongue. Any variation from its usual color, such as unusual redness, paleness, or discoloration, could signal health issues. These changes might indicate stress, infection, or nutritional.
Where this may apply to snakes' tongues is that snakes have of course evolved with many selection forces, and some of them had to have been behavioral (and therefore neurological). Why else would arboreal snake species tend to have such different temperaments than more terrestrial ground-dwelling snake species? A while back, a friend of mine asked me about snakes and the colors of their tongues. Why are some snakes' tongues pink, some red, some black, some black and red (or red and black), and some an iridescent blue or purple, she wondered? What color should my snakes tongue be? Various snake species have different colored tongues.
How Snakes' Tongues Work: From Smelling to Predator-Prey Interactions
Some species have dark colored tongues, while others are bright red, blue or cream. In some species -- garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis ssp.) provide an excellent example -- the tongue is often red at the base, while the tips are black. What color is a poisonous snakes tongue? Various snake species have different colored tongues.
Some species have dark colored tongues, while others are bright red, blue or cream. The tongue is used to sense what is around it. According to herpetologists, the tongue collects chemicals from the environment and delivers them to organs in the mouth that are able to give a directional perspective on the chemical traces.
So it is observing the world around it when flicking the forked tongue.
