What’s In A Piss

[YungRasputin]

found this interesting article - idk where to post this but:

“Uricotelic species, such as squamate reptiles, birds and insects, effectively eliminate nitrogen as uric acid in a solid form commonly called urates. Observations made over a decade suggested that the voided urates produced by colubroids (modern snake species) exhibit remarkable differences from those of boids and pythons (ancient snake species). Here, we compare the urates generated by eight captive snake species fed the same diet. Although all fresh urates were wet at the time of excretion, those produced by modern snakes dried to a powdery solid, whereas those of ancient species dried to a rock-hard mass that was tightly adherent to surfaces. Powder X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy analyses performed on voided urates produced by five modern and three ancient snakes confirmed their underlying chemical and structural differences. Urates excreted by ancient snakes were amorphous uric acid, whereas urates from modern snakes consisted primarily of ammonium acid urate, with some uric acid dihydrate. These compositional differences indicate that snakes have more than one mechanism to manage nitrogenous waste. Why different species use different nitrogen-handling pathways is not yet known, but the answer might be related to key differences in metabolism, physiology or, in the case of ancient snakes, the potential use of urates in social communication.”

https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/.../3/910/6261016

[YungRasputin]

also think it’s interesting to conceptualize colubridae as “modern snakes” comparative to “ancient snake” groups like Boidae + Pythonidae - never heard of this before?

[Malum Argenteum]

also think it’s interesting to conceptualize colubridae as “modern snakes” comparative to “ancient snake” groups like Boidae + Pythonidae - never heard of this before?

That's a very commonly made categorization. The boids and pythons have a lot of features that remain from snakes' common ancestral traits (spurs and pelvic girdles, paired lungs), while colubrids and elapids have many more derived traits (i.e. traits that have been modified from those "primitive" traits through selective pressure).

[Bogertophis]

also think it’s interesting to conceptualize colubridae as “modern snakes” comparative to “ancient snake” groups like Boidae + Pythonidae - never heard of this before?

I agree, & I have heard this before too. I think venom is also considered "modern"-

[Bogertophis]

found this interesting article - idk where to post this but:

“Uricotelic species, such as squamate reptiles, birds and insects, effectively eliminate nitrogen as uric acid in a solid form commonly called urates. Observations made over a decade suggested that the voided urates produced by colubroids (modern snake species) exhibit remarkable differences from those of boids and pythons (ancient snake species). Here, we compare the urates generated by eight captive snake species fed the same diet. Although all fresh urates were wet at the time of excretion, those produced by modern snakes dried to a powdery solid, whereas those of ancient species dried to a rock-hard mass that was tightly adherent to surfaces. Powder X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy analyses performed on voided urates produced by five modern and three ancient snakes confirmed their underlying chemical and structural differences. Urates excreted by ancient snakes were amorphous uric acid, whereas urates from modern snakes consisted primarily of ammonium acid urate, with some uric acid dihydrate. These compositional differences indicate that snakes have more than one mechanism to manage nitrogenous waste. Why different species use different nitrogen-handling pathways is not yet known, but the answer might be related to key differences in metabolism, physiology or, in the case of ancient snakes, the potential use of urates in social communication.”

https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/.../3/910/6261016

That's very interesting. I've noticed but never gave much thought before as to why some snakes have urates that are more like rocks & others have chalkier excrement. You'd think after all these years of picking up snake piles, I'd have thought more about it, but I assumed it was more of an individual difference- not a difference among categories of snakes. Just shows you we all take some things for granted & there's always more to learn.

I've always been the MOST impressed by the way rattlesnakes I kept managed to swallow so many shed fangs* that passed right on thru with their meals -apparently doing no internal harm- & showed up again in their stool. But I think all snakes have amazing adaptations to survival, especially considering all the things they don't have. (*For anyone that doesn't know, rattlesnakes routinely replace their fangs- & as they near replacement time, they often fall out when the snake bites & swallows their prey.)