The Twisted Truth About Snake Tongues | Deep Look

To us, a snake's forked tongue evokes danger and deceit. But the tongue's two sensitive tips, called tines, actually help the snake smell in stereo. That's bad news if you're a mouse ...
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It’s the most infamous tongue in the world. But for snakes, that flicking tongue is the way they experience the world around them.
“In snakes, the tongue has been so reduced to this little skinny, highly protrusive organ,” says the University of Connecticut’s Kurt Schwenk, who studies the unique ways snakes and lizards use their tongues.
Like us, snakes have nostrils to breathe in air and sense odor. But snakes have a whole second system to help them track down prey, find mates and avoid predators. In a single second-long flick, a snake might wave its tongue up and down as many as 15 times to collect odor molecules.
As the snake retracts its tongue, it will often drag the forked tips on the ground. “Back inside the mouth, each of the tongue tips fits into a separate groove once it comes into the mouth,” says Schwenk. “Those two grooves go back separately to the opening of the vomeronasal organs.”
The two vomeronasal organs, which act like a second odor-collecting system, allow the snake to pick up tiny concentrations of scents. By having two vomeronasal organs, one each? on the right and left side, the snake can smell in stereo.
--- How do snakes move?
Snakes don’t have limbs, so they use their long, flexible bodies to crawl on surfaces. Undulating waves of muscular contractions create forward momentum, and scales on their bellies help snakes get traction on the ground to push forward.
--- Why do snakes shed their skin?
As snakes grow, their skin doesn’t stretch, so they periodically shed it. The process of shedding, called ecdysis, also allows snakes to replace worn or damaged scales and get rid of parasites on the skin’s surface.
--- Why do snakes hiss?
Snakes hiss as a warning to predators and other threats. To make the hiss sound, a snake will force air through its glottis, an organ it uses to breathe.
---+ Find additional resources and a transcript on KQED Science:
www.kqed.org/science/1982590/why-do-snakes-have-forked-tongues
---+ For more information:
Kurt Schwenk at the University of Connecticut studies how snakes and lizards use their tongues to feed and sense the world around them.
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[@BrokenNoah]

I mean they would look kinda silly if they have spoon tongues instead

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Or spork tongues.

[@Username-le4eq]

Or knife tongues

[@cyrilio]

Dogs have a spoon tongue. Just look at how they scoop up water from a bowl.

[@alveolate]

as an asian, CHOPSTICK TONGUES

[@maggienelson4437]

@@KQEDDeepLook I can't even BEGIN to picture that!

[@frogglen6350]

that snake looks adorable ngl

[@JodiLeaSnakeQueen]

Pretty sure it's a gopher. Harmless and very cute but sassy usually

[@Zarjio]

Gopher Snake - it's noted at the beginning of the video. Same genus as the bull snake - pituophis

[@thankyouforthevenom7705]

the best 4 minutes 31 second of 'mlelelep' snek vids i've see 🐍🐍

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Aha - that is how you spell it!

[@SogeMoge]

It's fascinating, never heard before about snakes actually touching the ground and objects with their tongues. I'd call it a "Stereo sniffer"

[@ball7781]

???!??!??

[@dimach6969]

How is it 3 days ago when the video just uploaded?🤭

[@KartikChauhan__KC]

​@@dimach6969 Patreon member

[@dimach6969]

@@KartikChauhan__KC ahhhh

[@SogeMoge]

@@dimach6969 I had to support this awesome channel

[@ComplexityComplex]

They use their tongues to pick up the spice melange in the air, which helps them to safely navigate between the stars.

[@KQEDDeepLook]

I see what you did there.

[@LuisSierra42]

Shai hulud

[@alveolate]

wait is this a dune reference?

[@Marin3r101]

​​@@alveolate no its star wars. It was an observation made by Captian Jean Luc Picard iirc.

[@tungsten2009]

@@Marin3r101 you have dissed everyone

[@reionj8816]

Sad that alot of people think they are all venemous and dangerous. I actually learned alot from that video, real in depth. Well put together. 🙌🙌🙌💯😁

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Thanks! We appreciate the feedback. :-)

[@theperfectbotsteve4916]

they are good creatures I have many friend snakes

[@ProjectPhysX]

The tiny gradient in molecule concentration they have to differentiate left and right is mind-blowing.

[@user-ep2sm3jm1o]

So fascinating! I've always wished I could turn into different animals (including snakes), so I could experience and compare the differences in how each one processes sensory information. Imagine viewing the world from the perspectives of a snake, dragonfly, or a mantis shrimp...

[@onkelpappkov2666]

I've always wanted to see the world from a dog's perspective: sight, smell and thought.

[@GlassesCoolGuy]

*Boop the snoot*

[@adpirtle]

This is the kind of quality content I subscribed for! Fascinating!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Thank you, David - we love making these videos.

[@palak22]

I used to wonder why the gecko in my house is always licking the wall. Cool stuff

[@Scavenger82]

Whoever does Foley/sound design for these videos needs a freaking raise!

[@Valryas]

Does snake move the muscle on their tounge on command or does it act more like our lungs/eyelids that are "automatic"?

[@samarkand1585]

How would we know?

[@JodiLeaSnakeQueen]

Like our lungs and eyelids (so I've been told and from owning snakes) they almost do it unconsciously but definitely can control it and move it more when curious/hungry/etc

[@Turtleback8024]

​@@samarkand1585 The same way we now know about the tongue smarty pants.

[@shiruvuiaanimak1485]

It's like blinking. Normally, it happens to you automatically, but you can also blink on command. That's how snakes do it with their tongues.

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

Snakes are so interesting! It would be great if people didn't demonize them. Knowledge is power.

[@Mel97006]

This channel is fascinating, educational and entertaining. Thank you Deep Look for this amazing videos ❤

[@FriendlyKat]

Now I know a bit about snakes but even then, you can always learn more and this video proves that! I had no idea they were stereo sniffers and how intense their smelling system worked! Thanks, Deep Look for being an awesome, in detail, channel!! I love all the videos!

[@balloonga4541]

Informative as always!

[@thespacecowboy71]

I didn't know how snakes actually recieved all that information just using their tongues until now. Fascinating!

[@foxy-dw8fi]

Amazing episode as always, deep look never disappoints ❤

[@losingmyfavoritegame8752]

The music is so fitting! I love the fact that every soundtrack is unique to the video!

[@adelaidedupont9017]

Loved learning about the sensory receptors/centres of snakes!

[@NewMessage]

This channel's got legs, I tells ya! Even if today's subject doesn't.

[@akhirmajiet]

Thanks for the information Deep Look😁

[@KQEDDeepLook]

You are welcome, akhir!

[@wolfpuppers]

now I wanna have a deep look into how snakes move in the first place??

[@UniDocs_Mahapushpa_Cyavana]

Their scales are a part of their tricks, so they could get 1 close up.

[@nyuh]

the sssnek epissssode isss finally here !!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

🐍 Don't miss our rattlesnake episode, also a fun one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kICXenSQrsiIn80

[@nyuh]

@@KQEDDeepLook yeesssssssss :D

[@zaphenath6756]

wow, what an excellent video! that bit about the tongue fitting into the channels in the mouth and the little extra nostril holes in there for the saliva to go into is amazing! never knew that was how it worked

[@Jimmy_Johns]

Amazing!

[@palakgupta2736]

Informative Video

[@AlfredoRivera-xq6zd]

Very enlightening

[@mrp8231]

Since i was a child i always loved snakes. Very interesting and ancient species of reptiles🔥🔥💯

[@kalaibharathi1763]

Deep knowledge from deep look❤

[@valuchinn]

Quality content as always! love your channel!

[@David-ky3lr]

Hi Valerie I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this compliment. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….🌹🌹

[@aquasight1019]

Deep Look is so cool! I always learn something as I marvel at the wonderful camerawork. Thanks, Deep Look! 👍

[@KQEDDeepLook]

You are so welcome. :-)

[@icecuberevenge6929]

Wow this was like a movie about the snake chasing the mice. Really great episode

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Thank you!

[@anonymustly7818]

Thanks for not cheating us out of that exciting hunt's conclusion.

[@i_am_a_freespirit]

Wow, I just learned something new...thank you for this Video.

[@KQEDDeepLook]

You are most welcome.

[@kimbratton9620]

That was really interesting thanks Deep Look!!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

You are welcome, Kim!

[@JeromeBanaay]

When deep look uploaded and got notification I always stop what im doing just to watch it hehe

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Thanks Jerome.

[@tbc27Z]

Good video. 👍👍

[@marquendra]

I love snakes!!! I raise the world’s largest species to understand their intelligence, ability to bond, and show off their various personalities to show that they’re not just instincts and hunger! I love you guys for such positive videos on them and other beings you’ve helped me to understand and learn to love! 🥹🙌🏾😍🩵

[@skybluskyblueify]

So if there was a snake-Sherlock Holmes it'd be carrying two magnifying glasses, one on each tine? That'd be a cute cartoon.

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Sure!

[@ecgwild]

Good information

[@Aasifkhan-np3qm]

Thank you Laura for narrating, I missed your voice.

[@losingmyfavoritegame8752]

This was such a cool video, I am going to share this with my family! Oddly, I actually did not find snakes interesting before learning the facts in this video.🤷‍♂️ 😀 🐍

[@immaterial_vivi]

Aww, that snek is soo cute 💕

[@vivianwilson1271]

THIS PRESENTATION IS A MASTERFUL COMBINATION OF SCIENCE , ART AND PURE PLEASURE!!!V.W.

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Thank you Vivian!!

[@laurv8370]

except for the mouse :p

[@snapslingpeavine1371]

Have you considered releasing the soundtrack for your videos? Seth Samuel does an amazing job, and I’d like to listen to these in my free time!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Fun suggestion! We have talked about it, maybe in the future.

[@DavidCruickshank]

I hope the mouse actor and the mouse meal were different mice so it had a more humane 'unalive'. Kinda fudged up to give the mouse no chance at escape otherwise.

[@Psychopatz]

So in short it's similar to our ears in a way, so that we can determine the source. Super interesting as usual Deep look!

[@fullyvictorious]

Good one

[@bari2883]

From the X-ray / scan 2:10 on the roof of the mouth did I see remnants of teeth ? Maybe before they gained fangs. Evolution many moons ago? Anybody?

[@kekolek4808]

All snakes have teeth, even the fanged ones. They’re backwards facing and usually small and hard to see, as they’re used for gripping, not chewing. Also non venomous snakes, like the one featured in this video, don’t have fangs!

[@WanderTheNomad]

2:00

[@cptrikester2671]

It evolved that way, so that Deep Look could do a video in 2023.

[@mackiemalinzak3950]

I thought that was a bullsnake but then remembered that they’re a type of gopher snake

[@acoldhand]

I love deep look and snakes are my favourite animals and I'm very happy rn.

[@catpoke9557]

1:09 The camera is so good you can actually see the snake's teeth, which you usually can't with snakes

[@ALAPINO]

I was eager to share this video with my snake babies... they were indifferent.

[@elijaheagle6550]

Hey deep look can you do a vid about garden spiders plz.

[@milostenji9793]

Nice!

[@footfault1941]

A surprising revelation as usual. Swallow-tailed tongue tip is well explained. That's said, a life of snake, as well as of some lizards with a similar structure, looks unnecessarily complicated. Why not more directly are the smell sense organs involv 0:04 ed? Through external nares or opening a mouth to inhale particles, for instance. Look like an overlapped structure/function. Air current, slight breeze, could confuse the predator ... There should be several restrictions, as well as ingeneous solutions. Barely opening the mouth the tongue comes out. That's what they do. Curious. The tongue movement reproduced in (D) PIV is excellent. A nice application, as it's used in the wind tunnel for studying wakes of bird/bats flight.

[@zabijavak2329]

where can i find the music used in this video its actually pretty good

[@halbronco7690]

Ah this is a much better title, now I will watch your video lol

[@RainebowEvee]

LOL I've watched so many Snake Discovery videos that the moment I saw the thumbnail I immediately knew it was a bullsnake!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Correct!

[@omegadragons321]

so danger noodles and nope ropes have sniffy sniffers that are actually its blep?

[@Tulder]

Although i dont like snakes very much, this was fascinating. It is a good short length. I think The Narrator could perhaps consider turning "it" down a quarter of a notch.

[@maggienelson4437]

Gotta love it! Tines! Like on a fork! Forked tongue! Of course! :D

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Makes sense! Thanks Maggie.

[@marxiewasalittlegirl]

Now it makes sense why they take it in and out of their mouths instead of just keeping it out

[@dobidobidobidobido7717]

How did you film this. Did you put the mouse intentionally?

[@Keanu252]

Is the mouse ok

[@sucypleasemarryme5247]

Paid Actor

[@devondelgado5911]

He's resting

[@Zaxares]

He's in no more pain, don't worry.

[@erichluepke855]

Binocular smelling!? It's like the smell-o-scope from Futurama!

[@USA_27]

Keep Learning to Grow with Deep Look

[@infuriatedscrunchie9552]

I never knew this wow

[@Sentarry]

You can sssmell the food that you can almossst tassste it! 🐍

[@CarniFlex1]

Everyone talking about snake's tongue but anyone noticed angry in snake's eyes?

[@sammywoof7760]

itsssss ssssssoo fassssssinatinggg

[@LukeMcGuireoides]

PBS is the best

[@Abdulrahman_199]

finally a video from deep look channel 😧 i miss this channel 🤍🤍

[@AlexMcGuire-sx1xy]

i would love more videos about our slithery boys

[@Legendary_67]

I'm kinda late for a comment but, if you think about it, this process of tongue flicking is like a computer, collecting information the more you look around the Internet, of course instead of the Internet it's the environment surrounding it.

[@Zahri8Alang]

Snekk. You know on ebof the things that really miffed me about Pokemon? Despite them making 2 tongue-centric Pokemon, byt they never made any special tongue-base moves for them. Like Lick has been since Gen 1, but it's a Ghost-type move

[@Sebbe1993]

Up close I just see a weird snail coming out of the mouth

[@NoTimef_r]

The shadows casted by that particular snake with its tongue also looks like a snail?

[@Brydav_Massbear]

Wait. If snakes don't taste with their tongues, then what do they taste with?

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Their vomeronasal organs.

[@Brydav_Massbear]

What's a vomeronasal?

[@TTTCubed712]

@@Brydav_Massbear They mentioned it in the video. So I think when the snake is swallowing the mouse, that saliva gets send to those organs (vomeronasal) and gets interpreted as taste. Also, that is basically how taste buds work anyway. We taste with our brains, not our tongues. The tongue has olfactory receptors that send information to the brain, where taste is determined. The snake just decided to kill two birds with one stone is all.

[@WowUrFcknHxC]

They're so cute

[@Justgoodvids]

Going to spray my computer mouse with febreeze now

[@stevens9625]

Don't we (and most animals) also smell in stereo too with our brain judging the direction from our two nostrils?

[@catbatrat1760]

1:25 Snakes can't taste?!? That's so sad! 😥

[@TheSubzeroRonnieLiminalys]

Can you do. “Does the backroom is real or fake?”

[@koby_in_renaissance]

THATS FUCKINH AMAZING

[@sammyalbion]

Amazinf

[@chrisb9365]

What about sea snakes?

[@GandalfTheTsaagan]

I didn't notice that lizards had a pad on their tongue to taste the ground!

[@t-rexstudioproductions781]

Forked tongues are also seen in some lizard species Snakes evolved from a Lizardlike ancestors

[@UniDocs_Mahapushpa_Cyavana]

Well, actual lizards 🦎 cladistically.

[@t-rexstudioproductions781]

@@UniDocs_Mahapushpa_Cyavana i mean Lizards and Snakes share a common ancestor

[@magdaciechocka3076]

​@@t-rexstudioproductions781 more specifically snakes are closely related to Monitor Lizards specifically

[@neal3489]

Surround 7.1 smelling tongue so cute

[@katherinerichardson2273]

Monitor lizards do this too

[@sumkindacheeto]

In that case couldn't you confuse a snake with leaving strong spices and such around the floor?

[@dadams2781]

Why did the snake seem to "cry" brown fluid when it bit the mouse?

[@sarastark7112]

Snek

[@da2935]

Hi!!

[@KonradvonHotzendorf]

Love snakes 🐍

[@nidiagabrielashalabi-fierr829]

I didn’t know that the snake 🐍 could do that with its tounge