What is the difference between a dragon and a snake?In addition to dancing its teeth and claws, dragons have horns.
In the real world, some lizard and snake species, which seem to be eager to "turn into dragons", also have horns.
The heads of many animals "show off" a striking appendage - horns.
These species range from weevils to rhinos, anglerfish to narwhals.
The function of these prominent head structures has attracted many scientists and enthusiasts, among them, such as beetles and ungulates have been well understood.
Among scaly reptiles, some lizards and snakes also have crowns, spines, or other protrusions on their heads, which we also call "horns".
What is the function of the snake horn?
In addition to some specialized functions, these spectacular appendages may play a role in foraging, enhancing camouflage (by disrupting head contours), protection, and intraspecific interactions including fighting and courtship.
Phylogenetic associations between horns and species morphology, ecology, and habitat have been used to infer adaptive dominance of horns.
For example, the Sahara horn viper (cerastes cerastes) is an ambush predator in the desert, usually burying itself in the sand near rocks or under vegetation to attack small rodents, birds, and various lizards that pass by, and the horn acts like a small branch to provide camouflage.
The Madagascar leafnose snake (Langaha madagascariensis), a medium-sized, highly secretive arboreal species, spends most of their time (90%) motionless – the same sit-and-wait predator, with horns protruding from its head apparently camouflage.
Moloch horridus, introduced by the cat in a previous article "Thorny Lizard, 21 cm "Dry" Sea Desert Dragon King": their spiked arrays and horns not only play a role in deterrence, camouflage, etc., but also have a specialized function - can help lizards collect dew condensation at night.
There are many more interesting examples, so can we see the evolution mechanism of horns and horns from them?
It's an interesting way to think about what the cost of getting the same ability will cost you.
Cats and their friends often play games like this in the drinking game, for example, to gain the ability to make anyone fall in love with you unconditionally - at the cost. Eternal impotentity.
Back to the point, there are clear examples in real biological evolution, such as:"Stacked nail flow", reptilian"Body armor"Protection is provided, but movement and flexibility are limited, so it is most noticeable in sedentary heavy species.
From a biological point of view, morphological traits bring both benefits and costs, and the evolution of any trait is driven by the balance between the two ends of the equation.
So"Dragon's Horn"What about it?
Many scaly species can be classified as either sitting still waiting for foragers or actively foraging for food.
Researchers published a Nov. 22 study in Biology Letters that looked at 1,939 scaly species, of which 53 percent were active foragers and 47 percent were sit-in foragers.
9% of all species have horns and 91% have no horns.
And the vast majority of horned ones sit still and wait for foragers (94%) – an outcome that is unlikely to be accidental.
In general, camouflage works best when the animal is not moving, so the cost of the head horn may include hindering movement and making the individual more visible when moving.
If the odd protrusions weren't the price of sitting back and waiting for a predator, they could have been passively in the population for a long time.
During evolution, these protrusions may be selected to form horns, thereby improving the adaptability of the organism by enhancing camouflage, defense, or mate selection.
When it comes to the evolution of a trait, it is important to consider the costs and benefits, and there are trade-offs that may depend on the unique lifestyle of the organism.
In short, in the case of scaly reptiles, in the vast majority of cases, among the predators who sit and wait, the horns are selected in evolution.
However, we can't assume that the dragon horns are also because they need to be disguised, after all, in mythical species and overhead worlds, no matter how they are compiled, handsomeness comes first.
Back to reality, some of the most interesting cases of head horns involve active foragers, rather than predators who sit and wait: that is, exceptions to the general rule.
If head horns are a disadvantage for fast-moving animals (making them more conspicuous), then why do some active foragers have head horns?
The answer may lie in the characteristics of the horns or movement patterns of the species involved.
For example, male sea snakes (emydocephalus annulatus) develop pronounced beak spines only during mating season and use them to stimulate females during courtship. In this case, the small (and temporary) horns have little to no negative effect, especially considering that in the shallow water habitat where the species is located, there are few natural predators.
You see, the effect of the dragon's horns adds another strange possibility - tickling the groin of the female dragon.
The author thanks for your interest (-
List of high-quality authors