Snakes aren’t simple tubes. Their bodies have five regions – including a short neck

When you picture a snake, you probably imagine a simple tube with a head – but new research challenges that view. According to The Conversation, a study published in the Journal of Morphology reveals snakes have five distinct body regions, not four as scientists previously believed. Researchers examined three Australian snake species and measured every vertebra to understand how the spine changes along the body. They found that snake necks are shorter than we'd thought – about five percent of their body length, roughly seven to twelve vertebrae, compared to earlier estimates of up to fifteen percent. As snakes evolved to elongate their bodies over millions of years, their necks stayed relatively short, retaining a form more similar to their lizard ancestors.

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