The maxilla and mandible of T. aculeatus is fused into a beak-like mouth. It isn’t actually a beak, however, as it is made of specialised jaw bones and muscle, rather keratin coated bone (like a bird beak). They use their long tongue and long mouth to snuffle in soil for ants and termites (they are insectivores), and then use their tongue to grind up their food against a bony hard plate on the maxilla, along with a slight back and forth motion of their jaws, as opposed to the up and down motion humans do when we chew.
Their backwards facing hind feet (pointed towards the posterior of the animal/ pointed caudally) means that when they dig out their food or dig out burrows, the dirt is kicked back and away. Combined with the females backward- opening pouches (the opening of the pouch is also pointed towards the posterior) this means that dirt and soil and bugs won’t be kicked into their pouch and onto their puggle.
They also produce milk (one of the reasons they are in the Mammalia Class) via mammary glands, but they don’t have nipples in their pouches; the milk seeps through the skin a bit akin to sweat
It is!! I also studied the skeletal systems of the Eastern Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus) and the Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus), it is all extremely riveting! And it took me down a few different rabbit holes haha
The maxilla and mandible of T. aculeatus is fused into a beak-like mouth. It isn’t actually a beak, however, as it is made of specialised jaw bones and muscle, rather keratin coated bone (like a bird beak). They use their long tongue and long mouth to snuffle in soil for ants and termites (they are insectivores), and then use their tongue to grind up their food against a bony hard plate on the maxilla, along with a slight back and forth motion of their jaws, as opposed to the up and down motion humans do when we chew.
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Their backwards facing hind feet (pointed towards the posterior of the animal/ pointed caudally) means that when they dig out their food or dig out burrows, the dirt is kicked back and away. Combined with the females backward- opening pouches (the opening of the pouch is also pointed towards the posterior) this means that dirt and soil and bugs won’t be kicked into their pouch and onto their puggle.
They also produce milk (one of the reasons they are in the Mammalia Class) via mammary glands, but they don’t have nipples in their pouches; the milk seeps through the skin a bit akin to sweat
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This sounds like a fun assignment!
It is!! I also studied the skeletal systems of the Eastern Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus) and the Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus), it is all extremely riveting! And it took me down a few different rabbit holes haha
That sounds like a fun rabbit hole. Or should I say snake / budgie hole
I like the word puggle