A comparative analysis of perception of the physical characteristics of body in snakes lampropeltis triangulum cambell and elaphe radiata

Perception of physical characteristics of the body is a major component of the body schema in animals. The experimental studies of the perception of body limits were conducted on two species of colubridae snakes: Lampropeltis triangulum campbelli and Elaphe radiata. The experimental setup provided that the animals take into account the enlarged limits of their bodies while finding way through the holes of different sizes. Both species demonstrated the ability to take into account both natural and enlarged limits of the body. However, only the Elaphe radiata were able to transfer previously formed skills to take into account the body limits to new experimental conditions thus demonstrating greater lability of the organization of mental representation of the body in comparison with Lampropeltis triangulum campbelli.