Morphological Description of the Tongue of the Boa Constrictor

The biological diversity of the Amazon provides a wide variety of species, including a rich herpetofauna. Among the species of the region, Boa constrictor (Linnaeus 1758), belonging to the order Squamata and the suborder Ophidia, is popularly known as the boa and stands out for its widespread presence in the national territory. Its diet is generalist, consisting of rodents, mammals and birds. However, the feeding behavior of B. constrictor has not yet been fully elucidated. Therefore, few studies have been carried out to better understand the structures involved in the digestive process of snakes. Therefore, the objective was to describe the morphology of this organ to better understand digestion in this species, as well as to provide information that can contribute to the feeding management of these animals in captivity. Four specimens of Boa constrictor that died after being run over were used, originating from the Bauxite Mine - Paragominas - PA, in which macroscopic, microscopic and scanning electron microscopy analyses were performed. Comparing the tongues of snakes with those of carnivorous mammals, one can observe differences, mainly related to function. While in mammals the tongue is related to the capture and digestion of food, in Boa constrictor the tongue only captures molecules from the environment. There are several differences between the morphology of the tongue in the Reptilia class. However, the microscopic lingual characteristics of Boa constrictor , such as the absence of papillae, the presence of keratinization and lateral projections, resemble those of other snakes and lizards.