News Animals

Some snakes lack the ‘hunger hormone.’ Experts are hungry to know why

The gene for ghrelin is missing in serpents, yet present in other fasting reptiles

A black snake with bright yellow bands coils and opens its mouth wide against a green, blurred background.

Certain snakes, such as members of the Colubridae family (one shown), lack genes encoding the “hunger hormone” ghrelin and the enzyme that activates it.

kuritafsheen/RooM/Getty Images

By Andrea Lius

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