Black Rat Snake vertebrae

Black rat snake vertebrae. These are about the size of a pinkie fingernail, but in this specimen some parts were still articulated, so I could get a sense of how the plates on either side slide over each other as the snake moves. I'm told that the more evolved and sophisticated a snake's hunting strategy is, the longer the projection on the bottom of the vertebrae is. The rattlesnake is very sophisticated and has a very long projection, and the black rat snake is very primitive and has no projection at all.