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Asked by to Thon, Catherine, James, Natalie, Shaylon on 20 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
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Catherine Offord answered on 20 Jun 2014:
It is indeed almost entirely blind. It has what we call ‘vestigial’ eyes, which means that it did once have eyes but they have become reduced over many generations because they aren’t used.
We see this in lots of animals that have evolved to live in the dark – for example in caves (lots of fish species) or soil (moles, naked mole rats). Their ancestors had eyes, but if they move to the dark permanently then the eyes are no use, and over many generations they become more and more reduced.
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Shaylon Stolk answered on 20 Jun 2014:
Blind snakes can’t see the same way other snakes do– they live underground, and don’t need eyes. So over time, they evolved not to develop eyes. However, they do have ‘eyespots’, which are bits of skin that can detect light. This lets them know if they have accidentally left their burrow, or help them find an exit to their burrow if it floods and they need to escape.
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James Bell answered on 20 Jun 2014:
As Shaylon and Catherine have said, yes the blind snake has lost proper eyes and at best can tell the difference between light and dark
Some snakes might not be blind but live in places where sight is no good. In Mexico, lots of snakes live in caves where it is totally dark and it is thought that they can use a kind of heat-vision (sensing infra-red light) to catch prey like bats
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Anthony Caravaggi answered on 23 Jun 2014:
Blind snakes are indeed blind, as everyone else says. As with other blind animals, blind snakes make up for their lack of sight when above-ground but using their other senses. For example, blind snakes will feed on ant larvae and young, which scientists have shown they find by being able to detect and follow pheromone trails. These are essentially smelly paths laid down by the ants which other ants follow to find food, or, on the way back, the nest.
Comments
animallmad commented on :
ues but it can see some movment so it could hut prey
Thon commented on :
An animal /could/ use simple light-sensitive eyes to hunt, but not at all effectively. To hunt, an animal needs to be able to tell the difference between prey and a leaf, for instance. The eyes of blind snakes are poorly developed indeed, as they do not rely on this sense other than to detect light, in the same way as many flatworms. If a blind snake tried to rely on its eyes to hunt, it would starve.