Snakes are seemingly simple in structure, a head attached to a long unremarkable noodle. They do have some pretty cool features at the front end, with venomous fangs and the capability to stretch their mouths and swallow large prey whole, but their bodies are not just the simple tubes we once thought.

My new research, published today in the Journal of Morphology, reveals their body structure to be surprisingly complex – far more than we once thought. In fact, it shows snakes have among the most complex spines in reptiles.

Let’s talk about vertebrae

Let’s first talk about vertebral columns. Within our own spines, we have three main regions.

First is the cervical region, or neck, which supports our heads and gives us mobility to look around. Next is the thoracic region, with ribbed vertebrae to protect our internal organs. Finally, we have the lumbar region in the lower........

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