Jenna Crowe-Riddell

University of Adelaide · Ecology and Evolution

The clitoris is a part of the genitalia of female amniotes that typically functions to stimulate sensory arousal. It usually consists of a small organ that is dimorphic and homologous to the penis. The developing amniote embryo forms a genital tubule, then sex hormones initiate a developmental cascade to form either a penis or clitoris. In squamate...

Understanding the roles of ecological and sexual selection in the variation of sensory systems may elucidate aspects of the natural history of organisms. Little is known about the evolution of mechanoreception in snakes and how the function and structure of mechanoreceptors vary between species or sexes. Here, we describe the internal and external...

Evolutionary transitions from terrestrial to aquatic habitats involve major selective shifts in animal signalling systems. Entirely marine snakes face two challenges during underwater social interactions: (1) finding mates when pheromones are diffused by water currents; and, once a mate is located, (2) maintaining contact and co-ordinating mating w...

Diffusible iodine‐based contrast‐enhanced computed tomography (diceCT) visualizes soft tissue from micro‐CT (µCT) scans of specimens to uncover internal features and natural history information without incurring physical damage via dissection. Unlike hard‐tissue imaging, taxonomic sampling within diceCT datasets is currently limited. To initiate be...

Many ambush-foraging snakes move their tails to entice prey within striking range (‘caudal luring’). During ontogeny, the conspicuous hues of caudal lures change to match the cryptic patterning of the body/head. This coincides with decreased luring behaviour and reflects the trade-off between prey acquisition and camouflage as the snake grows. Aust...

Diffusible iodine-based contrast-enhanced Computed-Tomography (diceCT) visualizes soft-tissue from microCT (µCT) scans of specimens to uncover internal features and natural history information without incurring physical damage via dissection. Unlike hard-tissue imaging, diceCT datasets are currently limited to a few individual specimens and taxonom...

The evolution of epidermal scales was a major innovation in lepidosaurs, providing a barrier to dehydration and physical stress, while functioning as a sensitive interface for detecting mechanical stimuli in the environment. In snakes, mechanoreception involves tiny scale organs (sensilla) that are concentrated on the surface of the head. The fully...

Viviparous sea snakes (Elapidae: Hydrophiinae) are fully marine reptiles distributed in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Their known maximum diving depth ranges between 50 and 100 m and this is thought to limit their ecological ranges to shallow habitats. We report two observations, from industry‐owned remotely...

Dermal phototaxis has been reported in a few aquatic vertebrate lineages spanning fish, amphibians and reptiles. These taxa respond to light on the skin of their elongate hind‐bodies and tails by withdrawing under cover to avoid detection by predators. Here, we investigated tail phototaxis in sea snakes (Hydrophiinae), the only reptiles reported to...

Acquisition of fresh water (FW) is problematic for FW-dependent animals living in marine environments that are distant from sources of FW associated with land. Knowledge of how marine vertebrates respond to oceanic rainfall, and indeed the drinking responses of vertebrates generally following drought, is extremely scant. The Yellow-bellied Sea Snak...

Marine snakes represent the most speciose group of marine reptiles and are a significant component of reef and coastal ecosystems in tropical oceans. Research on this group has historically been challenging due to the difficulty in capturing, handling, and keeping these animals for field-and lab-based research. Inexplicable declines in marine snake...

Poster on tail phototaxis in sea snakes. Abstract: Non-visual photoreception, i.e light detection not involved in image forming vision, is best known among marine invertebrates, but far fewer examples have been described among vertebrates. Olive sea snakes, Aipysurus laevis, are the only snakes reported to show non-visual phototaxis and this unique...

The pelagic sea snake, Hydrophis (Pelamis) platurus is the only truly pelagic species to traverse both the Indian and Pacific oceans. Despite this extensive distribution, little is known about the interconnectivity between populations. We are gathering tissue samples for DNA analyses (ddRADseq) to conduct population genetic analyses in this species...

Scale sensilla are small tactile mechanosensory organs located on the head scales of many squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes). In sea snakes and sea kraits (Elapidae: Hydrophiinae), these scale organs are presumptive scale sensilla that purportedly function as both tactile mechanoreceptors and potentially as hydrodynamic receptors capable of sen...

Cuckoo hosts defend themselves against parasitism by means of mobbing, egg rejection, and chick rejection. However, each of these defenses is prone to costly recognition errors, and hosts are therefore more likely to deploy these defenses if they observe a cuckoo in the vicinity of their nest. The success of such response plasticity depends on accu...