attacking a spinytail iguana for an hour, and the iguana survived. As this is comparatively recent research (2015), it is possible that other constrictors kill in other ways. It had previously been accepted that constrictors used their body to hold the prey tight and prevent the prey from drawing air into its lungs, resulting in death from asphyxia, or that the pressure of constriction causes a rise in the pressure in the prey's body cavity greater than the heart can counter, resulting in immediate cardiac arrest; data from earlier studies had also indicated that snakes can exert enough pressure for these to be plausible. Certain groups of snakes have characteristic patterns of constriction, including the number of coils they use and the orientation of the coils. Venomous snakes that also use constriction include the genus Clelia (ophiophagous South American mildly venomous rear-fanged colubrids which use constriction to subdue snakes including pit vipers), the western terrestrial garter snake (North American colubrid which is an inefficient constrictor and, like most Thamnophis garter snakes, mildly venomous), some species of Boiga snakes (Asian and Australian rear-fanged colubrids) including the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis), some species of Australian elapids (including some of the venomous Pseudonaja brown snakes and one Australian coral snake Simoselaps), and a few Australian colubrids. See also Boa constrictor Pythonidae References External links "World's Deadliest: Anaconda Devours World's Largest Rodent" Snakes Predation