Most snakes savor their infrequent feasts, taking anywhere from several minutes to several hours to consume a meal. Unlike most of their cousins, threadsnakes survive on a daintier diet that consists principally of the pupae and larvae of ants. Instead of consuming their meals in one big gulp, threadsnakes eat at a rate of three or four bites each second. They are the only known vertebrates to use only their lower jaw to devour prey. Dinner for this threadsnake is an ant pupa often found under rocks or inside rotting logs.
Scientists generally agree that lizards are the evolutionary forefathers of snakes.
Kley views the foraging strategy of threadsnakes as a link between snakes and lizards. These patterns lead Kley to believe that threadsnakes may be among the most primitive groups of snakes. The rapid-fire eating habit of the threadsnake may be the result of its hazardous foraging strategy, Kley said. When threadsnakes invade ants' nests to find sufficient food, they have to eat very quickly to avoid being attacked or even killed by large and powerful worker ants guarding the nests. Learning more about the feeding mechanisms of snakes may shed light on how they evolved.