Opisthoglypha

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Opisthoglypha are snakes which have some of the posterior maxillary teeth enlarged and grooved to aid in venom delivery. The word comes from a combination of Greek terms roughly meaning 'back-grooved'.

Such venom delivery occurs in colubrid snakes

The grooves and jaw setting of opisthoglyphs are opposed to other groups of snakes, such as the vipers, which are solenoglyphous or 'pipe-grooved' snakes, with hollow fangs that work not unlike a hypodermic needle for injecting venom; or cobras which are proteroglyphs or 'front-grooved' snakes that have fangs which are so deeply grooved that the sides of the groove overlap to form a duct for the venom to flow directly through; or some species which are known as aglyphous, or completely grooveless, and thus have to chew on a victim for adequate venom delivery.

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