Snake detection theory

The snake detection theory (SDT), also sometimes called the snake detection hypothesis, suggests that <a href="/facts/Snakes/YhA2gcn0">snakes</a> contributed to the evolution of visual systems in primates. 
According to the theory, predatory pressure on early primate populations from snakes selected individuals who were best able to
recognize them, improving their survival chances and therefore transferring such skill to their offspring. From this point of view, snakes were responsible for the modification and expansion of primate visual systems which made <a href="/facts/Visual_perception/g7Tfaq2l">vision</a> the most developed sensory interface with the external environment for modern primates.
In her book The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent (2009), <a href="/facts/Anthropologist/CboLlQq5">anthropologist</a> <a href="/facts/Lynne_Isbell/bUD9aQd2">Lynne Isbell</a> writes that snakes evolved to be difficult to detect and mortally dangerous. Surviving the peril of snakes for millions of years required selective pressure favoring primates' specialized visual systems. Compared to that of other mammals, the <a href="/facts/Pulvinar_nuclei/R2p4dNDs">pulvinar</a> region of the brain – which helps to visually detect relevant objects – is disproportionately large and effective in the brains of primates (including <a href="/facts/Human/rlcTENsr">humans</a>).
The concept of snakes being a special threat to humans has been confirmed by population-based studies. <a href="/facts/Ophidiophobia/gyR9TUHv">Ophidiophobia</a> (phobia of snakes) is one of the most common and intense phobias among the general population. Furthermore, a study reported that around 50% of people experience dreams about snakes.

Snake detection theory open-in-new

Snake detection theory