a snake that kills prey by coiling around it and squeezing, or anything that tightens and limits.
From Latin 'constringere' (to bind tightly), composed of 'com-' (together) and 'stringere' (to tighten). English added the '-or' agent suffix.
Boa constrictors kill prey without venom—instead using a hunting strategy based on pure physics: each time the snake squeezes, the prey can't expand their lungs to breathe, a method that's worked for 70 million years.
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