Even fewer can digest their meals with bones and all. But for some reptiles like the Burmese python (Python bivittatus), calcium-rich skeletons aren’t a digestive concern—they’re a necessity.

Scientists have discovered a new type of cell that helps Burmese pythons digest the entire skeletons of their prey.

The cells helps the snakes absorb the bones of their prey — and might show up in other animals that chomp their meals whole.

The jaw of a python can stretch open up to 150 degrees, and they have loose ligaments between their bones to help move their mouths over food—no chewing required.