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Starman
SFN Regular
Sweden
1613 Posts |
 Posted - 11/24/2005 : 06:58:34
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This should be something for you Filthy:
From Carl Zimmer, Which Came First, the Snake or the Venom?quote:
In his search, Fry made an astonishing discovery: snakes are 100 million years old, but snake venom is 200 million years old. This conclusion arose from the fact that some lizards produce the same sorts of venom as snakes
quote:
And if you do happen to get bit by a Komodo dragon, you'll be able to be distracted from the effects of its venom by the fact that your arm is missing.
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 11/24/2005 : 09:58:05 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Starman
This should be something for you Filthy:
From Carl Zimmer, Which Came First, the Snake or the Venom?quote:
In his search, Fry made an astonishing discovery: snakes are 100 million years old, but snake venom is 200 million years old. This conclusion arose from the fact that some lizards produce the same sorts of venom as snakes
quote:
And if you do happen to get bit by a Komodo dragon, you'll be able to be distracted from the effects of its venom by the fact that your arm is missing.
Like many in the venomous community, I am aquainted with Dr. Fry. An expatriate American, he set up the excellent Austrailian Venom and Toxin Database while working on his PhD. When it comes to venoms, he da man! He's also a competitive swimmer to contend with.
It stands to reason that the venom came first. It's such a handy tool for subduing prey. And when you take into considerstion that some mammals, a couple of birds, and a great many arthropods and molusks, and other sea creatures are venomous, you begin to wonder what long extinct species of all sorts might have had and used venom. It's a natural for any predator that relies on biting.
Thanks for the article...
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 11/24/2005 : 10:06:11 [Permalink]
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I must have missed something while watching documentaries...
Komodo Dragons are venomus?
I heard on some documentary (I believe it was Steve Irvin, but I've heard it elsewhere too) that it was all the nasty bacteria in its saliva that made the bite killing if you were (un)lucky enough to get away.
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 11/24/2005 : 12:24:54 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Dr. Mabuse
I must have missed something while watching documentaries...
Komodo Dragons are venomus?
I heard on some documentary (I believe it was Steve Irvin, but I've heard it elsewhere too) that it was all the nasty bacteria in its saliva that made the bite killing if you were (un)lucky enough to get away.
The bacteria are indeed the deadly part, however the saliva contains it's own toxins. They are not really medically signicant in humans. Monitor bites (I've had a couple) are always a serious buisness. The wounds are fairly deep and quite messy due to the animal chewing, and must be cleaned as soon as possible or a reaction usually in the form of an infection, can follow. But if someone should be sensitive to reptilian venoms, the reaction can be worse, although not life-threatening in and of itself.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 11/24/2005 : 14:48:10 [Permalink]
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| Thanks for clearing that up, Filthy. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Espritch
Skeptic Friend
USA
284 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2005 : 21:36:21 [Permalink]
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quote:
a couple of birds
There are venomous birds? I've never heard that. Which ones? |
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Starman
SFN Regular
Sweden
1613 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2005 : 00:13:27 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Espritch
There are venomous birds? I've never heard that. Which ones?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitohui quote:
Pitohui is a genus of birds endemic to New Guinea, belonging to the family Pachycephalidae.
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Pitohuis are brightly coloured, omnivorous birds. The skin and feathers of some pitohuis, especially the Variable and Hooded Pitohuis, contain powerful neurotoxic alkaloids of the batrachotoxin group (also secreted by the Colombian poison dart frogs, genus Phyllobates). It is believed that these serve the birds as a chemical defence, either against ectoparasites or against visually guided predators such as snakes, raptors or humans. (Dumbacher, et al., 1992) The birds do not produce batrachotoxin themselves. It is most likely that the toxins come from the Choresine genus of beetles, part of the bird's diet. (Dumbacher, et al., 2004)
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