Cool research in the family

[mdlbear]

Science & Technology at Scientific American.com: Snake Bites the Toxic Toad That Feeds It--and Spreads Its Poison -- Snake loads up on noxious predator repellant by consuming poisonous toads

It sounds like something straight out of a video game: A snake collects toxin by biting a poisonous toad and uses that venom as a defense against hawks and other predators. But that is exactly what researchers say the Asian snake Rhabdophis tigrinus does, based on studies of glandular fluid from hatchlings and adult snakes on two Japanese islands.

Some R. tigrinus snakes carry toxins called bufadienolides in their nuchal glands, sacks located under a ridge of skin along their upper necks. When threatened, they arch their necks, exposing the poisonous ridge to an antagonist. The clawing and biting of hawks and other predators most likely rips the skin and lets the poison ooze out, potentially blinding the snake's attackers, says herpetologist Deborah Hutchinson of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. "It might not kill the predator but it would be noxious enough to deter predation," she says.

Hutchinson is one of my brother Al's graduate students; he's one of the co-authors. (From a locked post by my nephew asavitzk.)

Comments

[danceswthcobras.livejournal.com]

Got my attention.

Our own hognose (Heterodon) has evolved extremely enlarged nuchal glands that may sequester ingested amphibian toxins, so the mechanism may not be entirely unique.

Nuchal glands aside, Rhabdophis tigrinus delivers a rather wicked bite that has caused human fatalities. I would not handle a yamakagashi in the manner depicted any more than I would pet my boomslangs. I would rather not die in massive hemorrhage subsequent to colubrid envenomation, thanks. Embarrassing way for a herpetologist to go.

This particular animal is probably anesthetized to permit easier manipulation for increased yield from the gland. I still find the image and the article disturbing as it omits mention of the fact that playing with the pretty snake as shown in this photo can result in death.

[mdlbear]

I'm told that all the articles on the subject in the popular press so far have serious problems -- none of them bother to go back to the experts they interviewed to sanity-check the resulting articles. I've seen this in other fields as well.

[danceswthcobras.livejournal.com]

That's pretty typical, yep. And that's why I'm generally leery about discussing anything I'm doing with the press. They inevitably get it wrong and make me look incredibly stupid. All my colleagues feel the same way, and the inevitable ribbing commences amongst ourselves whenever one of us has the misfortune to be interviewed or to have our work appear in the popular media.

[mdlbear]

I noticed it's the grad student who's giving the interviews.

[danceswthcobras.livejournal.com]

The grad student probably hasn't learned yet that media interviews are mainly going to make you look stupid and get you laughed at heartily by everyone in the field who knows anything about what you're working on.

[mdlbear]

Exactly. Al's been there, which is why he's no longer trying to put radio tracking collars on the local rattlesnakes.