The worlds deadliest snakes have developed such potent venom seemedly far beyond what they need to defend against natural predation and to kill thier food. For example Australia's Inland Taipan would defend itself against the likes of dingo's and goanna's and that would prey upon small mammals and reptiles surely wouldn't need venom strong enough to kill 100 people. Why is this?
2007-09-02 16:41:00 · 7 answers · asked by Gday 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
I guess for some reason evolutionary processes demanded that these snakes required a different type and strength of venom to insure their survival.....whether it be in defense or offense it worked out that "overkill" was the best policy. Not only does the venom immobilize and kill the prey, it begins the digestion process even before the snake begins to swallow . It kills quickly to prevent the snake from being injured by the prey as it tries to escape or is thrashing around. It is also a pretty good deterrent against becoming prey for a larger predator. That's just my thoughts......
2007-09-02 17:40:55 · answer #1 · answered by tooldaddy2003 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That is a great question but in some cases it has an answer. Sometimes the predator and prey get into an "arms race" where the prey becomes immune to the venom. One example is the Mojave rattlesnake and ground squirrel. Some of the Australian species have such potent venom it seems very unlikely that any animal could have found an antidote. Perhaps there is a snake like the king brown snake or some sort of monitor lizard that has immunity and is driving an arms race. I don't think it has a good answer yet.
2007-09-02 17:39:59 · answer #2 · answered by bravozulu 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Good question!
1►The venom of those snakes may kill 100 people, but there are some enemies or predators for the snakes that would need the venom of 10 snakes to die.
2►The second reason is about how fast they need to kill their food. Their food have teeth and claws, to defend itself, or can run fast away. The Vipers usually inject the venom and let their prey to run away. The potent venom avoid their preys to go too far. The Elapids usually hold their preys, so the faster the venom, the lower risk of being injured by the prey teeth and claws.
2007-09-02 16:45:14 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
There are some insects that have an immune system stronger than ours. Remember, just because we are one of the largest creatures doesn't mean we are the toughest. Think about how much disease a mosquito can carry around without dying before it grabs onto a human,passes that infection, and promptly gets squashed before the idiot with the ham hands figures out he's now got polio or lime disease. Self defense? Really people. spiders have no self defense against large creatures of any kind. This is to kill and eat. Survival.
2016-05-19 22:58:26 · answer #4 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It should also be noted that very often poison developed by one animal for its prey were not designed to be used on humans, and for reason (a chemical fluke, if you will), the toxin if far, far more potent on human physiology than the inflicted venom. Many spiders, for instance, have venom that is only designed to incapacitate insects...but the evolutionary differences in our nervous systems and arthropod nervous systems make the vecoms far more deleterious for us.
2007-09-02 17:44:55 · answer #5 · answered by BLLYRCKS 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Same reason the US marines were not sent to Iraq with only hand pistols
2007-09-02 17:39:49 · answer #6 · answered by Scozbo 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
*shrug*
I guess they want to make sure :)
2007-09-02 16:50:21 · answer #7 · answered by ********** 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋