Venomous mammals
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Venomous mammals are animals of the class Mammalia that produce venom, which they use to kill or disable prey, or to defend from predators. In modern nature, venomous mammals are quite rare. Venom is much more common among other vertebrates; there are many more species of venomous reptiles (e.g. snakes), amphibians (e.g. poison dart frogs), and fish (e.g. stonefish).
However, there are suggestions that venomous mammals were once more common. Teeth dated at 60 million years old from two extinct species, the shrew-like Bisonalveus browni and another unidentified mammal, show grooves indicative of a venomous bite. It has also been suggested by Mark Dufton of the University of Strathclyde that modern animals do not need venom because they are smart and effective enough to kill quickly with tooth or claw; whereas venom, no matter how sophisticated, takes time to disable prey. Indeed, the venomous insectivore, the solenodon, is now being driven from its native habitats by introduced dogs, cats, and mongooses.
Listed below are mammals that are venomous or that use poisonous or noxious chemicals in some form.
Venomous
- Cuban Solenodon (Atopogale cubana) & Haitian Solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus)
- Solenodons look similar to big hedgehogs with no coat of spines. They both have venomous bites; the venom is delivered from modified salivary glands via grooves in their second lower incisors.
- Platypus (Ornithorhyncus anatinus)
- Males have a venomous spur on their hind legs. Echidnas, the other monotremes, have spurs but no functional venom glands.
- Eurasian water shrew (Neomys fodiens)
- Capable of delivering a venomous bite.
- Northern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda)
- Capable of delivering a venomous bite.
- Southern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina carolinensis) & Elliot's Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina hylophaga)
- Possibly have a venomous bite.
Venomous/poisonous
- Slow loris (Nycticebus coucang)
- Glands on the inside of their elbows secrete a toxin that smells like sweaty socks. They cover their babies in the toxin to protect them from predators, and put it in their mouths to give themselves a venomous bite, delivering the toxin via their lower incisors.
Chemical defence
- Family Mephitidae
- Skunks can eject a noxious fluid from glands near their anus. It is not only foul smelling, but can cause skin irritation and, if it gets in the eyes, temporary blindness. Some members of the mustelid family, such as the striped polecat (Ictonyx striatus), also have this capacity to an extent.
External links
- [Shrew handbook]
- [Shrew venom]
- [Northern short-tailed shrew venom]
- [Platypus venom]
- [Slow Loris Research] by a toxicologist - includes photos.
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