Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Spitting Cobras' Sharp-Shooting Secrets
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Spitting cobras spew blinding venom toward the eyes and face of victims with surprising accuracy, and now researchers know how they do it.
Venom spitting -- a defense mechanism only -- is a two-part process that's part muscle and part like a baseball pitcher psyching out batters before winding up before a throw, indicates a new study published in the latest issue of Physiological and Biochemical Zoology.
"Since the venom can cover a distance of over 6.5 feet, and the snakes appear to be very accurate, it is presumed to be a good deterrent," said Bruce Young, a biologist at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and lead author of the study.
For the study, Young and colleagues Melissa Boetig and Guido Westhoff analyzed adult, captive specimens of the red spitting cobra, the black-neck spitting cobra and the black-and-white spitting cobra.
Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News
Labels: cobra, hot trends 2009, venom spitting
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