Poisonous mammal. The only poisonous mammal in the world: truth and fiction

Poisonous Mammals May 10th, 2016

We somehow got used to being afraid of snakes, insects and arachnids for their poisonousness. It will not surprise anyone if a snake or spider is poisonous. The presumption of innocence does not apply to these animals, rather the opposite - they are automatically considered poisonous, unless you are an expert who can identify the species and know its properties. However, I think I will surprise many of my readers by stating that mammals are also poisonous. Yes Yes! These cute fluffy animals worse than spiders able to bring a painful death to their victims, acting as gloomy poisoners in their habitat...

Let's start with earthmovers. These small, but very mobile and vicious creatures are poisonous. Their saliva contains toxins capable of killing prey comparable in size to the owner of the poison. Fortunately for us, these animals are small - up to 10 cm and up to 15 g. For example, in the United States and Canada there are several species of shrews that have toxic saliva.

Southern short-tailed shrew (Blarina carolinensis)

If I knew that a poisonous monster lives in Haiti, I would be less careless walking barefoot through the jungle. I was aware that there were no poisonous snakes on the island, and therefore, quite calmly wandered through the thickets rainforest. Who would have thought that it is on this island that the mysterious shrimp is hiding, which, unlike American shrews, reaches a mass of 1 kg, and this is no longer a small poisonous "mimic", but a full-fledged toxic killing machine! It is amazing, but unlike snakes, slit-tooths are not immune to their own poison, and therefore simply die in skirmishes with each other. However, despite such an original weapon, the animal is rapidly losing the war for survival to the species brought to the island by man: cats, dogs, rats and mongooses. Alas, if action is not taken quickly, the days of this amazing creature will soon be numbered. :(

On the eastern canary islands there is a relative of the American shrews - the Canarian shrew. This small but very proud agile animal is the most ferocious (because the only) predator of the islands it inhabits. His saliva contains a neurotoxin that immobilizes the victim for a day. The places there are harsh, there is little food, so the shrew hunts for the future, and if it finds a victim at a time when it is not hungry, it can bite it and hide it for half a day until it gets hungry, and the paralyzed victim will doomedly wait in the wings.

The further into the forest, the thicker the monsters. What will you do if you are attacked by a poisonous shaggy hamster? Correctly! - Run! Fortunately for humans, these animals, which look more like a skunk or porcupine than a hamster, do not attack us. For a long time it was believed that the special glands of this animal on the sides secrete poison that protects it from predators, however, it has recently become clear that this is not entirely true. The shaggy hamster peels off the bark of the Abyssinian acocanthera, which contains poisonous glycosides, and then licks its fur, rubbing toxic chewing gum into it. The ouabain contained in the bark causes cardiac arrest and has long been used by natives to poison arrows. It is not clear how, but this hamster managed to adapt and chew the poisonous bark without harm to itself, but predators, including quite large ones, die if they bit the shaggy inventor.

Further, everything is more wonderful and wonderful ... Who would have thought that such funny animals as a platypus have a poisonous weapon in the gas holder? Nevertheless, it is! On the hind legs of males there are one and a half centimeter horn spurs, which are connected to special femoral glands that produce a complex poison in mating season. The poison is powerful enough and enough to kill such a formidable opponent as a dingo. So if you suddenly see this cute animal - do not rush to cuddle it.

Well, and completes my short essay - Lori! Yes, yes, there are also among primates poisonous species. It would seem - what could be more harmless than a fat slow loris? Look at this cutie? How could it be slow loris from the kind of thick loris to be dangerous? It turns out it can! A special gland on the elbow produces a secret that, when mixed with saliva, becomes poisonous. Like a shaggy hamster, loris, while licking themselves, cover their hair with a layer of protective poison. In addition, the poison remains on the incisors of the animal, and, defending itself, it can make a poisonous bite.

Here is a review of poisonous animals. These are not all types, but most. By the way, such animals are found not only beyond the seven seas. We also have them, and literally under our feet. Our ordinary moles also have poisonous saliva, like those shrews that I talked about at the beginning. So guys, be careful with moles. Well, that's all I have for now. Until we meet again in my corner of science. :)

Everyone has heard about poisonous plants, spiders or snakes. But have you heard of poisonous mammals? This question is more difficult...

According to paleontologists millions of years ago our planet was inhabited by a large number of poisonous mammals. Experts came to this conclusion after the remains of a prehistoric animal known as the bisonalveus brownie, who lived about 60 million years ago, were partially reconstructed. It was found that the lower fangs were endowed with special channels through which poison penetrated the body of the victim.

Only a few species of poisonous mammals, which are considered side branches of evolution, have survived to this day.

Outwardly, the shaggy hamster looks like a porcupine rather than a rodent, since its back, along the ridge, is decorated with a stiff bristly mane. The shaggy hamster lives in the forests East Africa. The mammal leads a nocturnal lifestyle, stays in burrows during the day, and makes forays at night in search of food - leaves, fruits, young roots and shoots.

The shaggy hamster is a rather slow animal, so it defends itself from predators with cunning tricks. Firstly, it has odorous glands on its sides that emit a specific pungent odor in case of danger. Secondly, the shaggy hamster has a mane that rises, which makes it very similar to a porcupine. Thirdly, rodent hair is poisonous. As it turned out, the hamster rips off the toxic bark of the Abyssinian acokanthera tree (Acokanthera shimperi) and lubricates its fur with it. One contact with the hair of a hamster is enough to cause severe poisoning, and later death.

Platypus

Perhaps everyone knows this ridiculous animal - a kind of pinniped beaver with a wide duck beak. However, the platypus surprises not only with outlandish appearance. This is one of the few poisonous mammals.

AT young age males and females of the platypus have horny processes - spurs - on their hind legs. In females, they disappear over time, while in males, on the contrary, they become stronger and continue to grow. At the time of puberty, the spurs will fill with a mixture of poisons. The poison is able to kill a wolf, a fox or a wild dog, it is less dangerous for humans - the toxin will only cause severe pain and swelling of damaged tissues.

slow loris

Wise Mother Nature endowed some animals with considerable physical strength and sharp teeth, which serve as a means of protection from enemies (or are used to obtain food). Others use the strongest poisons as weapons when attacking prey or for defense. A striking example- a platypus that lives in Eastern Australia and on the island of Tasmania. This animal is often called the only venomous mammal in the world. Is it really? Let's find out!

The very fact that the platypus is dangerous already seems incredible. After all, he looks surprisingly harmless. It has a soft, duck-like beak and a beaver-like tail. The body is covered with thick fur. Interestingly, the platypus lays and incubates eggs like a bird, but feeds its young with milk.

However, no matter how cute the platypus is, it is still worth fearing. This applies mainly to male platypuses. These creatures have special glands that secrete poison, and they are located near the thighs. Through the tubes, the poison comes from the glands to a special process on the hind legs. During the mating season, male platypuses use it to fight rivals. Platypus venom can kill small animals.

Is the platypus the only venomous mammal in the world? The answer is definitely no! Poisonous mammals, in addition to the platypus, are, of course, extremely few on Earth, nevertheless they exist. Among them are some types of shrews: short-tailed shrew and water (common) shrew. The latter, by the way, lives on the banks of Russian reservoirs.

There is also another animal on Earth that secretes poison and is periodically erroneously referred to as the only poisonous mammal in the world. The name of this creature is not familiar to many. This is a sand tooth - the owner of toxic saliva, which, paradoxically, is capable of killing him. Such incidents occur, as a rule, during fights between relatives. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to meet this animal, as the sand tooth is in the lead in the lists of endangered species.

As you can see, the platypus is not the only venomous mammal in the world, although it is undeniably very interesting. Speaking of interesting things - get to know these representatives of the terrestrial fauna, which are recognized as the most poisonous!

The most poisonous animals in the world - who are they?

Rockfish will never compete in a beauty pageant, but she still got worldwide fame as the most poisonous fish. It contains its venom in spikes on its back. Toxic Substances are a means of protection against predators. The stone fish lives in tropical climate Pacific and Indian Oceans.

The box jellyfish secretes the most deadly poison in the world, which affects the cardiovascular and nervous systems, and the skin. It causes hellish pain. The box jellyfish lives in the seas of Asia and Australia.

The king cobra is the longest venomous snake in the world, measuring over five meters in length. She eats other snakes. One bite from a cobra can kill a person. This snake can destroy even an elephant. can release a lot of poison at one time, 5-6 times more than others Poisonous snakes. It is often found in Asian mountain forests.

Leirus scorpions - the most dangerous view scorpions, as their deadly poison has a strong paralyzing effect. Leiruses live in and in the Middle East.

The genus Taipan includes two species, the coastal taipan and the fierce snake. A single bite from a coastal taipan contains poison that can kill over a hundred people or over two hundred thousand mice. It is extremely neurotoxic, but there is an antidote. Taipans are mostly found in Australia.

Tree climber, or lives in Central and South America. It is very bright and attractive, but in no case should you take it in your hands. Previously, the Indians smeared arrowheads with frog poison.

He was included in the list of champions, because he died through his fault more people than due to other representatives of arachnids. These spiders are also dangerous in their behavior, as they are constantly on the move and do not weave a web, but travel on the ground. They can be found everywhere: in buildings and cars, on clothes and shoes, so the risk of being bitten unexpectedly increases.

The blue ringed octopus is a small but highly venomous animal that lives off the coast of Australia. If no immediate action is taken after the bite, then the person will have problems with breathing, speech and vision. After that, paralysis and death can occur.

The ball fish, or fugu, ranks second among the most poisonous vertebrates on earth after the poison dart frog. An interesting fact is that puffer meat is considered a delicacy in the countries of the Rising Sun, but it is important to remember that fish skin and some of its internal organs contain poison. The most poisonous animals in Russia live in the south of the country. It is also necessary to beware of gyurza, their bite is deadly. The most common venomous snake in Russia is the viper.

Blogger Yakov Oskanov writes:

We somehow got used to being afraid of snakes, insects and arachnids for their poisonousness. It will not surprise anyone if a snake or spider is poisonous. These animals are not entitled to the benefit of the doubt, but rather, they are automatically considered poisonous, unless you are a specialist who can identify the species and know its properties. However, I think I will surprise many of my readers by stating that mammals are also poisonous. Yes Yes! These cute fluffy animals, no worse than spiders, are capable of bringing a painful death to their victims, acting as gloomy poisoners in their habitat...

Let's start with shrews

These small, but very mobile and vicious creatures are poisonous. Their saliva contains toxins capable of killing prey comparable in size to the owner of the poison. Fortunately for us, these animals are small - up to 10 cm and up to 15 g. For example, in Canada and there are several species of shrews that have toxic saliva.

American short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda)

Southern short-tailed shrew (Blarina carolinensis)

Haitian flint tooth (Solenodon paradoxus)

Everyone knows that there are poisonous snakes, insects, spiders, many have heard about poisonous fish, plants, but few people know that there are also poisonous mammals. The first mammals on Earth, at least some of them, were poisonous. This conclusion, which allows a fresh look at the theory of evolution, was made by paleontologists from the University of the Canadian province of Alberta. The researchers were able to partially reconstruct the skull and lower jaw of a small predatory mammal, known by the Latin name "bisonalveus brownie", who lived in North America and extinct more than 60 million years ago. It has been established that the lower fangs of the fossil animal had special grooves through which poison was injected into the body of the victim.

To this day, only a few species of poisonous animals have survived, representing lateral, "random" branches of evolution.

American short-tailed shrew

American short-tailed shrews are a group of relatively large, venomous shrews with relatively short tails found in North America. The saliva of these animals is toxic and is used to kill prey (for example, they attack snakes). Her poison is produced in the submandibular salivary gland, and when bitten, it enters the wound of the victim. Influencing nervous system prey, it allows these small animals (the body length of the American short-tailed shrew is 8-10 cm, and the weight is 15-30 g) to cope with animals that exceed them in size.

Haitian flint tooth

The Haitian flint is found exclusively on the island of Haiti. Their poisonous apparatus somewhat resembles that of a snake: toxic saliva is produced by the submandibular salivary gland; the duct of the gland opens at the base of the deep groove (cleft) of the second lower incisor. Paradoxically, the sloth teeth are not immune to their own poison and die even from light bites received during fights among themselves. The slittooths are few in number and are included in the international Red Book with the status of "threatened with extinction." The reason for this is low speed breeding in combination with the destruction of the habitual habitat (forests) and the attacks of introduced predators: rats, dogs, cats, and especially. Before European colonization, the open teeth had almost no natural enemies, so they have not developed defenses against predators; they are rather slow and clumsy, and in danger sometimes simply freeze instead of fleeing. The Haitian flint is rapidly dying out; the Cuban was thought to be extinct until a live specimen was caught in 2003. Another Haitian flint tooth, Solenodon marcanoi, is known only from skeletal bones; obviously, it died out at the beginning of the European colonization of the island.

Platypus

Young platypuses of both sexes have rudiments of horn spurs on their hind legs. In females, by the age of one year, they fall off, while in males they continue to grow, reaching 1.2-1.5 cm in length by the time of puberty. Each spur is connected by a duct to the femoral gland, which during the mating season produces a complex "cocktail" of poisons. Males use spurs during courtship fights. Platypus venom can kill a dingo or other small animal. For a person, it is generally not fatal, but it causes very severe pain, and edema develops at the injection site, which gradually spreads to the entire limb. Pain (hyperalgesia) can last for many days or even months.