Venomous animals produce toxins for two purposes: to protect and to attack.For some, the toxic release are means scaring predators and protect their lives, for others - a hunting tool for the production of food.
widespread poisonous animals among the variety of fauna uneven.If poisonous arthropods (scorpions, spiders, some insects) is widely known, that such mammals there are only four kinds.This Australian platypus and echidna, and living in America, and some shrews, aardvark.Interestingly, the aardvark, possessing poisonous saliva, is susceptible to its own poison!When fights that occur between members of the species, from aardvarks die even small bites of his opponents.As in this case, they are able to maintain the population size at a sufficient level, and in general, what the animal to produce the poison, from which it killed itself - one of the mysteries of biology.
Many poisonous animals in the minds of ignorant people demonized.They attributed a mortal danger for the person that actually rarely the case.Most scorpion venom causes a person only local lesion that in a few hours pass safely.Authentically recorded only one case of death of a person (a boy of seven) from the bite of a giant skolopendry.Sting was in the head, most likely at the same time proved to be the defeat of the vital centers, besides medical care too late.Otherwise, this episode could be deleted from the list of the lethal statistics.
widespread in Russia adder dangerous only in the spring, when it is actively produced enzymes.And it creeps to restore the poison takes considerably longer than its southern brethren.Therefore, our viper toxins consumed sparingly, preferring to attack the flight, and human bites only in self-defense.In summer and autumn deadly viper venom is not dangerous and can cause a number of unpleasant sensations.Poisonous animals are represented in our country is not too abundant.Only the southern regions can "boast" toxic variety of fauna.
Many poisonous animals of the world have so-called "passive toxicity."This means that they have no special organs that produce the poison.Such, for example, puffer fish, which contains tetrodotoxin in tissues, even in small quantities deadly to humans.Toxicity fugue is so high that it in food preparation are engaged specially certified chefs.In Japan, despite these precautions, every year more deaths occur due to consumption of this fish.
Poisonous plants and animals for the most part - representatives of the warm and tropical regions.This selective nature due to the fact that at high temperatures the rate of metabolism of living organisms is much higher than the low, and the inhabitants of the tropics probably can afford the luxury of working out the poison, than residents of temperate and cold latitudes.
