Venomous mammals
Encyclopedia
Venomous mammals are animals of the class
Mammalia that produce venom
, which they use to kill or disable prey, or to defend themselves from predators. In modern nature, venomous mammals are quite rare. Venom is much more common among other vertebrate
s; there are many more species
of venomous reptiles (e.g. snakes), and fish (e.g. stonefish
). There are no known species of venomous bird, but some birds are poisonous to eat or touch, and Sinornithosaurus
, a dinosaur related to birds, may have had a venomous bite. There are only a few species of venomous amphibians; certain salamandrid salamanders can extrude sharp venom-tipped ribs.
Venomous mammals may have been more common in the past. Canine teeth dated at 60 million years old from two extinct species, the shrew-like Bisonalveus browni
and another unidentified mammal, show grooves that some palaeontologists have argued are indicative of a venomous bite. However, other scientists have questioned this conclusion given that many living nonvenomous mammals (e.g., many primates, coatis and fruit bats) also have deep grooves down the length of their canines, suggesting that this feature does not always reflect an adaptation to venom delivery.
To explain the rarity of venom delivery in Mammalia, Mark Dufton of the University of Strathclyde
has suggested that modern mammalian predators 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.
Listed below are mammals that are venomous or that use poisonous or noxious chemicals in some form.
(Solenodon cubanus) & Hispaniolan Solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus): Solenodons
look similar to very large shrews. 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) & 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.
European Mole
(Talpa europaea): The European mole, and possibly other species of mole , has toxins in its saliva that can paralyze earthworms, allowing it to store them for later consumption .
es (Nycticebus coucang, Nycticebus bengalensis, Nycticebus pygmaeus ): Brachial glands on the inside of the elbows of the slow loris secrete a brown exudate. This exudate is licked and becomes mixed with saliva. A protein in the secretion, which is similar to the allergen protein isolated from the domestic cat, may be introduced by the bites of slow lorises, resulting in anaphylaxis. Thus, it is questionable whether the slow loris should be considered truly venomous.
Hedgehog
s (Erinaceinae): Hedgehogs will anoint their spines with a range of toxic and irritating substances. They will sometimes kill toads (Bufo
) and bite into the toads' poison glands and smear the toxic mixture on their spines. Tenrecs, similar in appearance to hedgehogs but of a different line of descent, may also have evolved separately somewhat different self-anointing behaviour. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v268/n5621/abs/268627a0.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14366481 http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf002/sf002p05.htm. Whether such self-anointing in hedgehogs and tenrecs is involved in defense, scent-camouflage, to appeal to the opposite sex, or a combination of these or other reasons is a debated topic.
and then applies the mixture on its specially adapted crest of black and white fur on it flanks. The hair in this fur is adapted to be able to pick up and hold more poison than could coat a normal hair. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14366481
. 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. Pangolin
s can also emit a noxious smelling fluid from glands near the anus. The Great Long-nosed Armadillo can also release a disagreeable musky odor when threatened.
Class (biology)
In biological classification, class is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, order, family, genus, and species, with class fitting between phylum and order...
Mammalia that produce venom
Venom
Venom is the general term referring to any variety of toxins used by certain types of animals that inject it into their victims by the means of a bite or a sting...
, which they use to kill or disable prey, or to defend themselves from predators. In modern nature, venomous mammals are quite rare. Venom is much more common among other vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
s; there are many more species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of venomous reptiles (e.g. snakes), and fish (e.g. stonefish
Stonefish
Synanceia verrucosa is a fish species, sometimes lethal to humans, which is known as the reef stonefish or simply stonefish. They are carnivorous ray-finned fish with venomous spines that lives on reef bottoms, camouflaged as a rock...
). There are no known species of venomous bird, but some birds are poisonous to eat or touch, and Sinornithosaurus
Sinornithosaurus
Sinornithosaurus is a genus of feathered dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the early Cretaceous Period of the Yixian Formation in what is now China. It was the fifth non–avian feathered dinosaur genus discovered by 1999...
, a dinosaur related to birds, may have had a venomous bite. There are only a few species of venomous amphibians; certain salamandrid salamanders can extrude sharp venom-tipped ribs.
Bisonalveus browni
Bisonalveus is an extinct mammal once believed to be related to the modern pangolin.It was discovered in 1956 in Alberta, Canada. It is known primarily from fossil jaws dating back 60 million years ago, during the Palaeocene epoch...
and another unidentified mammal, show grooves that some palaeontologists have argued are indicative of a venomous bite. However, other scientists have questioned this conclusion given that many living nonvenomous mammals (e.g., many primates, coatis and fruit bats) also have deep grooves down the length of their canines, suggesting that this feature does not always reflect an adaptation to venom delivery.
To explain the rarity of venom delivery in Mammalia, Mark Dufton of the University of Strathclyde
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, Scotland, is Glasgow's second university by age, founded in 1796, and receiving its Royal Charter in 1964 as the UK's first technological university...
has suggested that modern mammalian predators 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.
Listed below are mammals that are venomous or that use poisonous or noxious chemicals in some form.
Venomous
Cuban SolenodonCuban Solenodon
The Cuban Solenodon or Almiqui , is a species of soricomorph that is endemic to Cuba. It belongs to the family Solenodontidae along with a similar species, the Hispaniolan Solenodon...
(Solenodon cubanus) & Hispaniolan Solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus): Solenodons
Solenodontidae
Solenodons are venomous, nocturnal, burrowing, insectivorous mammals belonging to the family Solenodontidae. Only one genus, Solenodon, is known, although a few other genera were erected at one time and are now regarded as junior synonyms...
look similar to very large shrews. They both have venomous bites; the venom is delivered from modified salivary glands via grooves in their second lower incisors.
Platypus
The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young...
(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
Eurasian Water Shrew
The Eurasian Water Shrew, Neomys fodiens, known in the United Kingdom as the Water Shrew, is a relatively large shrew, up to long, with a tail up to three-quarters as long again. It has short dark fur, often with a few white tufts, a white belly, and a few stiff hairs around the feet and tail...
(Neomys fodiens) & Northern Short-tailed Shrew
Northern Short-tailed Shrew
The Northern Short-tailed Shrew is the largest shrew in the genus Blarina, and occurs in the northeastern region of North America. It is a semifossorial, highly active and voracious insectivore and is present in a variety of habitats. It is notable in that it is one of the few venomous mammals...
(Blarina brevicauda): Capable of delivering a venomous bite.
Southern Short-tailed Shrew
Southern Short-tailed Shrew
The Southern Short-tailed Shrew is a small, gray, short-tailed mammal that inhabits the eastern United States. The overall appearance is somewhat like a rodent, but is a member of the order Soricomorpha and should not be confused with a member of the order Rodentia. This shrew has a long, pointed...
(Blarina carolinensis) & Elliot's Short-tailed Shrew
Elliot's Short-tailed Shrew
Elliot's short-tailed shrew is a small, slate grey, short-tailed species of shrew. Its common name comes from Daniel Giraud Elliot, who first described the species in 1899.-Description:...
(Blarina hylophaga): Possibly have a venomous bite.
European Mole
European Mole
The European Mole, Talpa europaea, is a mammal of the order Soricomorpha. It is also known as the Common Mole and the Northern Mole....
(Talpa europaea): The European mole, and possibly other species of mole , has toxins in its saliva that can paralyze earthworms, allowing it to store them for later consumption .
Venomous/poisonous
Slow lorisSlow loris
Slow lorises are a group of five species of strepsirrhine primates which make up the genus Nycticebus. Found in South and Southeast Asia, they range from Northeast India in the west to the Philippines in the east, and from the Yunnan province in China in the north to the island of Java in the south...
es (Nycticebus coucang, Nycticebus bengalensis, Nycticebus pygmaeus ): Brachial glands on the inside of the elbows of the slow loris secrete a brown exudate. This exudate is licked and becomes mixed with saliva. A protein in the secretion, which is similar to the allergen protein isolated from the domestic cat, may be introduced by the bites of slow lorises, resulting in anaphylaxis. Thus, it is questionable whether the slow loris should be considered truly venomous.
Hedgehog
Hedgehog
A hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand . There are no hedgehogs native to Australia, and no living species native to the Americas...
s (Erinaceinae): Hedgehogs will anoint their spines with a range of toxic and irritating substances. They will sometimes kill toads (Bufo
Bufo
Bufo is a large genus of about 150 species of true toads in the amphibian family Bufonidae. Bufo is a Latin word for toad.- Description :...
) and bite into the toads' poison glands and smear the toxic mixture on their spines. Tenrecs, similar in appearance to hedgehogs but of a different line of descent, may also have evolved separately somewhat different self-anointing behaviour. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v268/n5621/abs/268627a0.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14366481 http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf002/sf002p05.htm. Whether such self-anointing in hedgehogs and tenrecs is involved in defense, scent-camouflage, to appeal to the opposite sex, or a combination of these or other reasons is a debated topic.
Poisonous
A number of mammals are poisonous to eat. One unusual case is the African crested rat. This mammal chews the bark of the deadly poisonous poison arrow treeAcokanthera schimperi
Acokanthera schimperi , belonging to a family of Apocynaceae, is a small tree native to East Africa and Yemen.-Uses:...
and then applies the mixture on its specially adapted crest of black and white fur on it flanks. The hair in this fur is adapted to be able to pick up and hold more poison than could coat a normal hair. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14366481
Chemical defense
Family Mephitidae: Skunks can eject a noxious fluid from glands near their anusAnus
The anus is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, unwanted semi-solid matter produced during digestion, which, depending on the type of animal, may be one or more of: matter which the animal cannot digest,...
. 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. Pangolin
Pangolin
A pangolin , also scaly anteater or Trenggiling, is a mammal of the order Pholidota. There is only one extant family and one genus of pangolins, comprising eight species. There are also a number of extinct taxa. Pangolins have large keratin scales covering their skin and are the only mammals with...
s can also emit a noxious smelling fluid from glands near the anus. The Great Long-nosed Armadillo can also release a disagreeable musky odor when threatened.
See also
- Venomous fishVenomous fishVenomous fish are fish that produce venom. There are at least 1200 species of venomous fish, and they include the Stonefish, Lionfish, Scorpion Fish, Stargazer, and Toadfish .-See also:* Hallucinogenic fish...
- ToxicoferaToxicoferaToxicofera , is a hypothetical clade which represents about 4600 species of extant squamates It encompasses all venomous reptile species, as well as numerous related non-venomous species....
- The cladeCladeA clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
that contains all venomous species of reptile. - Toxic birds
- List of venomous animals
- Venomous snakeVenomous snake"Poisonous snake" redirects here. For true poisonous snakes, see Rhabdophis.Venomous snakes are snakes which have venom glands and specialized teeth for the injection of venom...
s - Poisonous AmphibiansPoisonous amphibiansPoisonous Amphibians are amphibians that produce toxins to defend themselves from predators.Except certain salamandrid salamanders that can extrude sharp venom-tipped ribs, amphibians are not known to actively inject venom, most toxic amphibians are instead known to be poisonous to touch or eat...
External links
- Shrew handbook
- Shrew venom
- Northern short-tailed shrew venom
- Platypus venom
- Slow Loris Research by a toxicologist - includes photos.