Camouflage and speed are excellent ways to avoid being eaten - but some animals take a more exotic approach to self-defense. Take a look at the...
While hagfish typically scavenge carrion or prey on the dying, they do have a particularly insidious biological weapon—their slime. This mixture of threads and mucin combines with seawater and expands to form a fine mesh—a typical hagfish can produce around 400 times its own volume in slime, trapping anything caught in it.
The slime is a potent defensive tool, able to clog the mouth and gills of an attacking predator to suffocate them. Meanwhile, the baggy skin and cartilage skeleton of a hagfish allows them "squish" in response to bites, preventing them from taking any real damage. Their flexible bodies can also contort into a knot, allowing the hagfish to scrape slime off itself.
While the venom of these snakes is not considered lethal to humans, it can still cause the loss of a finger or toe. The agility and long fangs of the snake make it a very risky proposition to pick up - the traditional approach of grasping it behind the head will simply result in the snake twisting and stabbing backwards with a fang.
Because the pygmy sperm whale hunts deep sea creatures, it relies on echolocation to "see." This means that the whale can navigate through the defensive cloud it emits.
As for why they'd need this trick... these whales are not much bigger than a large human, meaning that sharks and orcas could view them as a convenient dinner!
The beetle is equipped with a pair of sacs, one filled with hydrogen peroxide and the other with hydroquinone. By draining both into a specialized chamber at the back of the abdomen, the beetle begins a violent exothermic reaction. The resultant caustic fluid comes boiling out at over 100 degrees Celsius, enough to cause vomiting in a toad. Some bombardier beetles can even aim the fluid at their own back—meaning they can use it to fight swarming ants.
Even more strange is the hidden blade mounted beneath the eye of these fish. Known as a lachrymal saber, this concealed weapon can be flipped out like a switchblade. This can serve as a defensive tool if a predator gets past the poisoned spines of the fish. The saber may also be used in courtship displays or for mate-competition. To cap things off, the blade glows like a mini lightsaber!
It seems that the pitohui doesn't produce this poison; instead, it collects it from toxic beetles. The birds are unaffected by exposure to the toxin. Researchers think that they may possess some kind of "sponge" protein that filters out and captures the poison before it can affect the pitohui. A similar adaptation can be found in saxitoxin-using bullfrogs.
The fish-eating fulmars produce a foul-smelling and sticky oil that they store in a section of their stomach called the proventriculus. This oil serves a dual purpose - it is rich in energy, (it can be consumed in an emergency) but it can also be vomited onto an aggressor. The sticky oil can foul the feathers on another bird, and can even send them tumbling out of the sky.
This oil-spitting defense actually gave them their name, roughly translating to foul-gull in Old Norse. Despite this, fulmars are one of the few birds with a well-developed sense of smell - they use it to detect the scent of fish oil rising from shoals near the surface of the ocean.
This poison is deadly, containing cardenolides that act to inhibit the sodium pumps of animal cells. Most mammals are very susceptible to this, but muroid rodents have sodium-potassium pump modifications that reduce cardenolide binding.
The poison is similar to that of digitalis (foxglove) and effectively increases the force with which the heart operates. In high doses, this can lead to cardiac arrest.
- Slime-Soaked Hagfish
- Stiletto-Fanged Snake
- Ink-Spraying Pygmy and Dwarf Sperm Whales
- Scalding-Hot Bombardier Beetle
- Switchblade-Faced Stonefish
- Poisonous Hooded Pitohui
- Foulness-Spewing Fulmar
- Toxin-Furred African Crested Rat
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| Fulmar can projectile-vomit foul oil on a threat... (Gaming_birder) |
1. Slime-Soaked Hagfish
The hagfish is an ancient jawless fish related to lampreys. One fossil found in the USA dates from 330 million years ago and shows little physical change, indicating that hagfish are living fossils. They are vertebrates, but they only have a cartilage-based skeleton and no actual vertebrae.While hagfish typically scavenge carrion or prey on the dying, they do have a particularly insidious biological weapon—their slime. This mixture of threads and mucin combines with seawater and expands to form a fine mesh—a typical hagfish can produce around 400 times its own volume in slime, trapping anything caught in it.
The slime is a potent defensive tool, able to clog the mouth and gills of an attacking predator to suffocate them. Meanwhile, the baggy skin and cartilage skeleton of a hagfish allows them "squish" in response to bites, preventing them from taking any real damage. Their flexible bodies can also contort into a knot, allowing the hagfish to scrape slime off itself.
2. Stiletto-Fanged Snake
Found in Guinea and Liberia, the stiletto snake doesn't need to open its maw to deliver venom. With long fangs that stick out of the corner of their mouths and a surprisingly long lunge, these snakes can be a nasty surprise for both prey and herpetologists!While the venom of these snakes is not considered lethal to humans, it can still cause the loss of a finger or toe. The agility and long fangs of the snake make it a very risky proposition to pick up - the traditional approach of grasping it behind the head will simply result in the snake twisting and stabbing backwards with a fang.
3. Ink-Spraying Pygmy and Dwarf Sperm Whales
The pygmy and dwarf sperm whales are rather unusual amongst the cetaceans, in that they've borrowed a tactic from the squid. Situated in the intestines of each individual is a sac of dark liquid that can be expelled into the water around them if threatened. The resulting cloud obscures visibility like a smoke bomb, allowing a quick escape!Because the pygmy sperm whale hunts deep sea creatures, it relies on echolocation to "see." This means that the whale can navigate through the defensive cloud it emits.
As for why they'd need this trick... these whales are not much bigger than a large human, meaning that sharks and orcas could view them as a convenient dinner!
4. Scalding-Hot Bombardier Beetle
Bombardier beetles are the closest thing to dragons the natural world has to offer. They use a chemical reaction to spray scorching fluids when under threat—or when swallowed whole by a toad.The beetle is equipped with a pair of sacs, one filled with hydrogen peroxide and the other with hydroquinone. By draining both into a specialized chamber at the back of the abdomen, the beetle begins a violent exothermic reaction. The resultant caustic fluid comes boiling out at over 100 degrees Celsius, enough to cause vomiting in a toad. Some bombardier beetles can even aim the fluid at their own back—meaning they can use it to fight swarming ants.
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| A heavily armed fish... (joakant) |
5. Switchblade-Faced Stonefish
Like an organic rock with poison spines, the stonefish is a potentially deadly hazard found along Indo-Pacific ocean coasts. These fish can survive for a decent period of time out of water, and often look like a patch of rocks or coral.Even more strange is the hidden blade mounted beneath the eye of these fish. Known as a lachrymal saber, this concealed weapon can be flipped out like a switchblade. This can serve as a defensive tool if a predator gets past the poisoned spines of the fish. The saber may also be used in courtship displays or for mate-competition. To cap things off, the blade glows like a mini lightsaber!
6. Poisonous Hooded Pitohui
Hidden amongst the trees of New Guinea lives a small bird known as the hooded pitohui. Clad in black and orange feathers, merely touching the feathers is enough to make human skin feel aflame. Ingest some of the batrachotoxin they carry, and you run the risk of paralysis or death. This serves a dual purpose - not only do the toxins provide a defense against predation, but they may also help ward off lice.It seems that the pitohui doesn't produce this poison; instead, it collects it from toxic beetles. The birds are unaffected by exposure to the toxin. Researchers think that they may possess some kind of "sponge" protein that filters out and captures the poison before it can affect the pitohui. A similar adaptation can be found in saxitoxin-using bullfrogs.
7. Foulness-Spewing Fulmar
Fulmars look much like a normal seagull, but these petrels come equipped with a foul defense - weaponized vomit.The fish-eating fulmars produce a foul-smelling and sticky oil that they store in a section of their stomach called the proventriculus. This oil serves a dual purpose - it is rich in energy, (it can be consumed in an emergency) but it can also be vomited onto an aggressor. The sticky oil can foul the feathers on another bird, and can even send them tumbling out of the sky.
This oil-spitting defense actually gave them their name, roughly translating to foul-gull in Old Norse. Despite this, fulmars are one of the few birds with a well-developed sense of smell - they use it to detect the scent of fish oil rising from shoals near the surface of the ocean.
8. Toxin-Furred African Crested Rat
The African crested rat is a fluffy, rabbit-sized rodent that carries a potent payload of toxins. The rat doesn't produce the poison itself, instead chewing the bark of the "African poison arrow tree" and applying the resulting paste to itself.This poison is deadly, containing cardenolides that act to inhibit the sodium pumps of animal cells. Most mammals are very susceptible to this, but muroid rodents have sodium-potassium pump modifications that reduce cardenolide binding.
The poison is similar to that of digitalis (foxglove) and effectively increases the force with which the heart operates. In high doses, this can lead to cardiac arrest.
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