Snake Venom Tells Tales About Geography

[News Bot]

Published: 14-Jul-08 02:00 PM
Source: ScienceDaily

Just as people give away their origins by that southern drawl or New England twang, poisonous snakes produce venom that differs distinctly from one geographic area to another, the first study of the "snake venomics" of one of the most common pit vipers in Latin America has found.?*

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[womapyth]

Why is it so ?

News Bot,
Thanks for this interesting article.
The article raises some questions that need exploration. Why are there differences? Different food sources or genetic make-up maybe ?

Any other possibilities?

Does any one know if there are geographical differences in Australian snake venoms?

Thanks for introducing me to Science Daily . Great reading and plenty of herp research.

Womapyth

 

[Jonno from ERD]

There are definitely big geographical differences with regards to the toxicity of snake venoms in Australia. For instance, Eastern Browns from SEQ are on average 3 times more toxic than those from Adelaide. Tiger Snake venom is also different between Melbourne, Mount Gambier and Lake Alexandrina. All of this information has been previously published.

 

[womapyth]

Jonno ,

Thanks for your quick reply.
Must be a nightmare for treating doctors in Australia. Another variable to worry about.

 

[sammygirl21]

quick question

im a new snake owner and i have a carpet python and he just had his shed it didnt come of whole was just wondering what will make it easier for him. maybe some olive oil in the water i mist him with i have a huge water bowl as it is. or is it because its a new home and getting use to our weather?

 

[spud1]

not sure if you have already sammygirl but you should start a new thread in herp help asking this question