1. Are there any external resources used?
Answer: No
2. Can the component maintain the same role in the mechanism/system once it is fixed?
Answer: Yes
3. Is there a foreign material in the mechanism/system?
Answer: Yes
4. Can the foreign material be removed?
Answer: No
15) Asian tiger keelback, Rhabdophis tigrinus
Asian tiger keelback can be found in Japan near water sources (Hutchinson, Deborah A., Alan Savitzky, Akira Mori, Gordon Burghardt, Jerrold Meinwald,
and Frank C. Shroeder.). These creatures are famous for the ability to eat poisonous creatures and live without suffering any side effects, but they can also receive the toxin through the utero. Asian tiger keelbackÕs are known for eating toads that give off a chemical poison named bufadienolides from their skin (Hutchinson, Deborah A. et al). Once the snake has ingested the toad the poison will get stored in glands on the back of the neck until it is threatened or frightened (Hutchinson, Deborah A. et al). The snake can continue to eat more and more toads which builds up the amount and toxicity of the poison in the glands. The other way these snakes can obtain these poisons are through in utero. If the mother was pregnant when she ate the toad it can get passed to the baby which makes it able to defend itself from the very beginning of life outside of mom. The Asian tiger keelback can also biochemically alter and process the poison to make it even more potent than it was in the toad (Hutchinson, Deborah A. et al). This can be very essential in getting away from much larger predators. If a snake were to shoot the poison out of its nuchal glands then it would irritate the airways and affect the heart muscles of the victim (Hutchinson, Deborah A. et al). If the airways remain irritated for too long or become swollen, then someone could die from asphyxiation. If the heart muscles are affected, then not enough blood could be pumped through the body and it can even stop leading to death. Medical attention would be required to help safe the individual.
Hutchinson, Deborah A., Alan Savitzky, Akira Mori, Gordon Burghardt, Jerrold Meinwald, and Frank C. Shroeder. “Chemical Investigations of Defensive Steroid Sequestration by the Asian Snake Rhabdophis Tigrinus.”Chemoecology 22.3 (2012): 199-206. Research Gate. Web. Retrieved March 28, 2015, from
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