Mercury
08-10-2011, 06:37 PM
Researchers from Oxford University and East African Scientists have discovered a species of rats that makes its own poison by gnawing on a poisonous tree and then slathering poisonous spit onto special sponge-like hairs on its flank to defend it.
The Crested Rat is a species of rat that has acquired lethal poison from a plant by chewing the bark of "Poison-arrow trees" called Acokanthera, so called because human hunters extract ouabain from them to coat arrows that can kill an elephant.
"At between 40 and 50 centimeters long, the Crested Rat looks quite harmless as it clambers about in rocky, wooded valleys in Kenya and the Horn of Africa," said Jonathan Kingdon of Oxford University's Department of Zoology.
"But once disturbed or attacked, the long fur on its flanks parts to expose a vivid black-and-white pattern around a leaf-shaped tract of peculiarly specialized hair, almost as if it is 'daring' a predator to take a bite of these poisoned hairs," he added.
Whole story here:
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/191409/20110803/rats-poison-oxford-university-east-african-researcher-scientist-crested-rat-hairs-poison-arrow-trees.htm
http://blogs.nature.com/news/Crested_rat.jpg
The Crested Rat is a species of rat that has acquired lethal poison from a plant by chewing the bark of "Poison-arrow trees" called Acokanthera, so called because human hunters extract ouabain from them to coat arrows that can kill an elephant.
"At between 40 and 50 centimeters long, the Crested Rat looks quite harmless as it clambers about in rocky, wooded valleys in Kenya and the Horn of Africa," said Jonathan Kingdon of Oxford University's Department of Zoology.
"But once disturbed or attacked, the long fur on its flanks parts to expose a vivid black-and-white pattern around a leaf-shaped tract of peculiarly specialized hair, almost as if it is 'daring' a predator to take a bite of these poisoned hairs," he added.
Whole story here:
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/191409/20110803/rats-poison-oxford-university-east-african-researcher-scientist-crested-rat-hairs-poison-arrow-trees.htm
http://blogs.nature.com/news/Crested_rat.jpg