Does venom that's possibly lethal to homo sapiens (humans) effect prey items the same way? For example, Hadrurus arizonensis venom is typically not lethal to humans, but Androctonus australis venom can potentially expire a full grown man. Does this mean that a sting from Androctonus australis will kill prey faster than a sting from Hadrurus arizonensis?
Venom Potency & Prey Items?
- Thread starter Enki40
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I think there was a thread recently created that was similar to this.
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Venom is measured on an LD50 scale.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_lethal_dose
Here's a link to an LD50 table:
http://members.tripod.com/c_kianwee/rpotent.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_lethal_dose
Here's a link to an LD50 table:
http://members.tripod.com/c_kianwee/rpotent.htm
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Venom is a very complicated thing. It really depends on what it was designed to do. In some cases the venom is designed to kill prey items quickly. In other cases it may be designed to protect the scorpion against certain predators. If you look at the spider world the Funnel Webs from Australia is very dangerous for human but more or less harmless to dogs. In that case the spider's venom is designed to kill primates. If you have a scorpion that has venom designed to kill crickets it will appear to be deadly because it would kill them very quickly, but that same venom might be harmless to mammals. So if you have a scorpion that is being preyed upon by rodents in may develop venom that is tailored to the predator. In a case like this LD50 scales would be not as reliable.
Thanx...Now that makes sense to me! I like the way you explained it...as a matter of fact, I heard something similar on Animal Planet regarding venomous reptiles.
Nooooo, humans are not insects.....Research indicates that the venom of most scorpions primarily targets insects and only to a much lesser extent, mammals. So like John explained, it depends on the venom and the scorpion species....Some species have venom that targets mammals and other vertebrates and others have venom that target insects. So no, the venoms does not effect humans the same way it does with prey items......