The buccal buckle: the functional morphology of venom spitting in cobras

Young, Bruce A.; Dunlap, Karen; Koenig, Kristen M.; Singer, Meredith

doi:10.1242/jeb.01170

Cited by 34 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Hayes et al (2002) postulated that the functional control of the extrinsic venom gland musculature differed between biting and spitting in cobras. The recent experimental analysis of spitting in cobras (Young et al 2004) revealed that every spit was associated with active fang sheath deformation and active contraction of the extrinsic venom gland musculature. Combined EMG and kinematic analyses revealed that it was the deformation of the fang sheath, not the contraction of the extrinsic venom gland musculature, that regulated venom discharge during spitting (Young et al 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The recent experimental analysis of spitting in cobras (Young et al 2004) revealed that every spit was associated with active fang sheath deformation and active contraction of the extrinsic venom gland musculature. Combined EMG and kinematic analyses revealed that it was the deformation of the fang sheath, not the contraction of the extrinsic venom gland musculature, that regulated venom discharge during spitting (Young et al 2004). Earlier study of venom regulation in Crotalus showed that the extrinsic venom gland musculature appeared to be compartmentalized, suggesting that these vipers had fine neural control over the extrinsic force applied to the venom gland.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The geometric patterns evident in the venom dispersal patterns (Figs 3-5) may reflect slight movements of the head during venom expulsion. Young et al (2004) recorded the spitting behaviour using high-speed digital video and noted regular movements of the head and venom stream. The presence of two different classes of dispersal patterns was unexpected, and contrary to our hypothesis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Herzog & Bern 1992). The cepahlic movements described during venom spitting (Young et al 2004), which reflect the contraction of skeletal muscles associated with venom expulsion, may also function to increase the dispersal area of the spat venom thereby maximizing the chance of making contact with the cornea.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cundall & Greene 2000;Jackson 2003). There is some evidence of functional convergence within these venom delivery systems; the fang sheath appears to play the same functional role in spitting cobras as it does in the independently evolved Crotalus (Young et al 2004). The ability to 'spit' venom has evolved in at least three elapid radiations (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analyses of venom spitting in African cobras (Elapidae: Serpentes)

Young

O’Shea

2005

African Zoology

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The venom spat by four spitting cobras (Naja nigricollis, N. pallida, N. mossambica and Hemachatus haemachatus) was caught using perspex plates. Densiometric analysis of the spat venom revealed low levels of variation in volume among successive spits. The dispersal patterns formed by the spat venom were divided into two basic classes, both of which were produced by all four species. The low levels of variation in venom volume, coupled with the variation in venom dispersal pattern, suggests a complexity to the regulation of venom flow in spitting cobras beyond simply neuromuscular control of the extrinsic venom gland.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analyses of venom spitting in African cobras (Elapidae: Serpentes)

Young

O’Shea

2005

African Zoology

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Mechanisms controlling venom expulsion in the western diamondback rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox

Young

Kardong

2006

J. Exp. Zool.

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Although many studies have documented variation in the amount of venom expended during bites of venomous snakes, the mechanistic source of this variation remains uncertain. This study used experimental techniques to examine how two different features of the venom delivery system, the muscle surrounding the venom gland (the Compressor Glandulae in the rattlesnake) and the fang sheath, could influence venom flow in the western diamondback rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox. Differential contraction of the Compressor Glandulae explained only approximately 30% of the variation in venom flow. Lifting (compression) of the fang sheath as occurs during a normal strike produced marked increases in venom flow; these changes were closely correlated and exceed in magnitude by almost 10 Â those recorded from the Compressor Glandulae alone. These results suggest that variation in these two aspects of the venom delivery system-both in terms of magnitude and temporal patterning-explain most of the observed variation in venom injection. The lack of functional or mechanical links between the Compressor Glandulae and the fang sheath, and the lack of skeletal or smooth muscle within the fang sheath, make it unlikely that variation in venom flow is under direct neural control. Instead, differential venom injection results from differences in the pressurization by the Compressor Glandulae, the gate keeping effects of the fang sheath and enclosed soft-tissue chambers, and by differences in the pressure returned by peripheral resistance of the target tissue.

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The rise and fall of the Iberian cobras (Elapidae, Naja) in the context of their European and global fossil record

Villa,

Quadros,

Delfino

et al. 2024

Papers in Palaeontology

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Very few remains of elapid snakes are known from the Iberian Peninsula, but these include a probable endemic extinct species of cobra, Naja iberica from the Late Miocene. We here describe isolated cobra vertebrae from several Middle–Late Miocene localities in the Vallès‐Penedès Basin (Catalonia, Spain). All of these fossils are herein referred to an indeterminate species of the genus Naja. These remains are the first conclusive evidence that cobras were present in Iberia before the Messinian Salinity Crisis, and that they persisted there throughout the Miocene (and ultimately until the Pliocene). Recently, a phylogeny of extinct Naja based on cranial and vertebral morphology recognized N. iberica as a distinct lineage separate from the Central European one, represented mainly by Naja romani. However, due to taxonomic uncertainties, it is still unclear whether Iberian cobras were all part of a single lineage or whether several Naja lineages inhabited the Iberian Peninsula. They went extinct in Iberia before the end of the Pliocene. In the Vallès‐Penedès Basin, cobras were living in a mosaic environment, surviving through different phases characterized by different environmental features.

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The buccal buckle: the functional morphology of venom spitting in cobras

Cited by 34 publications

References 28 publications

Analyses of venom spitting in African cobras (Elapidae: Serpentes)

Analyses of venom spitting in African cobras (Elapidae: Serpentes)

Mechanisms controlling venom expulsion in the western diamondback rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox

The rise and fall of the Iberian cobras (Elapidae, Naja) in the context of their European and global fossil record

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