The Evolution of Venom

From ancient Conodonts to modern-day rattlesnakes, venom has independently evolved in a diverse array of creatures including snakes, spiders, scorpions, and even mammals like the platypus. Discover how venom serves as both a weapon for predation and a defense mechanism, and learn the crucial differences between venomous and poisonous animals.

Evolution Talk is also a book! You can find links to Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others on the front page of EvolutionTalk.com, or call your local bookstore and ask them to order a copy.

Works Cited

“Biophysics of Snakebites: How Do Venomous Snakes Inject Venom Into Victim’s Wound?” ScienceDaily, 11 May 2011, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110516121728.htm.

Black, Riley. “Sinornithosaurus Probably Wasn’T Venomous After All.” Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Nov. 2013, www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/sinornithosaurus-probably-wasnt-venomous-after-all-75529149.

“Brazilian Pit Viper | ari.info.” ari.info, www.animalresearch.info/en/drug-development/venom-derived-drugs/brazilian-pit-viper.

British Heart Foundation. “Heart drugs with weird origins.” British Heard Foundation, www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/medical/drug-cabinet/heart-drugs-with-weird-origins.

Conodonts: They Just Got Scarier. coo.fieldofscience.com/2009/12/conodonts-they-just-got-scarier.html.

Dance, Amber. “Venomous Fish Have Evolved Many Ways to Inflict Pain.” Science News, 8 Aug. 2019, www.sciencenews.org/article/venomous-fish-have-evolved-many-ways-inflict-pain.

Diabetes Drug From Gila Monster Venom. www.research.va.gov/research_in_action/Diabetes-drug-from-Gila-monster-venom.cfm.

“Drug Derived From Gila Monster Saliva Helps Diabetics Control Glucose, Lose Weight.” ScienceDaily, 7 July 2007, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070709175815.htm.

“For One of the Oldest Venomous Bites, Look to This Ancient Mammal Relative.” Earth Touch News Network, www.earthtouchnews.com/discoveries/fossils/for-one-of-the-oldest-venomous-bites-look-to-this-ancient-mammal-relative.

Gila Monster: Meet the Reptile Whose Bite Is Saving Lives. 6 Nov. 2017, www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-monster-whose-bite-saves-lives.html.

Gong, Enpu, et al. “The Birdlike Raptor Sinornithosaurus Was Venomous.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 107, no. 2, Dec. 2009, pp. 766–68. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0912360107.

Intern, Nova. The Venom Chronicles: Dinosaur Venom | Inside NOVA | PBS. www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/insidenova/2011/02/the-venom-chronicles-dinosaur-venom.html.

“Kiss of Death: Mammals Were the First Animals to Produce Venom.” ScienceDaily, 17 Feb. 2017, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170213131412.htm#:~:text=Living%20in%20the%20Karoo%2C%20near,What%20is%20this%3F.

National Center for Biotechnology Information. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

NIHF Inductee Miguel Ondetti Invented Captopril Medication. 2024, www.invent.org/inductees/miguel-angel-ondetti.

Rensch, Gage, and Heather M. Murphy-Lavoie. “Lionfish, Scorpionfish, and Stonefish Toxicity.” StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf, 31 July 2023, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482204.

Sci.News. “Proto-Mammals Were First Terrestrial Vertebrates to Produce Venom, Paleontologists Say.” Sci.News: Breaking Science News, 17 Feb. 2017, www.sci.news/paleontology/euchambersia-mirabilis-venom-04626.html.

Volume 54 Issue 4 | Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. bioone.org/journals/acta-palaeontologica-polonica/volume-54/issue-4.

“Wide World of Venom – Fish.” School of Biomedical Sciences, 10 June 2020, biomedicalsciences.unimelb.edu.au/departments/department-of-biochemistry-and-pharmacology/engage/avru/blog/wide-world-of-venom-fish.

Music in this Episode Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology news

“I will be using some of these podcasts for my high school students. ”

“Intelligent, informative, & insightful.”

Apple Podcast Review