January 21 (UPI) – Evolution has provided tremendous biodiversity, proof that there is no one right answer. But from time to time, life’s challenges encourage the evolution of the same solution – over and over and over again.
According to a new study on cobras, which was published Thursday in the journal Science, the deadly snakes have instantly developed the same poison three times.
This example of convergent evolution, scientists argue, offers evidence that cobras plucked the poison for defensive purposes, weakening theories that snakes develop poisons for prey only.
All smelting cobras use a delivery device similar to spraying poison at distances of up to eight feet. The snakes immediately target the poison at the eyes of potentially threatening creatures.
“Here is another compelling piece of evidence to show that similar evolutionary challenges often generate the same solutions,” study co-author Wolfgang Wüster said in a press release.
“Even though we studied three different cobra groups, which evolved in different places and at different times of evolution, each developed the same defense mechanisms against threat,” said Wüster. researcher at Bangor University in Wales.
All cobras use toxins with cytotoxins, which destroy tissue, but cobras splurge mixes into another class of toxins called phospholipases A2.
The interaction between the two types of toxins caused the poison to be immediate. When sprayed in threatening eyes, it not only hurts, but can cause blindness.
For the study, researchers traced back rows of different cobra groups to find out where the defense mechanism came from. The analysis showed that the strategy emerged among three different groups that emerged in different geographical locations.
The researchers found that chopping cobras were growing around the time humans appear in the fossil record.
“A lot of prime ministers attack snakes with sticks and stones,” Wüster said. long-distance protection through cracking and specially modified protective poisons. “
“The idea that early humans, millions of years ago, may have evolved from the evolution of cobras confirms how our origins were closely linked to the wider ecosystems of Africa and Asia at the time, “Wüster said.