Why Do Snakes Have Venom?

There are many types of snakes in the while with some being as deadly as ever while the rest are deemed to be harmless. Not all snakes produce venoms and a little comparison can be made when looking at the differences between venomous and non-venomous snakes.

If you were to look at the head part, you will see that the venomous snake has a slightly wider head in comparison to non-venomous snakes. The venomous snake also has an elliptical pupil making it look more fearsome as a deadly predator.

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Knowing The Species Of Snakes Based On Ancestors

According to one legend, it was believed snakes previously had legs. But in one instance, the snakes suddenly got stuck in between the bamboo. A creature came and try to pull out the snake from the bamboo but at the cost of the snake's legs. 

It seems that even science has something to say about this. Scientists believed snakes that existed 150 million years ago truly had legs. They even said that snakes today could also grow legs but the capability of growing one has been turned off.

It is as if the snakes had a switch that could switch their biological power all of a sudden. Therefore, snakes had been laying eggs for millions of years to this day and became one of the most populous species in the world.

This species had lived for 110 million years during the dinosaur age and moved across its habitat known as the Gondwana rainforest. It is without legs of course, as it slithers instead. The process of evolution will determine a species' pathways starting from their ancestors.

Scientists have tried very hard to conclude what actually happened from the species of the past until this day.

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A Broader Answer

The venom of the snakes definitely got the attention of many scientists worldwide as they studied it deeper to fully understand this unique creature. It is very lethal if it comes out of a snake's mouth.

However, in the context of humans, we use such substances to improve the existing treatment today such as cancer. A snake's venom can be considered versatile due to its long duration of evolution which is 170 million years.

Meaning to say that a snake's venom comes from a singular source that existed for 170 million years.

Charles Darwin wrote in his book called On the Origin of Species states the challenges of studying a particular species. The effects of such tests will be passed down by generations until the species alters itself altogether. It has been 160 years since the book was written.

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Laticauda colubrina

And it seems that his theory was right since a snake's venom will become weaker if it was not improved. The sea snake's venom for instance had a weaker toxin after the species prefer to consume fish eggs compared to the fish itself.

This means that a snake had to rely on their venom to stay relevant. If its typical diet has changed so will its venom. Due to this reason, many snakes start to lose their venom as they have not become dependent on them.

Whether their typical diets change or even the way they hunt. As long as they can survive, this will give an impact on future generations. To put it into perspective, if let's stay 100 king cobras in one place stop using their venom. It is possible that soon a new species will emerge from the king cobras which cannot put their venom to use.

In a nutshell, this is the way how nature evolves towards balancing itself. If the python has stopped twisting its victim to death, there can be a chance that it will stop ever twisting in the future. They will use venom instead.

Source:

• Casewell, N., et al. (2013). Complex cocktails: the evolutionary novelty of venoms. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 28 (4) : 219-229.

• Donahue, M. (2015, Mei 19). The mother of all snakes looked surprisingly modern. The Smithsonian Magazine.

• Fry, B., et al. (2012). The structural and functional diversification of the Toxicofera reptile venom system. Toxicon. 60 (4): 434-438.

• Kennedy, M. (2016, Oktober 20). How snakes lost their legs. NPR.

• Gomes, A., et al. (2002). Snake venom as therapeutic agents: from toxin to drug development. Indian J Exp Biol. 40 (12): 1353-8.

Also read: Why Don't Fish Freeze In Antarctica?