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Rare Venomous Mammal Filmed
Smivs writes "The BBC are reporting that footage of one of the world's most strange and elusive mammals has been captured by scientists.
Large, and with a long, thin snout, the Hispaniolan solenodon resembles an overgrown shrew. It can inject passing prey with a venom-loaded bite.
Dr Sam Turvey, a ZSL (Zoological Society of London) researcher involved with the program, told BBC News: 'It is an amazing creature — it is one of the most evolutionary distinct mammals in the world.'
Along with the other species of solenodon, which is found in Cuba (Solenodon cubanus), it is the only living mammal that can actually inject venom into their prey through specialized teeth.
Little is known about the creature, which is found in the Caribbean, but it is under threat from deforestation, hunting and introduced species.
Researchers say conservation efforts are now needed.
The mammal was filmed in the summer of 2008 during a month-long expedition to the Dominican Republic — one of only two countries where this nocturnal, insect-eating animal (Solenodon paradoxus) can be found (the other is Haiti).
The researchers from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Ornithological Society of Hispaniola were able to take measurements and DNA from the creature before it was released."
The footage came from the District of Columbia.
What will slashdot be without Cowboy Neal?
Oh, yeah, it's not easy to pad these out to 120 characters.
Obviously they never met my ex-girlfriend...
i told you it was real
Jesus saves souls and redeems them for valuable cash prizes
and yet, so deadly.
WARNING: Do not pet the Hispaniolan for it's cuteness can kill!!!
Life is not for the lazy.
Rare Venomous Mammal
Is it a Klingon who keeps the venom in a sac on the side of his jaw, and goes after amphibian women?
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Hey, do we really need to resort to these petty ad hominem attacks when referring to Ann Coulter?
It can inject passing prey with a venom-loaded bite
and later
this nocturnal, insect-eating animal
must be pretty small teeth to be able to inject insects with a poison.
Vermicious Knids are real!
"I'm just here to regulate funkiness."
3... 2... 1...
'Every story, if continued long enough, ends in death.' --Ernest Hemingway
Solenodons On a Plane! Hmmm, doesn't have quite the same ring.
I find it bizarre that this thing needs to inject venom into a little insect. Usually venomous land animals eat prey that is at least their own size or larger. That's what the venom is for, it gives an advantage so the predator can take on large or otherwise dangerous prey.
oh boy...
Passing prey with venom-loaded fangs?
I guess I'll just have to, for one, be welcoming our new, elusive, venomous, overlords.
Or wives.
Baboons are cute.
They have no clue how many of these things there are, (other than there is more than one but fewer than enough to pave the whole island), but if course they're automatically "endangered" or "under threat" or whatever.
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
Odds are this thing evolved from the legendary The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka ...
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
I always thought vampire myths came from Rabies.
But if the fine article is correct about venemous teeth being an ancient trait of mammals that we evolved out of -- would that mean that ancient humans or apes may have had venomous teeth as well?
Maybe there's a chupacabra out there riding Nessie around the Loch Ness...
"Solenodon paradoxus collects food by digging extensive tunnel systems under the ground, then foraging for insects and other invertebrates from the surrounding soil.
Foods eaten include: millipedes (Iulides), ground beetles (Carabidae), various orthopteran insects (Gryllidae, Tettigoniidae, Blattidae), earthworms (Lumbricidae) and various types of snails."
Strange that an animal loaded with venom doesn't go after small mammals or something.
"Solenodon paradoxus is described as a 'slow mover' and a 'clumsy runner with no agility in avoiding enemies and a poor means of defense'"
So what you're saying is, Solenodon paradoxus is the nerd of the jungle.
more interesting facts: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Solenodon_paradoxus.html
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Looks like a possum...probably tastes like one, too.
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
Rodents of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist.
include $sig;
1;
As well as having a venomous bite, a solenodon has glands in the armpits and in the groin which allegedly give off a goat-like smell. It readily defends itself against one of its own kind and is apparently not immune to its own venom since animals have been seen to die after fighting and sustaining minor wounds. It also probably attacks other animals savagely judging from the way a captive solenodon was reported to have attacked a young chicken and torn it to pieces with its strong claws, before eating it. In moments of excitement it may grunt like a pig or give bird-like cries, but when pursued it stays motionless and hides its head, making it easy to capture.
This animal does sound kind of odd. It can rip apart a chicken like a bear, grunt like a pig and smell like a man. I wonder if it's threatened by global warming?
If they only now found one, how the heck is it threatened by hunting?
Anyone else getting the R.O.U.S. feeling?
And all this time I thought the platypus was the only venomous mammal. You learn something new every day.
Large, and with a long, thin snout ... It can inject passing prey with a venom-loaded bite.
... one of only two countries where this nocturnal, insect-eating animal (Solenodon paradoxus) can be found ...
OK. Large venom injecting animal probably doesn't need venom to eat insects.
-- Mean People Suck
How does this work, I wonder? Are the mammals in question actually immune to the poison, or are they just built not to bite themselves somehow? Seems the most likely explanation.
If the latter though, I wonder if this is related to mammalian affection at all? Lots of mammals seem to be affectionate enough to lick their young/mates, nuzzle, groom peers, playfight, etc...
Just from reading this article, I feel like it's the lead in to a Monty Python sketch.
"And in this cage," (displays empty cage), "we can see the rare Caribbean poisonous shrew, which jumps out and injects its' prey with venom. Bites are instantly fatal, so we have to use extreme..."
[A brown blur crosses the screen and attacks the speaker's face] "AAAAAAARRRRRRRGH!"
Do you like Japanese imports?
Killer Shrew!
Killer Shrew!
Don't know the difference 'tween me and you!
He comes out at night,
To give you a fright!
Don't look now
But he's gonna take a bite!
(Down-da-da-down-da-da-down-da-da-down)
Killer Shrew!
Killer Shrew!
K-I-Double L-E-R Shrew
He's scary and tough!
If that ain't enough,
He's augmented with
Bat mites and stuff!
--MST3K ode to the Killer Shrews
How did they get footage of my wife???
If it eats insects, why would it need venomous teeth? It looks like the kind of thing that runs away from bigger animals, so I can't imagine it used in defense. And insects could be swallowed whole.
Although, I don't know what insects are look in the Dominican Republic... I've seen desert cockroaches bigger than a human hand.
As seen in the image linked in my post at http://www.stricklyjottings.com/node/22
Check out the wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispaniolan_Solenodon "Females, even though they have an irregular estrus period that is apparently unrelated to seasonal changes, may have two litters of 1-3 young per year. Usually, only 2 of the offspring (weighing 40 to 55 grams) survive, because the female only has two teats, which are found in a most unusual place: near the buttocks of the animal." "As well as having a venomous bite, a solenodon has glands in the armpits and in the groin which allegedly give off a goat-like smell." "When they do come out, they run on their toes with a stiff ungainly waddle, following an erratic almost zigzag course. The local people claim that solenodons never run in a straight line. Moreover, when a solenodon is alarmed and tries to put on speed it is as likely as not to trip over its own toes or even tumble head-over-heels."
Until I saw the video, I thought maybe they had footage of a real ROUS
Good, old-fashioned, nightmare fuel.
"MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
I bet it'll do fine eating sewer rats and other city gunk.
The article mentions that this critter subsists on a diet of insects. It would be a rather significant step to go from eating invertebrates to eating other mammals.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
Or... the Dianne Feinstein / Nancy Pelosi / Hillary Clinton jokes.
The three Gorgon sisters of politics... and venemous as hell itself... all three of them.
As we all know, mammals respect political borders.
Fact: Everything I say is fiction.
We discovered a River Otter living in our pond. I was suddenly glad the little guy wasn't poisonous. He was enjoying one of my bluegill for breakfast this am. If he starts eating my bass he could become an endangered species. Cute little rascal, though.
Wonder why an insect eating mammal needs venom? Those must be some bad ass bugs he's hunting.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
and then tell us if "feminem" is still appropriate...
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I know that, somewhere, a crazy genetic engineer is holding one of those little venomous beasts in his hand and thinking to himself, "These are cool. I wish they were bigger!"
His office is right next door to the insane scientist who is trying to breed 40 lb tarantulas, and down the hall from the aquarium-hugging genius who wants to cross flying fish with piranhas.
Andrew Borntreger
Champion of cinematic disasters
Well, I have to agree with parent post on this. I have lived on the Dominican Republic for 33 years, and had never even heard of these solenodons. Guess it's time to leave the office and see my surroundings every once in a while...
Did I just say that??
I, for one, welcome our new Hispaniolan solenodon overlords!
I mean they're venomous as well. (Well at least some species.) These guys can actually pump it in (keep you minds out of the gutter) instead of it just flowing out? (I said keep your minds out of the gutter.)
Did you know 80 to 90% of the moderators on slashdot wouldn't recognize a troll even if one dragged them under a bridge.
"it is the only living mammal that can actually inject venom into their prey through specialized teeth" did they invite Steve Ballmer to this contest? At least the shrew cannot throw a chair very far.
"Question everything, including this!" - http://technoracle.blogspot.com/
I was reading New York Times, and was under the impression, that George Bush can inject venom too. But maybe he is not a mammal ?
JAM
A mammal that injects venom into their prey through specialized teeth?
Sounds more like the his mother-in-law
they are not the same letter.
They're using their grammar skills there.
Star Nosed Mole
"Engineering. Where the noble, semi-skilled laborers execute the vision of those who think and dream." -Sheldon
Implies that they somehow, by accident, captured it on video somewhere deep in a jungle. You watch the video and NOPE. It is confinement with handlers. How is that rare footage?
I'll try anything once. Twice if it tastes good
What about Man Bear Pig?!?!?!?!?! I'm super serial!!!!!!!!!!
.. if it ever figures out how to get a Yelp account.
Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
But what does it taste like?
Must leave your tongue numbed when you eat a bit....
I was trying to figure out why this thing would need to use poison when TFA only mentions a diet of insects. According to Wikipedia the "diet of solenodons consists largely of insects, earthworms, and other invertebrates, but they also eat vertebrate carrion, and perhaps even some living vertebrate prey such as small reptiles or amphibians"
No one cares what your captcha was
Houston TX, USA
That could be the ms mascot....
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
A bite to the hand will hurt and make your arm grow twice its size for a week not much more. The teeth themselves are large enough to inflict serious damage though. The animal was a bit clumsy and quite nice until we started handling it.
"The mammal was filmed in the summer of 2008 during a month-long expedition to the Dominican Republic -- one of only two countries where this nocturnal, insect-eating animal (Solenodon paradoxus) can be found (the other is Haiti)."
Haiti and the Dominican Republic are two states on one island in the Caribbean.
A poisonous creature that has, until now, been widely unknown? Let us take a lesson from Hollywood. Everytime we venture into the jungle or whatever, and discover a world hidden from time, clone dinosaurs, or befriend giant ape things go wrong. One-of-a-kind evolutionary discovery my butt. So was Godzilla, the Thing, the Blob.
This critter will soon develop a taste for human flesh, and then the Cuba Shrew Crisis starts all over again.
I say it's them or us.
I guess the summary is technically correct, since it mentions "through its teeth". But platypus is notable for also having venomous spurs. Certainly that doesn't change the observation that venomous mammals are rare.
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That's what I thought it said at first. Yikes
It can inject passing prey with a venom-loaded bite...
So can my ex-wife...
Proverbs 21:19
If your folks give you a cute, furry, long-nosed mammal, they may have just taken out a large life insurance policy on you and may have plans to retire in the Caymans.
I use irony whenever I can, but my shirts are still wrinkled...
Can it even kill us?
Who cares? I'm pretty sure we can kill it; the only important question here is how do they taste?
El Chupacabras!!!
I'm imagining that I'm in for an endless round of History/Science/Discovery/Animal Planet/BBC channel reruns on this.
Pathological kinda promises Path + Logical - but instead, you get stuck with pathetic.
Where my mom went.
The animal was a bit clumsy and quite nice until we started handling it.
See previous comments about /.ers and girlfriends. But venomous animals?!? sicko
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
Despite sharing the same island, Haiti and The DR are completely different. Haiti looks a bit like the moon with Tomato plantations (where all your ketchup comes from). The Dominican Republic still has the most untouched forests of the Caribbean with Cuba. It is actually surprising that the ZSL team found any traces of the Solenodon in Haiti as even on the other side of the border, the animal only lives in a few limited locations. Several expeditions looked for the animals without success so we were quite lucky to find one. We know of one other animal caught in the wild, photographed and released, and of several that were brought to the Santo Domingo zoo only to die soon afterwards. To answer another question, they are indeed eaten but not favoured. The real ROUS, the Hutia, a three pound "vole" is supposed to taste much better and is easier to catch. Not aggressive but bites like crazy when handled. The little Solenodon we caught (790g) was very gentle until we had to forcibly manipulate it to measure its limbs and sex it. Then it screamed like a banshee and seriously tested our kevlar lined gloves. (they work, just!).