Venom-Squirting Scorpions Blind Enemies with Toxin

by Joseph Castro, Live Science Contributor | April 30, 2015 07:34am ET

Some scorpions are able to spray their venom, an ability they use defensively to try to temporarily disable predators, allowing the stinging arachnids to escape the jaws of death, a new study suggests.

From skunks to bombardier beetles, a wide range of animals spray chemicals defensively. But only a relatively few species are known to squirt highly toxic venom when threatened, most notably spitting cobras.

In the 1960s and 1970s, researchers discovered that at least seven species of the Afrotropical scorpion in the genus Parabuthus could also defensively spray venom. At the time, researchers thought this ability was reflexive, something the scorpions did uncontrollably when startled. [Watch the Venom-Spraying Scorpion (Video)] 

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Algae toxin causes epilepsy in sea lions

March 2014: California sea lions exposed to a toxin in algae develop a form of epilepsy that is similar to the condition in humans, say scientists.

Every year, hundreds of sea lions wash up along the California coast, suffering seizures caused by exposure to domoic acid, a neurotoxin that can produce memory loss, tremors, convulsions and death.

Domoic acid is produced by algae blooms that have been proliferating along the coast in recent years, accumulating in anchovies and other small fish that the sea lions feed on, said Paul Buckmaster, professor of comparative medicine at Stanford University. The harmful algae blooms is thought to be produced by micronutrients contained in agricultural runoff.

And sea lions are not the only victims, for it’s believed that other marine mammals, such as whales and dolphins, are affected by the toxin and may have seizures and drown in the open ocean, though the extent of the problem isn’t known.

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