“It’s really an exciting time to be a venom researcher.”
April 3, 2017 7:39 AM Subscribe
"Think about a venomous fang, and you’ll probably conjure up an image of a snake or spider. But perhaps you should also spare a thought for group of unassuming reef fish that are appropriately called fangblennies."
Link to the Damn Paper: The Evolution of Fangs, Venom, and Mimicry Systems in Blenny Fishes.
Link to the Damn Paper: The Evolution of Fangs, Venom, and Mimicry Systems in Blenny Fishes.
I would imagine that every day is an exciting day to be a venom researcher.
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:54 AM on April 3, 2017 [13 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:54 AM on April 3, 2017 [13 favorites]
I might start using 'Fangblennies!' as a swear-word substitute, a mild yet satisfying enough term perhaps to use on occasion of being bitten by something painlessly venomous.
posted by misteraitch at 9:29 AM on April 3, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by misteraitch at 9:29 AM on April 3, 2017 [7 favorites]
I mean, studying monkeys (I hear) is very exciting, but imagine if they were venomous monkeys!
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:47 AM on April 3, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:47 AM on April 3, 2017 [3 favorites]
There's a guy named Baldomero Olivera who researches cone snail venom.
I learned about the concept of toxin cabals.
The cabal strategy is essentially the use of multiple toxins to overthrow the same neuronal circuit. There are several, but the two I remember are the lightning cabal, which causes overexcitation (think a seizure) and the nirvana cabal, which causes euphoria by overloading the same circuits that euphoriant drugs do.
posted by actionpotential at 11:14 AM on April 3, 2017 [7 favorites]
I learned about the concept of toxin cabals.
The cabal strategy is essentially the use of multiple toxins to overthrow the same neuronal circuit. There are several, but the two I remember are the lightning cabal, which causes overexcitation (think a seizure) and the nirvana cabal, which causes euphoria by overloading the same circuits that euphoriant drugs do.
posted by actionpotential at 11:14 AM on April 3, 2017 [7 favorites]
I am having a DEEPLY frustrating day at work and this is bizarrely therapeutic stuff to learn about. Thank you, dear ChuraChura, even if I am going to dream that my office is a deep sea horror show full of nightmare creatures like the ones you linked to in the OP...
posted by Hermione Granger at 12:55 PM on April 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Hermione Granger at 12:55 PM on April 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
Nightmare creatures?! Fang blennies are cute.
Sure, you get diagrams of its skeleton and skull and it's a bit scary, but you can't judge a species based on how it appears in its undead state. And the one close up of the little guy with a gaping maw in the article is so unfair, since the thing is like millimeters wide at most. It's like looking at a photo of a kitten mid yawn and being freaked out.
Here's a blackline blenny that captures some of its charm. I'm hoping they manage to captive breed the red sea mimic blenny, which is the non-venomous mimic mentioned in the OP journal reference.
posted by mark k at 11:20 PM on April 3, 2017 [3 favorites]
Sure, you get diagrams of its skeleton and skull and it's a bit scary, but you can't judge a species based on how it appears in its undead state. And the one close up of the little guy with a gaping maw in the article is so unfair, since the thing is like millimeters wide at most. It's like looking at a photo of a kitten mid yawn and being freaked out.
Here's a blackline blenny that captures some of its charm. I'm hoping they manage to captive breed the red sea mimic blenny, which is the non-venomous mimic mentioned in the OP journal reference.
posted by mark k at 11:20 PM on April 3, 2017 [3 favorites]
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posted by Etrigan at 8:23 AM on April 3, 2017 [7 favorites]