Most snakes are born with poisonous bites they use for defense. But what can non-poisonous snakes do to ward off predators?
What if they could borrow a dose of poison by eating toxic toads, then recycling the toxins?
That's exactly what happens in the relationship between an Asian snake and a species of toad, according to a team of researchers funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS).
Herpetologists Deborah Hutchinson, Alan Savitzky of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., and colleagues published results of research on the snake's dependence on certain toads in this week's online issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
