We all know to be wary of toxic encounters with the natural world, whether it's watching out for venomous snakes or not eating poisonous berries. But while both of those threats involve toxins, we call the berries"poisonous" and the snakes"venomous."
"If you bite it and you get sick, it's poisonous. If it bites or stings you and you get sick, then it's venomous," said Jason Strickland , a biologist at the University of South Alabama who studies venom.In a research article published in 2013 in the journal Biological Reviews , scientists proposed a third category of natural toxins: the"toxungens." Toxungens are actively sprayed or hurled toward their victim without an injection.
Spitting cobras, like the black-necked spitting cobra and the Philippine cobra , spit out toxins in self-defense when confronting a threat and inject venom into their prey to hunt, making them both toxungenous and venomous creatures. Sometimes, two different methods are used for the same purpose. The fire salamander defends itself with toxins on its skin and toxins squirted from its eyes, making it both toxungenous and poisonous.
Some Mojave rattlesnake venom actually has both neurotoxins and hemotoxins , making these venomous animals potentially"a very unpleasant species to get bitten by," Strickland said.
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