8/21/10

A nice example of convergent evolution? Not so fast....

 Puffer fish toxins probably come from their diet, and remarkably, pufferfish have gene mutations that make them resistant to the effects of the toxins. Furthermore, other species, like snakes, have evolved resistance to these toxins!

Article in the NYTimes

(Image from Wikimedia by Mila Zinkova)
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1 comment:

  1. JoleneDecember 6, 2010 at 10:18 AM

    What I found most interesting is that these different types of animals living in different places: the puffer fish, Japanese newts, blue-ringed octopus and Panamanian frog, have the exact same toxin that comes from their diet rather then them synthesizing it in their bodies. It will indeed be interesting in future years to see if the toxin appears in new species as was predicted by the scientists

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