Now here’s a weird-looking little beastie:
It’s a solenodon (although to me it looks a bit like those big rats – the Rodents of Unusual Size – in the fire-swamp scences of The Princess Bride… gosh, I enjoyed that movie!). And its chief claim to fame is that it’s a venomous mammal. Snakes, blue-ringed octopuses, spiders… there are a lot of venomous animals around, but venomous mammals are actually rather rare. (The only other one I can think of is the platypus.)
While the platypus has venomous spurs on its hindlegs, the solenodon (there are two extant species, one in Cuba & one in Haiti) delivers its poison by biting, using grooves in modified lower incisor teeth as conduits. The image below shows the inner (lingual – closest to the tongue) side of a solenodon lower jaw. The other teeth you can see are molars, typical of the sort you find in other insectivorous animals.
Solenodon paradoxus grooved incisors, from Caribbean Palaeobiology
The venom is produced in modified salivary glands & must be fairly potent stuff – the Science article that first caught my eye is illustrated by an image of a scientist wearing kevlar gloves to handle one of these strange animals! Not that being venomous has done them much good. Solenodons have been driven close to extinction, partly because of predation by introduced mongooses (mongeese?). Habitat destruction has probably had something to do with it as well. Now it seems that a research team, led by scientists from the UK, is surveying the Haitian species’ populations, hoping to learn enough about their distribution & genetics to come up with a viable plan for saving these unusual animals.
I’m glad I found out about solenodons – they are such strange & wonderful creatures & the world would be a less interesting place without them.
Grant says:
My, what a big nose you have 🙂
It’s an interesting looking thing, it’s body proportions look like a gangly teenager. Limbs all over the place.
Just a heads’ up: The “experimental vs ‘historical’ science – does this dichotomy really exist” article seems to be stuck semi-permanently as the the top article.
Alison Campbell says:
Oi! What’s this ‘big nose’ stuff? 🙂
They are strange-looking animals, aren’t they?
(The ‘order’ issue seems to have resolved itself – I suspect it was something that happened when I was queuing a story…)
Grant says:
Not you, the animal! 🙂 You didn’t seriously think I was talking about you, did you?
Alison Campbell says:
No! (I did do a smiley – I wish this platform did proper ones like Ken’s…)
Grant says:
Thought as much, but just making sure. Hate to wind you up the wrong way… there’d be a terrible fate for me next time I meet you I did!! 🙂 I’d probably be feed to a solenodon!
Renée says:
“Rodents of Unusual Size? I don’t believe they exist…”
Am sitting here waiting for my phishing filter to download the pictures of the eponymous solenodon, but from your comments I am very curious!
Nope, it’s not playing ball so I’ll have to keep imagining what a solenodon looks like until my internet connection allows me further than the University intranet again 🙁
Alison Campbell says:
Think of a rat that’s about the size of a fox terrier, with longer legs than your average rat & avery long nose!