摘要

蛇类尾腺分泌的毒液功能长期以来成谜。最新研究表明，这些毒液最初是白垩纪时期蛇类对抗蚂蚁的防御武器，当时蛇类主要生活在地下。科学家Weldon和Vander Meer通过实验发现，包括蟒蛇、响尾蛇和眼镜王蛇在内的多种蛇类毒液能迅速使火蚁瘫痪并致死。现代蛇类保留这一特性，因毒液同时能吓退哺乳动物捕食者，它们厌恶毒液污染的猎物。这一适应性可能源自如德州盲蛇等小型穴居祖先，它们在攻击昆虫巢穴时会用毒液自卫。这一发现揭示了无肢动物如何高效利用身体两端进行生存防御。

Snakes universally produce toxic secretions from tail glands, previously of unknown function. New research reveals these evolved primarily as ant defense during the Cretaceous period when early snakes inhabited subterranean environments. Experiments led by Weldon and Vander Meer demonstrated secretions from diverse snakes (boa constrictors, rattlesnakes, king cobras) paralyze and kill fire ants within hours. Modern formidable snakes retain this trait because the secretions secondarily deter mammalian predators – carnivores avoid meat tainted with the substance. The adaptation likely originated in small, burrowing ancestors like the ant-eating Texas blindsnake, which actively coats itself in secretion when raiding insect nests. This dual-purpose defense exemplifies how limbless animals maximize survival mechanisms at both ends of their bodies.