African rodent uses 'poison arrow' toxin to deter predators
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 - 21:30
in Biology & Nature
The African crested rat is the only mammal known that acquires its poison from a plant. Woe to the clueless predator trying to make a meal of the African crested rat, a rodent that applies poisonous plant toxin to sponge-like hairs on its flanks, a discovery recently made by Jonathan Kingdon and colleagues from the National Museums of Kenya, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and University of Oxford.