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These symptoms are due to vasoconstriction caused by maitotoxin. [6] [21] [22] [23] Ciguatoxin lowers the threshold for opening voltage-gated sodium channels in synapses of the nervous system. Opening a sodium channel causes depolarization, which could sequentially cause paralysis, heart contraction, and changing the senses of hot and cold.
DSP and its symptoms usually set in within about half an hour of ingesting infected shellfish, and last for about one day. The causative poison is okadaic acid, which inhibits intestinal cellular dephosphorylation. [1] This causes the cells to become very water-permeable and the host to profusely defecate into a high risk of dehydration.
Copious amounts of red saliva the Komodo dragons produce help to lubricate the food, but swallowing is still a long process (15–20 minutes to swallow a goat). A Komodo dragon may attempt to speed up the process by ramming the carcass against a tree to force it down its throat, sometimes ramming so forcefully that the tree is knocked down. [43]
Shellfish poisoning includes four syndromes that share some common features and are primarily associated with bivalve molluscs (such as mussels, clams, oysters and scallops.) [1] As filter feeders, these shellfish may accumulate toxins produced by microscopic organisms, such as cyanobacteria, diatoms and dinoflagellates.
Komodo dragons, the world’s largest species of lizard, have iron-tipped teeth that help them to rip their prey apart, according to new research. ... analyzed Komodo dragon teeth using advanced ...
An employee at an Ohio zoo is recovering after officials say the worker was attacked by a Komodo dragon. It happened March 3 at the Akron Zoo, the zoo said in a March 19 news release following an ...
Amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) is an illness caused by consumption of shellfish that contain the marine biotoxin called domoic acid. [1] In mammals , including humans, domoic acid acts as a neurotoxin , causing permanent short-term memory loss , brain damage , and death in severe cases.
Vehicle collisions are a common cause of death for desert monitors. This is because the species uses the surfaces of roads for basking, and also uses roads when scavenging for roadkill. [20] A common cause of death in Morocco is the presence of concrete wells used for retaining rainwater, locally called matfias.