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Posted by BGF on August 20, 2002 at 08:57:28:
In Reply to: Re: On par? posted by Trust on August 19, 2002 at 07:42:19:
:Thanks for the info.
No worries. Thats what I'm here for ;-)
:Yes, I remember your railings against lawmakers who were obviously acting without hard scientific evidence regarding rear fanged species. I can also appreciate the irony of position you know find yourself in by (potentially, until it's actually published) providing the very scientific research that supports these law makers.
It is such an ironic position to be in. However, considering that my point was that there was no evidence, I know how to stick by those same standards.
:Well, we just have to be honest with ourselves and what the science provides. I would hate to hear of a case where some kid bought a mangrove, got bitten, and had a nasty reaction. That's not the kind of surprise you want to spring on kids who are herp
enthusiasts, and it just makes the herp trade look bad.
I totally, utterly and in all other ways agree with you.
:While some proponents of rear fanged species will probably be dissapointed by your reasearch findings, hoping it wasn't as bad as it sounds like it's going to be, what's important is the science provides all people with the ability to make a better informed judgment regarding these species.
Well see how it shapes up at the end of the day. However, thus far it doesn't look good for Boiga. While some species are rather weak, others are extremely toxic and many are scattered in between. Considering that we have a random sample of eight or so species (ie. whatever we could get our hands on) this means that the rest of the genus is a pretty big unknown. To an adult, I would not reckon them to be a major drama. However a big snake to a small child could cause a severe bite. As I said, we'll see how it all stacks up. This study is the neurotoxicity study, next up will be the blood effects. There will certainly be some nasty ones in there (I am particularly leary of any Asian natricine. Too many are very closely related to Rhabdophis and some (such as Enhydris and Macropisthodon) have much larger fangs).
:BGF, thanks for not reading more into my question about human saliva. It occured to me after I posted it that it might be perceived as an attempt to downplay the danger of colubrid secretions - which was not the case. I really just wanted to know about human saliva.
It was a very legitimate question.
:By the way, you were sorely missed at the Daytona herp show this past weekend.
:
I very much would have liked to have been there. I just arrived back from chasing sea snakes for a Nat Geo doco though ;-)
Cheers
BGF
