The Biology of the Venom of Hapalochlaena Maculosa :: Poisonous Australia Wildlife Essays

The Biology of the spite of Hapalochlaena maculosaHapalochlaena maculosa, commonly known as the blue-ringed octopus, is a golf ball-sized cephalopod inhabiting the waters around Tasmania and southeastern Australia with a elevatedly potent neurotoxin that it uses as a predatory and defensive mechanism. H. maculosa does not actually synthesize its venom, moreover rather, the neurotoxin (known as maculotoxin) is produced by a bacterial symbiont of the octopus that lives in its salivary glands. While not overly aggressive, H. maculosa has been known to bite macrocosm when they disturb the usually reclusive octopus. Tetrodotoxin (TTX), the principle component of maculotoxin, inhibits the nervous trunk by binding to sodium channels on nerve cells to forbid the flow of sodium and release of neurotransmitters. Recent findings have shown that there be sodium channel variants that are either immune or kind to tetrodotoxin. In most humans, however, victims of the blue-ringed octop uss neurotoxin will participate into increasingly dangerous stages of paralysis, which will often end in finale of the victim without medical assistance. Sustained medical care for the duration of the toxins effects will improve the likelihood of a victims survival, but mortality rates are still staggeringly high despite current medical efforts and attempts to find an antidote.IntroductionAustralia is home to legion(predicate) of the most venomous animals in the world. Many people know that the bites from legion(predicate) of Australias snakes and spiders or the stings from its jellyfish and scorpions can be lethal, and oftentimes images of a person writhing in agony as a toxin courses through his or her body seed to mind. However, one of Australias deadliest creatures has a toxin that kit and boodle in a very different way. The venom of Hapalochlaena maculosa, or the blue-ringed octopus, causes comparatively little pain, but its effects are much more marvellous for the victim. This venom, known as maculotoxin, is an unusual venom both in how it has come to be the weapon of the blue-ringed octopus and in how it works.Physical BiologyH. maculosa is a member of Class Cephalopoda and Family Octopodidae. The octopus is made up of a main body, or head, in which there is a well-developed brain, a babble region that houses the beak, and a pair of eyes. Surrounding the mouth are octet or ten tentacles which are lined with suckers. Within the mantle pitfall are the visceral organs, including the venom apparatus (Halstead et al.