title: Spitting cobras adjust their venom distribution to target distance.
abstract: If threatened by a human, spitting cobras defend themselves by ejecting their venom toward the face of the antagonist. Circulating head movements of the cobra ensure that the venom is distributed over the face. To assure an optimal distribution of the venom, the amplitudes of head movements should decrease with increasing target distance. To find out whether cobras (Naja pallida and N. nigricollis) adjust their spitting behavior according to target distance we induced spitting from different distances and analyzed their spitting patterns. Our results show that the spray pattern of spitting cobras is not fixed. Instead the snake matches its venom distribution to the size of the target independent of target distance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Neurophysiology, Institute of Zoology, University Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Ruben Andres
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Berthé
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: de Pury
authors.forename: Horst
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bleckmann
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Westhoff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D004215:Distance Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D004546:Elapid Venoms / Q000378:metabolism; D017815:Elapidae / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012044:Regression Analysis
chemical_list: D004546:Elapid Venoms