title: Potential targets aimed at by spitting cobras when deterring predators from attacking.
abstract: When threatened, spitting cobras eject venom towards the face of an aggressor. To uncover the relevant cues used by cobras for face recognition we determined how often artificial targets equipped with or without eyes elicited spitting behavior. In addition, we measured whether and how target shape and size influenced the spitting behavior of cobras. Results show that oval- and round-shaped targets were most effective, while triangles with the same surface area as oval 'face like' targets hardly elicited spitting. The likelihood of spitting depended on neither the presence, the spatial arrangement (horizontal or vertical) nor the surface texture (shiny or matt) of glass eyes. Most likely, cobras do not specifically aim at the eyes of an offender but at the center of the body part closest to them. As this is usually the face of an animal, this strategy will result in at least one eye of the offender being hit most of the time.
authors: Department of Comparative Neurobiology, University of Bonn, Institute of Zoology, 53115, Bonn, Germany, berthe@uni-bonn.de.
authors: Ruben Andres
authors: RA
authors: Berthé
authors: Guido
authors: G
authors: Westhoff
authors: Horst
authors: H
authors: Bleckmann
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003463:Cues; D004215:Distance Perception; D004546:Elapid Venoms / Q000378:metabolism*; D017815:Elapidae / Q000502:physiology*; D005123:Eye; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D014796:Visual Perception
chemical_list: D004546:Elapid Venoms
references: J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 1993;31(1):45-62
references: 8433415
references: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1976 May;25(3):525-9
references: 1084700
references: J Exp Biol. 2010 Jun 1;213(11):1797-802
references: 20472765
references: J Exp Biol. 2002 May;205(Pt 9):1275-83
references: 11948204
references: Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 1985;223(4):196-201
references: 4054642
references: J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2009 Aug;195(8):753-7
references: 19462171
references: J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2005 Oct;191(10):873-81
references: 16007458
references: Toxicon. 1999 Sep;37(9):1271-9
references: 10400288
references: Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2007 Nov;45(2):437-53
references: 17870616
references: J Comp Physiol Psychol. 1975 Mar;89(1):86-94
references: 1171124
references: Physiol Biochem Zool. 2009 Jan-Feb;82(1):80-9
references: 19046067
references: J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 1993;31(1):31-41
references: 8433414