Sunday, June 2, 2019

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

The Biology of the Venom of Hapalochlaena maculosaHapalochlaena maculosa, commonly known as the blue-ringed octopus, is a golf ball-sized cephalopod inhabiting the waters more or less Tasmania and southeastern Australia with a juicyly potent neurotoxin that it uses as a predatory and defensive mechanism. H. maculosa does not actually synthesize its venom, but 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 humans when they disturb the usually unsocial octopus. Tetrodotoxin (TTX), the principle component of maculotoxin, inhibits the nervous system by binding to sodium channels on nerve cells to prevent the flow of sodium and release of neurotransmitters. young findings have shown that there are sodium channel variants that are either immune or resistant to tetrodotoxin. In most humans, however, victims of the blue-ringed octopuss neurotoxin will enter into increasingly dangerous stages of paralysis, which will often end in death of the victim without medical assistance. Sustained medical care for the sequence of the toxins personal 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 many of the most venomous animals in the world. Many people know that the bites from many 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 eubstance come to mind. However, one of Australias deadliest creatures has a toxin that works in a very different way. The venom of Hapalochlaena maculosa, or the blue-ringed octopus, causes relatively little pain, but its effects are much more terrifying 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 mouth region that houses the beak, and a pair of eyes. Surrounding the mouth are eight or ten tentacles which are lined with suckers. Within the pall cavity are the visceral organs, including the venom apparatus (Halstead et al.

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