VENOMS. 



PAP.T L 



CHAPTER I. 



GENERAL NOTES ON POISONOUS ANIMALS—POISON- 

 OUS SNAKES: GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AND 

 ANATOMO-PHYSIOLOGICAL CHABACTEBS. 



I. — General Notes on Poisonous Animals. 



-^'- A LARGE number of animals possess special glandular organs 

 capable of secreting toxic substances called venoms. 



Sometimes these substances are simply discharged into the 

 surrounding medium, and serve to keep off enemies {toad, sala- 

 mander) ; sometimes they mingle with the fluids and digestive 

 juices, and then play an important part in the nourishment of the 

 animal that produces them (snakes) ; in other cases, again, they 

 are capable of being inoculated by means of stings or teeth specially 

 adapted for this purpose, and then they serve at once as a means 

 of attack or defence, and as a digestive ferment {snakes, spiders, 

 scorpions, bees). 



An animal is said to be venomous when it possesses the power 

 of inoculating its venom. 



Venomous species are met with in almost all the lower zoological 

 groups, in the Protozoa, Coelenterates, Arthropods, Molluscs, and in 

 a large number of Vertebrates (fishes, amphibians, and reptiles). 



The reptiles are best endowed in this respect, and it is in this 

 class of creatures that we meet with the species most dangerous 

 c 1 



