VENOMOUS snakes evolved only once 60 million years ago from primitive python-like snakes that crush their prey, according to a study of toxins from over a hundred snake species.
The finding should settle debate about how often and how recently venomous snakes evolved. Some researchers believe venomous snakes evolved several times over the aeons, along with many lineages of snakes that are supposedly non-venomous, yet cannot crush their prey.
But Bryan Fry, deputy director of the University of Melbourne’s Australian Venom Research Unit, who ran the study, says almost all snakes that cannot crush prey poison it instead, and they…
