HOW did snakes evolve one of nature’s most complex bioweapons, the snake fang and its associated venom gland? The origin of the fang has been a puzzle, but now it seems this weapon may have evolved as a result of a simple embryological change.
Vipers and cobras both have large, hollow fangs at the front of their mouth, while other snakes have fangs at the back, and some have no fangs at all. Vipers and cobras are only distantly related, suggesting their fangs evolved independently, yet it strains credulity that such a sophisticated system should have evolved twice. A huge…
