Bitten by a Dragon

Ducey, Stephen; Cooper, Jeffrey S.; Wadman, Michael C.

doi:10.1016/j.wem.2016.02.009

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…Morphologically, they fall within the category of other lizards with legs, but compared with them, crocodiles trigger more intense fear in humans. Such a result fits well with the fact that crocodiles together with snakes are the only reptilian predators capable of killing a human [41,42,43,100]. There is also the alligator snapping turtle ( Macrochelys temminckii ) and Komodo dragon ( Varanus komodoensis ), which may be potentially dangerous for humans considering their large body size, although attacks from these species are very rare and the inflicted injuries are mostly manageable [101].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Human Attitude toward Reptiles: A Relationship between Fear, Disgust, and Aesthetic Preferences

Janovcová

Rádlová

Polák

et al. 2019

Animals

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Focusing on one group of animals can bring interesting results regarding our attitudes toward them and show the key features that our evaluation of such animals is based on. Thus, we designed a study of human perception of all reptiles focusing on the relationship between perceived fear, disgust, and aesthetic preferences and differences between snakes and other reptiles. Two sets containing 127 standardized photos of reptiles were developed, with one species per each subfamily. Respondents were asked to rate the animals according to fear, disgust, and beauty on a seven-point Likert scale. Evaluation of reptile species shows that people tend to perceive them as two clearly distinct groups based on their similar morphotype. In a subset of lizards, there was a positive correlation between fear and disgust, while disgust and fear were both negatively correlated with beauty. Surprisingly, a positive correlation between fear and beauty of snakes was revealed, i.e., the most feared species also tend to be perceived as beautiful. Snakes represent a distinct group of animals that is also reflected in the theory of attentional prioritization of snakes as an evolutionary relevant threat.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Human Attitude toward Reptiles: A Relationship between Fear, Disgust, and Aesthetic Preferences

Janovcová

Rádlová

Polák

et al. 2019

Animals

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“…The activities of varanid lizard venoms have received little research attention, despite anecdotal evidence in the form of bite reports regularly describing profuse and persistent bleeding, clearly beyond the mechanical damage produced by the bite [1,51,52,53,54]. Indeed, many [13,18] are still sceptical of venom in varanids which may have deterred further investigation by other researchers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Varanid Lizard Venoms Disrupt the Clotting Ability of Human Fibrinogen through Destructive Cleavage

Dobson

Zdenek

Hay

et al. 2019

Toxins

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The functional activities of Anguimorpha lizard venoms have received less attention compared to serpent lineages. Bite victims of varanid lizards often report persistent bleeding exceeding that expected for the mechanical damage of the bite. Research to date has identified the blockage of platelet aggregation as one bleeding-inducing activity, and destructive cleavage of fibrinogen as another. However, the ability of the venoms to prevent clot formation has not been directly investigated. Using a thromboelastograph (TEG5000), clot strength was measured after incubating human fibrinogen with Heloderma and Varanus lizard venoms. Clot strengths were found to be highly variable, with the most potent effects produced by incubation with Varanus venoms from the Odatria and Euprepriosaurus clades. The most fibrinogenolytically active venoms belonged to arboreal species and therefore prey escape potential is likely a strong evolutionary selection pressure. The results are also consistent with reports of profusive bleeding from bites from other notably fibrinogenolytic species, such as V. giganteus. Our results provide evidence in favour of the predatory role of venom in varanid lizards, thus shedding light on the evolution of venom in reptiles and revealing potential new sources of bioactive molecules useful as lead compounds in drug design and development.

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“…Thus, while this case is extraordinary, the possibility of dangerous bites from varanid lizards to humans, under exceptional circumstances, should not be discounted. Another case report described a bite by a juvenile V. komodoensis that led to faintness, prolonged bleeding and transient hypotension [ 51 ]. The authors attributed these effects to a vasovagal reaction despite noting themselves the similarity to reported in vitro effects of V. komodoensis venom [ 33 ] and with vasovagal reaction unable to explain the prolonged bleeding.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enter the Dragon: The Dynamic and Multifunctional Evolution of Anguimorpha Lizard Venoms

Koludarov

Jackson

Brouw

et al. 2017

Toxins

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While snake venoms have been the subject of intense study, comparatively little work has been done on lizard venoms. In this study, we have examined the structural and functional diversification of anguimorph lizard venoms and associated toxins, and related these results to dentition and predatory ecology. Venom composition was shown to be highly variable across the 20 species of Heloderma, Lanthanotus, and Varanus included in our study. While kallikrein enzymes were ubiquitous, they were also a particularly multifunctional toxin type, with differential activities on enzyme substrates and also ability to degrade alpha or beta chains of fibrinogen that reflects structural variability. Examination of other toxin types also revealed similar variability in their presence and activity levels. The high level of venom chemistry variation in varanid lizards compared to that of helodermatid lizards suggests that venom may be subject to different selection pressures in these two families. These results not only contribute to our understanding of venom evolution but also reveal anguimorph lizard venoms to be rich sources of novel bioactive molecules with potential as drug design and development lead compounds.

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Bitten by a Dragon

Cited by 13 publications

References 8 publications

Human Attitude toward Reptiles: A Relationship between Fear, Disgust, and Aesthetic Preferences

Human Attitude toward Reptiles: A Relationship between Fear, Disgust, and Aesthetic Preferences

Varanid Lizard Venoms Disrupt the Clotting Ability of Human Fibrinogen through Destructive Cleavage

Enter the Dragon: The Dynamic and Multifunctional Evolution of Anguimorpha Lizard Venoms

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