Re: [svp notes and other stuff]

[Alan Watson <atw@hep.ph.bham.ac.uk>]

archosaur@usa.net wrote:

> Such extremely potent venom delivered in such exaggerated doses seems kinda
> nutty, unless perhaps the ancestors of the Taipan and other venomous snakes,
> were hunting much larger prey. 

I don't know much about the Taipan, but the venom presumably also provides a 
defense against larger predators, in which case a far greater toxicity than 
needed to subdue their prey might be useful. Can any snakes vary the dose 
according to what they bite?

Alan