Sep 10, 2006

Aggressivity

Pixel Disaster hit pay dirt in Tanzania. Take a look at one of the denizens of that East African nation. Here is odonturus dentatus, aka "ugly stinging thing."

What I like about this site is all the new things I find out. For instance, the wikipedia article on this scorpion refers to this creature's high 'aggressivity.' I didn't know that was a word. I will be sure to use it more often. Also, did you know that poisons have a quantifiable toxicity rating known as its LD50? This particular creepy has a high LD50, though no actual number is listed.

I wonder what my brother's LD50 is?

Thanks for the photo, Pixel Disaster.

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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 10, 2006

    Actually, since the LD50 (Lethal Dose 50%) is the dose that kills 50% of the test animals (most commonly mice), you want to be stung by scorpions with high LD50 values. According to my extensive scientific inquiries (http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-06,GGLD:en&q=scorpion+venom+ld50), the venom of dangerous scorpions range between 0.3 and 600 mg venom per kg mouse. In comparison, the LD50 of pufferfish venom is 0.01 mg/kg (in cats!!!), while cobra venom rates 1 mg/kg in mice.

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  2. Raging WombatSeptember 11, 2006

    Oh, I get it. I had it all backwards. Having a high rating means that it takes a larger dose to be lethal.

    Thanks, Rasmus.

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