Why Are 'Dangerous Creatures' Dangerous? The Survival Strategies Hidden in Venom and Spines

Explanation

Hearing the term 'dangerous creatures' may sound frightening, but their venom, spines, and vivid colors are 'strategies' that living things have evolved in order to survive in a harsh natural world. The Omogo Mountain Museum in Kumakogen Town, Ehime Prefecture, is marking its 35th anniversary and is currently holding a special exhibition looking back at its popular 'Dangerous Creatures' exhibit, drawing renewed attention to dangerous creatures found in familiar nature.

The 'danger' of living things can be broadly divided into two types: 'offense' for taking down prey (such as the venom of snakes and bees), and 'defense' to avoid being eaten (such as the poison of toxic frogs and the warning colors of bees).

Particularly interesting is the concept of 'warning coloration (aposematism).' The reason venomous creatures deliberately have conspicuous colors is to make predators learn 'I am dangerous' and avoid being attacked. There is also a strategy called 'Batesian mimicry,' in which a harmless species mimics the appearance of a venomous one despite having no venom itself.

These characteristics are not coincidental but the result of 'natural selection.' The traits of individuals that survived and left offspring spread over generations — dangerous creatures make an ideal teaching material for visually learning how evolution works.