How come prey never evolved a "gut exploder" defense mechanism?

[Laize]

Does my example, Bacillus thuringiensis, count? It's not as macro as the OP was suggesting, but it is 'gut busting' a higher order animal for a survival advantage.

That strikes me as more similar to the poison dart frog adaptation than anything like what the OP suggested.

Versions of bacteria that produce a toxin in their spores have offspring that survive. Versions that don't are less likely to survive.

[Mnevis]

Yeah obviously it's not 'retractable gut rippers' designed to get you out of the belly of an alligator, but it's proteins that poke microscopic holes! If we were really really tiny, it would be exciting.

[Laize]

Yeah obviously it's not 'retractable gut rippers' designed to get you out of the belly of an alligator, but it's proteins that poke microscopic holes! If we were really really tiny, it would be exciting.

Speaking of Alligators and evolution, who else was aware that their immune systems were the cellular equivalent of Conan the Destroyer and Rambo rolled into one?

Turns out that living in nature's cesspool can have some great effects on your immune system over millennia.

And... I mean not to be underestimating what evolution can do... but not many organisms have developed the ability to resist being torn apart... which is how the Crocodile immune system works.

[Mnevis]

That's pretty boss, wonder if we had as good an immune system in the Garden of Eden? Infections, abscesses, necrotizing bacteria, etc freak me the fuck out.

Also, seems like a pretty good setup for a comic book hero: "Jake, you're our first test subject for human trials of crocodile super-serum".

[Laize]

That's pretty boss, wonder if we had as good an immune system in the Garden of Eden? Infections, abscesses, necrotizing bacteria, etc freak me the fuck out.

Also, seems like a pretty good setup for a comic book hero: "Jake, you're our first test subject for human trials of crocodile super-serum".

Really? :/

Oh well. It definitely does sound like a potential backstory for Batman's Killer Croc though.

[Coombs]

Evolution occurs by chance mutations, and if that mutation ends up being beneficial to that organism (allowing it to reproduce at a higher level "relative fitness") then it gets passed on to the point where it causes speciation. It isn't a mechanism of will.

[Wells]

Evolution occurs by chance mutations, and if that mutation ends up being beneficial to that organism (allowing it to reproduce at a higher level "relative fitness") then it gets passed on to the point where it causes speciation. It isn't a mechanism of will.

You have to survive to pass on traits. Most of the time a creature like the one in OP wouldn't really enhance its survival odds.

[Deleted]

There are insects that do this. They don't escape but the predator dies.

yeah, there is a insect that pretty much explodes when its threatened, cant remember the name for the life of me though.
Also there is an insect that has 2 chemicals that it mixes together, kinda like the bomb from Die Hard and then squirts that liquid onto their attacker. It kills them pretty much instantly and its corrisive so it eats into the attacker, Thats pretty bad ass in my book

[Mnevis]

Really? :/

No, not really :P

Like, I had this discussion with my mother once whether God abruptly tilted the planet on its axis after Adam and Eve ate the fruit.

If you think about it, cycles of life and death on earth have a lot to do with seasonal variation in climate, and seasons are a direct consequence of the axial tilt of the Earth, so if one posits that death is a consequence of the Fall, it (mostly) follows that there weren't seasonally warm climes that freeze over in the winter in northern latitudes when things were 'perfect'.

I grew up in a household that believed tigers originally ate carrots, what can I say. Up until a certain accumulation of knowledge and analysis, "Anything is possible with God" worked for me.

So there's still this part of me that has a reaction of "Man, I wish God was thoughtful enough to give us such a bad-ass immune system as... an alligator? How's that work? Did Satan re-engineer them for this new fallen age that now has deadly bacteria cause he likes reptiles so much?"

It amuses, me, so I share

[Laize]

yeah, there is a insect that pretty much explodes when its threatened, cant remember the name for the life of me though.
Also there is an insect that has 2 chemicals that it mixes together, kinda like the bomb from Die Hard and then squirts that liquid onto their attacker. It kills them pretty much instantly and its corrisive so it eats into the attacker, Thats pretty bad ass in my book

The exploding insect you're referring to is probably Componotus saundersi the exploding ant and I believe the insect that mixes two chemicals that you're referring to is the bombardier beetle.

Fun fact, the bombardier beetle's mechanism for delivering its burning liquid functions just like the fuel injection system in your car.

Except theirs is way frigging better. Unfortunately, it turns out that their delivery system is so advanced (remember this is a bug we're talking about) that our best attempts to mimic it look like this.



That's a little bit bigger than the bug's 2 cm.

[Felya]

Because the defense mechanism is in best effect, before you get eaten. Like shells, camouflage, spikes and even stink...

[Zdrasti]

While not exactly what you're looking for, this is probably close enough.

http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sc...-by-birds.html

[Deleted]

The exploding insect you're referring to is probably Componotus saundersi the exploding ant and I believe the insect that mixes two chemicals that you're referring to is the bombardier beetle.

Fun fact, the bombardier beetle's mechanism for delivering its burning liquid functions just like the fuel injection system in your car.

Except theirs is way frigging better. Unfortunately, it turns out that their delivery system is so advanced (remember this is a bug we're talking about) that our best attempts to mimic it look like this.



That's a little bit bigger than the bug's 2 cm.

Awesome!
Thats for clearing it up.

[Deleted]

This alligator did: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4313978.stm

[Laize]

This alligator did: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4313978.stm

I'm trying really hard to avoid making a bad pun about biting and chewing...

But it's a losing battle.

[Deleted]

Well, preys like snakes have poisons that paralyze or make the animal they want become weak, that would most definitely allow the snake to eat an animal alive without having repercussions no?

[starlord]

I'm trying really hard to avoid making a bad pun about biting and chewing...

But it's a losing battle.

just make sure to use (•_•) ( •_•)>⌐■-■ (⌐■_■)