| Title |
Spitting cobras adjust their venom distribution to target distance
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Journal of Comparative Physiology A, May 2009
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00359-009-0451-6 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Ruben Andres Berthé, Stéphanie de Pury, Horst Bleckmann, Guido Westhoff |
| Abstract |
If threatened by a human, spitting cobras defend themselves by ejecting their venom toward the face of the antagonist. Circulating head movements of the cobra ensure that the venom is distributed over the face. To assure an optimal distribution of the venom, the amplitudes of head movements should decrease with increasing target distance. To find out whether cobras (Naja pallida and N. nigricollis) adjust their spitting behavior according to target distance we induced spitting from different distances and analyzed their spitting patterns. Our results show that the spray pattern of spitting cobras is not fixed. Instead the snake matches its venom distribution to the size of the target independent of target distance. |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 35 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 2 | 6% |
| United States | 1 | 3% |
| Canada | 1 | 3% |
| Brazil | 1 | 3% |
| Unknown | 30 | 86% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 5 | 14% |
| Researcher | 4 | 11% |
| Other | 3 | 9% |
| Professor | 3 | 9% |
| Student > Master | 3 | 9% |
| Other | 9 | 26% |
| Unknown | 8 | 23% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 21 | 60% |
| Unspecified | 1 | 3% |
| Environmental Science | 1 | 3% |
| Arts and Humanities | 1 | 3% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 1 | 3% |
| Other | 3 | 9% |
| Unknown | 7 | 20% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 16. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 08 April 2023.
All research outputs
#2,120,749
of 23,815,455 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Comparative Physiology A
#125
of 1,450 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#6,798
of 99,400 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Comparative Physiology A
#1
of 7 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,815,455 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 91st percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,450 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 7.9. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 91% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 99,400 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 93% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 7 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has scored higher than all of them