SYDNEY, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Evolution has made two species of Australian snakes tough enough to fearlessly toady up to the cane frog and gobble it without fear of being poisoned.
Researchers at Sydney University say the cane toad's poison can no longer be effective against the Red Belly Black and the Golden or Green Tree snakes in Queensland, whose heads have become smaller while their bodies have grown larger through evolution, reports the Herald Sun.
Snakes with a small head can eat only smaller toads, ingesting less poison than they would if eating large toads, the researchers said. At the same time, a larger body better allows the absorption of larger doses of poison.
Biologist Rick Shine said it took about 20 generations for this change to occur, or about 70 years.
