An international team including scientists from The University of Queensland , made the discovery by studying the composition of spitting cobra venoms from three groups of snakes — Asian spitting cobras, African spitting cobras and rinkhals.
Co-authors Professor Irina Vetter and Dr Sam Robinson from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience are among the team which demonstrated that the defensive mechanism had developed as a dominant genetic trait.
“The fangs of these snakes are adapted to spray venom as far as 2.5 metres — the venom is aimed directly at the face, specifically the eyes, causing intense pain and can lead to the loss of eyesight,” Dr Robinson said.