From the jungles to the tidepools, evolution has produced a surprising number of animals and plants armed with their own built-in artillery. Some spit, some spray, some explode – but all rely on extraordinary biological “weapons” to stun, snare or repel anything foolish enough to get too close. It turns out, nature is quite the arms dealer.
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Nature's sharpest shooters
Archerfish
Nature’s deadliest sniper is the archerfish. It's a lethal assassin that shoots down prey with fatally accurate water jets.
Woe betide any insect perching on a leafy frond near the water’s edge if this predator is nearby: it can strike its prey with a mouthful of water from up to 3m away. It can even compensate for the way light bends as it crosses the waterline and adjust its aim to make a direct hit.
North American horned lizard
North American horned lizards have a real super-power – an ability to shoot blood, loaded with foul toxins gleaned from a diet of venomous ants, from their eyes. They can shoot it a distance of up to nine times their body length.
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So precise is their aim that these little lizards can see off wolves and coyotes many times their size, blasting the predators square in the face.
Bombardier beetles
If bombardier beetles are annoyed they release a hot noxious acid spray of hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide from the tip of the abdomen. This can be fatal to predatory insects, and a nasty, smelly experience for animals hoping for a quick bite.
Velvet worm
The Tiputini velvet worm (Oroperipatus tiputini) may look soft and gentle, but the millipede-like invertebrate has a secret (and very sticky) weapon that immobilises unsuspecting prey. Like other velvet worms, it is almost certainly a predator. It can immobilise invertebrate prey with jets of sticky mucous fired from glands either side of its mouth.
Spitting spiders
The spitting spider earned its name as it can spit sticky venom at its prey. Two sacs protrude from its head – one brimming with venom, the other with a silky, glue-like substance. When it comes across a booklouse or similar invertebrate, it flexes the muscles of these sacs, shooting the deadly contents straight through its raised chelicerae, the spider’s 'fangs'.
The deadly attack is fast and accurate: the goo fires from the tips of the chelicerae at a speed of around 30m per second and can pin down a future dinner standing more than 1cm away. It’s almost incredible, given the spider does this in the dark by detecting the minuscule vibrations caused by the prey.
Sea cucumber
It may be spineless and about as tough as a sausage, but the holothuroid sea cucumber Holothuria spp. is full of hidden strengths
If harassed in open terrain, the sea cucumber can violently eject its intestine and stomach out of its anus. This distraction buys it time to slip away. Its innards are laced with poison, so the slightest nibble by its foe nips further pursuit in the bud.
But if the attack escalates, the annoyed cucumber finally explodes – literally tearing its body cavity and expelling toxins that can kill most organisms on contact. It's a chemical onslaught sometimes known as the 'cuke nuke'.
Spitting cobra
When it comes to deadly snakes, spitting cobras have two weapons: as well as their deadly venomous bite, they are also able to shoot venom up to 3m directly from their fangs.
Spitting cobras belong to several species within the Elapidae family, most commonly found across Africa and parts of Asia.
Despite their fearsome reputation, they are typically shy, relying on their venom 'spray' as a last-resort defence, rather than aggression. It's an adaptation that has helped multiple species thrive in habitats ranging from savannahs and scrublands to forests and farmland.
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Top image: Spitting cobra. Getty
