Mysteries of Okinawan Habu Venom Decoded | 台北市立動物園資訊網

2018年7月26日—“ThoughtheOkinawanhabuisnotasvenomousascobrasortaipans,itcanproducealargeamountofvenom-upto1ml,”saysProf.Hiroki ...

It is more likely that you have seen a habu snake in a bottle of local rice liquor Awamori, in Okinawa, than that you’ve spotted one slithering by the wayside.  Even so, habus are very common in the Ryukyu islands of which Okinawa is a part. Okinawa is home to three species of habu; the Okinawan habu (Protobothrops flavoviridis), endemic to the Ryukyu islands, is highly venomous.

The Okinawan habu is endemic to the Ryukyu islands of Japan. It is the longest and the most venomous of the three habu species found in the region.

Prof Hiroki Shibata

A collaborative team of scientists from many research institutes and universities across Japan have now mapped the entire genome of the Okinawan habu, including the genes involved in venom production. Professor Nori Satoh and his team of researchers from Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (...