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poisonous vs. venomous

hiplobonoxahiplobonoxa
edited August 2011 in Jurassic Park
i know dilophosaurus was referred to as poisonous in both the novel and the film, but it is actually venomous. the distinction between a poisonous animal and a venomous animal lies in how it delivers its toxin. a venomous animal, such as a snake or a spider, delivers its toxin via a bite or a sting. a poisonous animal, such as a frog or a caterpillar, delivers its toxin via secretion or ingestion. in other words, venomous animals have an apparatus for delivering the toxin, while poisonous animals do not. coming to my point, i was disappointed to hear harding, the park veterinarian, refer to dilophosaurus as "poisonous" in the new ign footage.

Comments

  • TheMountainKingTheMountainKing
    edited August 2011
    Yeah, and There is one blade of grass that seemed out of place and I think telltale should fix it right now!!!!!!!!! :rolleyes: Anything just to complain, right?
  • hiplobonoxahiplobonoxa
    edited August 2011
    i'm not complaining. i think the game looks wonderful and i am beyond excited to play it. my concern is that these two words are often used interchangeably, which is incorrect. it is tiring, particularly for people who word in fields of science or education, to repeatedly have to explain, for example, that snakes are not "poisonous." i am constantly correcting people on this issue. why would i not correct a group of game developers, particularly when they are in a position to influence a fairly large number of people with the word they choose to use? this is not a subjective issue; this is an issue of not continuing to misinform the public.
  • Shadowknight1Shadowknight1
    edited August 2011
    Wouldn't the Dilophosaur spit count as a "secretion"?
  • chemistx2chemistx2
    edited August 2011
    So are Komodo dragons poisonous, venomous, or something else? They infect their prey by biting them with a mouth that's so dirty it causes massive infections that eventually disable or kill.

    Not trying to be an a__hole - I'm a science teacher and find this discussion thread fascinating!
  • TP3DTP3D
    edited August 2011
    TheMountainKing wrote: »
    Yeah, and There is one blade of grass that seemed out of place and I think telltale should fix it right now!!!!!!!!! :rolleyes: Anything just to complain, right?

    Haha love reading stuff like that.

    I'm glad they are using the incorrect term in the game as well, if only for consistency's sake, am I right?
  • hiplobonoxahiplobonoxa
    edited August 2011
    chemistx2 wrote: »
    So are Komodo dragons poisonous, venomous, or something else? They infect their prey by biting them with a mouth that's so dirty it causes massive infections that eventually disable or kill.

    a komodo dragon is venomous. it's been long thought that komodo dragons killed their prey through an infection caused by a dirty mouth, but recent research indicates that komodo dragons, like all other monitor lizards, do, in fact, have a venomous bite. this, of course, does not invalidate the dirty mouth theory, since killing prey by a combination of envenomation and infection is certainly a possibility. also, a komodo dragon could be eaten without any proper preparation (as compared to, say, a pufferfish, which is poisonous) without any harm. in fact, most venoms, if ingested, are non-toxic.

    also, sorry about the confusion before. venomous animals secrete toxins, but these toxins are venoms, not poisons, and will usually only cause harm if injected. poisonous animals secrete toxins, but these toxins are poisons, not venoms, and will usually only cause harm if ingested, although injecting a poison would be a bad idea (think poison darts). the dilophosaurus is certainly venomous.
  • BagginsKQBagginsKQ
    edited August 2011
    Poisonoussnake.jpg
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