The Rough-skinned newt produces a potent neurotoxin that concentrates in their skin. Garter snakes, have evolved resistance to this toxin through a series of genetic mutations, and prey upon the newts. The relationship between these animals has resulted in an evolutionary arms race that has driven toxin levels in the newt to extreme levels.

PATTERNS OF EVOLUTION

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Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]

A	Phyletic Speciation
B	Adaptive Radiation
C	Convergent Evoltion
D	Divergent Evoltuion
E	Co-evolution

Explanation:

Detailed explanation-1: -The common garter snake is the only known predator of the rough-skinned newt and swallows the newt whole, which prevents toxin-sampling behaviours2. Due to the simplicity of this interaction, many of the expectations theorized for toxin-mediated arms races have been observed between garter snakes and newts.

Detailed explanation-2: -The two are locked in an evolutionary arms race. As the newts become more toxic, the snakes become more resistant. One team of scientists has been studying this evolutionary conflict for five decades, and they’ve now shown that its seeds were planted 170 million years ago-before either snakes or newts even existed.

Detailed explanation-3: -Wherever these deadly rough-skinned newts co-resided with garter snakes, the local snake populations would evolve impressive resistance against tetrodotoxin. And that prompted the newts to create even more of the toxin, which is 10, 000 times deadlier than cyanide.

Detailed explanation-4: -It’s possible that Pseudomonas bacteria have become more abundant on newts over time. As levels of the bacteria have risen, the animals would have turned more toxic.

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