I watch my White-Knee'd move around, and have always wondered about her peculiar slow-motion movements, such as walking; move one leg slowly out and plant it. Then bring another leg forward and plant it, slowly transferring her position one leg at a time. It's fascinating to watch her knees move in curves seemingly at random above her body. Now it occurs to me that this is an adaptation to her arboreal habitat. Moving slowly and deliberately may help these creatures to avoid falls, as when a sudden zephyr moves a tiny branch just as she scurries from one place to another in the canopy, causing a fall.



Supposedly she will grow a pair of extra-giant fangs, for the purpose of holding on after an initial strike. She does hold on now. If she struck, envenomated, and moved back to wait, her prey would fall to the ground. I've read that when I get bitten by her, my biggest concern will be the size of the wound, while her venom is of relatively low toxicity. For an arboreal species, I would just assume that the venom would be extra-strong and extra-fast. But I guess not with her. So I guess her large strong fangs replace the need for extra-strong venom. Maybe someday I'll get her to strike a fuzzy, and see how fast it succumbs. I don't want to chance having all my blood clot, or having the venom freeze all my nerves.



Roger

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