Oribatid mite uses hydrogen cyanide for defence

The common oribatid mite species Oribatula tibialis is an extremely clever poisoner, as an interdisciplinary team of researchers under the leadership of the TU Darmstadt has shown and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The mite uses hydrogen cyanide to defend itself against predators. This is something of a sensation, because this toxin is not generally present in the arsenal of the 80,000 known species of arachnids.

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