Samuel Hirst said the research team initially hypothesized that larger islands, supporting greater biodiversity and prey diversity, would be associated with more complex rattlesnake venoms.
Notes on verification
Direct quote corroborated verbatim across multiple independent outlets (USF press release, EurekAlert, phys.org, Discover Magazine), all tracing to the same source but consistently attributing the statement to Hirst. [cascade flags: aggregator_dropped_primary_exists | tier=silver indep_score=0.7 clusters=3 claim_tier=notable | kind=attributed eligibility=high]
Sources
- What rattlesnake venom can teach us about evolution: New USF study | ScienceDaily (seed:animals_and_wildlife)
- https://www.usf.edu/news/2025/what-rattlesnake-venom-can-teach-us-about-evolution.aspx (corroboration)
- https://www.popsci.com/environment/rattlesnake-venom-evolution/ (corroboration)
- https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/rattlesnake-venom-evolves-and-adapts-to-climate-change (corroboration)