One such predator-prey relationship exists between garter snakes and a species of salamander-like amphibian called a rough-skinned newt. In parts of the midwestern United States, garter snakes prey on newts, and probably have for thousands of years. In that time, over countless generations, the newts have evolved a powerful defense: a toxic chemical that they secrete through their skin. Where garter snakes are concerned, however, this defense mechanism has only been marginally successful. Generation after generation, as the newts became more poisonous, the snakes also evolved, developing greater tolerance to the newt's toxin. The result of this coevolutionary process, played out over countless snake and newt generations, is a chemical more toxic than almost any other natural substance on Earth, and a population of snakes that are seemingly immune to the toxin's effects.
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