Complexity Explorer Santa Few Institute

An evolutionary arms race refers to the competition between two evolving populations to outperform each other. This is an analogy to a literal arms race such as the nuclear arms race between the Soviet Union and United States during the cold war. An example of this would be the rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa) evolving an increasingly strong toxin to protect itself from predation while the common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) continues to evolve a resistance to the toxin.