The World’s 5 Most Venomous Species
Mon, Jan 14, 2008
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There are hundreds of animals that could kill you.
The box jellyfish
I don’t care if you’re a 98 pound weakling or a rippling wall of pure strength and power, you could still never take on a fairly significant percentage of the animal population without benefit of firearms. You could be mauled by a bear, eaten by a shark, or trampled by an elephant. I think the coolest deadly animals, however, are the venomous ones. Here’s our list of the top 5 most venomous creatures in the world.
5. The Stonefish
The stonefish or dornorn is officially considered the most venomous fish in the world. It takes its name from the fact that, well, it looks like a stone. It can blend in well in the shallow tropical waters it inhabits, mostly in the Indian and Pacific oceans. The nasty part of the stonefish is on its dorsal fins. There is where you’ll find a row of spines filled with a toxic venom. If you have the bad luck to get stuck with one of those fins, you’ll find yourself in a world of hurt. The venom hurts so much that some people who’ve been stung have wanted the limb amputated. It can cause shock, paralysis, tissue death, and even fatalities if not treated within a few hours. The stonefish has at least one beneficial use. It’s a very expensive sashimi called okoze in Japan.
4. Blue-Ringed Octopi
There are three species of the blue-ringed octopus, all of which live in the Pacific. They’re all small, beautifully colored octopi, and they’re all some of the most venomous animals in the world. The octopus usually stays camoflauged, waiting to prey on its preferred dinner of small crabs and shrimp. Provoke it though, and it’ll quickly turn yellow and show off its bright blue markings. Then it will sting you and you’ll die. Ok, you might not die, but the tiny octopus carries enough venom to kill 26 adults in its body. The most dangerous effect of its venom is respiratory failure. If you’re stung by the octopus, you’re probably going to need rescue breathing until you can start to breathe on your own, which might not be for several hours. Nasty stuff.
3. Inland Taipan
The inland taipan’s nastiness can probably be inferred by its other name, the fierce snake. It’s the most poisonous snake in the world, with a single bite containing enough venom to kill up to 100 adults. Not only is it deadly, but it’s a quick killer too. It can kill you in less than 45 minutes. Fortunately for you, I doubt you spend too much time wandering the deserts of central Australia. Even more fortunately, there are no actual documented human fatalities. The snake is particularly timid, won’t bite if left alone, and there’s an antivenom. So wander around the Australian deserts with confidence, secure in the knowledge that only several dozen other animals might kill you.
2. Brazilian Wandering Spider
The Brazilian wandering spider is the most toxic spider in the world, more than earning its greek name of murderess. These spiders are really creepy for several reasons. One, it’s fierce. This is not some wimpy spider that will run away at the first sign of a human, allowing careless hikers to escape a painful death without even knowing they’re in danger. No, these spiders will attack anyone and anything they see as threatening. They’re both deadly and aggressive. Second, they’re not incredibly easy to avoid. They get the “wandering” part of their name from the fact that they roam around, rather than live in a particular web or tree. In densely populated areas, you can imagine how many people get bitten by an aggressive spider that wanders all over the place. They’re responsible for more cases of venom intoxication in Brazil than any other animals. Thankfully, even if the spider bites you it might not inject venom. Only about a third of it’s victims receive venomous bites. But if you do get any venom, you’re really going to regret it. It’s reportedly one of the most painful venoms in existence, thanks in large part to a high concentration of serotonin in the venom. While the venom is potentially fatal, the worst thing the Brazilian spider can cause would probably only make you die of embarrassment. The venom can cause priapism, an erection that won’t go away and might actually cause impotence. There is an antidote to the venom, but since it is so fast acting you’d better be carrying it on you if you’re out in the South American jungle. You’re not getting to a hospital in time.
1. The Box Jellyfish
The box jellyfish or sea wasp is probably more dangerous than any of the other animals on this list. They’re not technically jellyfish, though they look a lot like them to me, but they are arguably the most venomous creature in the world. Tiny nematocysts on the animal’s tentacles contain the powerful venom and stick to their victims. Of all the creatures on this list that could sting me, I would fear this one the most. Its venom is so painful that there are several reports of people who passed out from the pain but kept screaming long after losing consciousness. They also kill more people per year, mostly in Australia, than any other animal on this list. Since records started being kept in 1884, it’s killed more than 5500 people. If you’re ever stung by one of these jellyfish, you’ll probably not be able to remember any tips. Here are a few anyway. Vinegar, due to its acetic acid content, will prevent any more venom from releasing into the bloodstream and should be applied to affected areas and any remaining tentacles immediately. If you can make it to the shore, not always a given when stung by one of these creatures, you might make it as there is an antivenom. Probably the best thing you can do to avoid stings, besides not swimming in box jellyfish infested waters of course, is to wear pantyhose. Seriously. A thin layer of nylon, such as pantyhose, will prevent the stingers from attaching to your skin and hurting like the dickens. Some men would think it girly to wear pantyhose at the beach, but if it’s good enough for Joe Namath I figure it’s good enough to save me from immense pain and death.
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2 Trackbacks For This Post
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Les Lavigueur - la vraie histoire : Video drole image comique jeux photo fun Says:
January 16th, 2008 at 4:38 pm[...] Sites web La Robot Guitar de Gibson (s’accorde toute seule) Profitez de la paresse de vos confrères/consoeurs de travail Comment cacher un .rar dans un jpeg (pour geek seulement) Les espèces animales les plus venimeuses [...]
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BlueWaterVolunteers » Blog Archive » The Return of Mr Stonefish Says:
April 12th, 2008 at 5:40 pm[...] - “The venom hurts so much that some people who’ve been stung have wanted the limb amputated. It can cause shock, paralysis, tissue death, and even fatalities if not treated within a few hours. The stonefish has at least one beneficial use. It’s a very expensive sashimi called okoze in Japan.” - Environmental Graffiti [...]
January 14th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
that’s why i don’t go swimming
January 14th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
so if its not a jellyfish, what is it?
January 15th, 2008 at 1:42 am
hmmm Australian animals anyone? ( well besides the spider). That’s why I won’t go to Australia or as I like to call it ” The Giant Isle of Death”, yeah yeah I know it’s a continent but I don’t care. Crocodiles? Box Jellyfish? Blue Ringed Octopi? Coastal and Inland Taipan? Etc? blech! That’s right Jason, I’m never coming to visit you on your wicked isle of deadly beasts
January 15th, 2008 at 1:53 am
I had a Wandering Spider like pet and what can I say… well, was not a good idea. One day it escaped from my aquarium and I needed to be very careful walking in my house for more than one week until I found then (well, really was my friend that found the spider for me. She was going to use a shoe and started screaming when saw the spider inside the shoe)
January 15th, 2008 at 2:20 am
You missed the Funnel Web Spider.
January 15th, 2008 at 4:08 am
joe namath, panty hose? damn
January 15th, 2008 at 4:38 am
Just an amusing note, octopus is Greek, not Latin, so the plural is not octopi but octopodes.
I really enjoyed this.
January 15th, 2008 at 5:09 am
4 out of 5 are found in Australia
I love my country <3
January 15th, 2008 at 6:02 am
So two of the six deadliest creatures are on land what is there to worry about?
January 15th, 2008 at 7:25 am
It’s amazing to think that 60% of this list is made up of sea dwelling creatures. Maybe i’ll stick to the beach.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:22 am
i wish you hadn’t told me that. now i’m going to have to figure out a way to talk about more than one octopus today so i can work the word Octopodes into the conversation.
Oh, and to Jamie, box jellyfish are cubozoa. They basically look like jellyfish but they have a cubical main body.
I didn’t include the funnel web spider because the guiness book says the brazilian one is the most poisonous, although I wanted to because it was cool.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Yeah I had to drag my ‘lifeguard’ girlfriend out of the sea once. She’d been washed down the beach with the current.
Then, when we were knee deep in water, we got stung. She sat down in the water, of course.
I took the big hit, in my leg. That venom travelled right up to my balls. MY BALLS MAN!!!! :(
January 16th, 2008 at 7:39 am
What about the golden poison frog? (Phyllobates terribilis) I believe it has one of the most toxic poisons of any vertebrate, although it isn’t technically venomous. And dangerwise, it ranks pretty low…its only usual victims being monkeys and other small mammals that fall prey to the native South American Chaco Indians who dip their blowgun darts into the frog’s toxic skin.
January 16th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
I thought the australian sea snake was the most venomous?
January 17th, 2008 at 8:11 am
Agreed on two comments :
1 - The Atrax Robustus (Funnel Web Spider) is the most venomous spider. Not the most dangerous (the wandering spider is more dangerous), but the most venomous, particularly because while many spiders usually “dry bite”, the Atrax almost always does a “wet bite”
However, even if the Atrax’s venom detains the grim record of having killed a young boy in less than 15mn, it rarely causes death. I don’t think spiders should make it to this top 5
2 - The australian sea snake IS the most venomous species
January 17th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
the guiness book for 2007 says the brazilian wandering spider is the most venomous. That being said, i have no idea whether that means most potent venom or most venom by volume in a spider. it’s possible they’re both the most venomous but in different categories (toxicity vs. volume). Could be the same with the taipan versus the sea snake because I found several sources saying each was the most venomous.
January 21st, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Great article — I wouldn’t nickpick exactly what the “most poisonous” is because it’s not a single quantity and experts are going to disagree. Is it how many people are killed a year by an animal? Your probability of being killed if you’re stung? How toxic the venom is per unit weight?
It’s just something to see how animals evolve to do amazing things in order to survive.
January 25th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
The conotoxin of the conus geographus or cone snail is the most potent venom known to man.
February 9th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
errrr… is this in any particular order? reply to this comment
February 12th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
your chances of living through a venomous Brazilian wandering spider bite is much better than through the top 10 snake bites. Even the venomous bites. It’s just an agressive spider and it’s venom is very nasty, but not very deadly to adult humans.
April 1st, 2008 at 2:28 am
the cone snail is the second most deadly animal
May 19th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
I thing the the dart frog frog have be there vecause
there venom is realy dengerus the can kill a lot of persons with his venom
May 21st, 2008 at 10:28 am
wat bout
stalker scorpion & dart frog
June 16th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
daddy long legs but they have no teeth to use it
July 7th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
australian sea snake may b poisonous but drop by drop inland taipan is the venomous snake.poisonous dart frogs r also very dangerous.but i think the list is abt most venomous creatures.venom differs from a poison .venom is dangerous only when it is injected.dart frogs are poisonous not venomous.u can correct me if iam wrong i will b glad correct my mistake. dangerous can b explained in many ways too…
November 20th, 2008 at 5:06 am
NO I’d say 5. Box Jelyfish 4. Stonefish 3. Funnel web spider 2. Komodo Dragon and the most venomous hands down is the golden poison dart frog.
November 20th, 2008 at 5:09 am
k wait 5. Box Jellyfish 4. Stonefish 3. Funnel Web Spider 2. Cone Snail and still 1. golden poison dart frog.
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:45 pm
The cone snail is more venomous than any of those and you didn’t list it.
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:46 pm
BTW Komodo Dragons are not venomous. Their mouths are full of deadly bacteria that will be very bad news if you were to get bit but not venom.
December 28th, 2008 at 2:28 am
yeah, this is why i can hardly trust the web for hard facts, stop bickering and go read a book by someone who knows this stuff. but the one guy was right, poison has to be ingested, venom injected. you can actually drink venom and be ok.
December 31st, 2008 at 2:23 pm
ssssssssssssssssssssssuuuuuuuuuuuppppppppppppppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrr
January 9th, 2009 at 10:30 am
walrus yer story is soooo funny
January 9th, 2009 at 10:34 am
oh and i am aussie and i have never seen any of those creatures and funnel webs r only around sydney so u got everywere but sydney to live walnut
January 29th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Ew…
but what about the daddy-long-legs spider, but it dosent have any fangs to bite…
I dont think i’ll be in any rush to got to Oz now, but its useful to know abit about the deadly’s before i suppose
=]
February 25th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
hi
you missed the boomslang
March 20th, 2009 at 4:17 am
Bacterial toxins are by far the most potent of any known toxins. All other known toxins aren’t even close.
http://www.textbookofbacteriology.net/proteintoxins.html
April 10th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
i agree with the walnut!
(except for the part about Jason, cuz i don’t really knoe a jason)
April 18th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
This is so completely wrong, 1) the most venomous animal is actually the poison dart frog, it only takes 2micrograms of its venom to kill a human being which is about the amount of ink used to make a dot. The box jellyfish very rarely has enough venom to actually kill a human mainly only causes sickness and death only when not treated within a few hours. the box jellyfish is probably about 8th most venomous. 2) the inland taipan is the most posionous snake and although relatively calm and not prone to attack one bite contains around 100 micrograms of poison enough to kill 30 people. 3) The brazilian wandering spider is possibly fatal, the most deadly spider which is both agressive and highly venomous is the sydney funnel web spider a bite from this spider can kill within 15 minutes, a bite from the wandering spider would cause nausea and lungs to sieze but would take many hours if not treated.
The List is more like:
8 - Box Jellyfish
7 - Marbled Cone Snail
6 - Blue Ringed Octopus
5 - Death Stalker Scorpion
4 - Stonefish
3 - Sydney Funnel Web Spider
2 - Inland Taipan
1 - Poison Dart Frog
April 18th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
And people who think the daddy longlegs is poisonous it it just a myth. The crane-fly or what many people call a daddy longlegs is not actually poisonous at all. There is a similar spider the ‘long-legged cellar spider’ which is venomous and looks similar to a daddy longlegs which is how the myth appeared. Just thought id clear that up for people :)
April 19th, 2009 at 12:21 am
i almost scream
May 3rd, 2009 at 9:44 am
I’m having a difficult time reconciling the two bolded portions. Explain?
May 3rd, 2009 at 9:49 am
The name “daddy-long-legs” is applied to three different groups of arthropods: the tipulidae, or crane flies (insects); the opiliones, also called harvestmen (arachnids, but not true spiders); and the pholcidae, also called cellar spiders (true spiders). Of these, with the possible exception of one or two opilione genuses, only the last are venomous, and the venom of pholcids is not dangerous to humans except, perhaps, the occasional person with a catastrophic allergic reaction. I’m not sure where the myth that the “daddy-longlegs” is the most poisonous creature in existence started, but whoever thought it up must still be snickering at people’s credulity.
May 17th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
To people that are wondering - Poison Dart Frogs aren’t on here because they are not venomous - they are toxic/poisonous. Although they are the most toxic thing on earth. ;)
May 18th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
hey how can u stay out from these deadliest animals?? Coney dod
May 19th, 2009 at 12:05 am
umm….ummm.. guys…guys… i’m scared. oh’ mally help. biology sol is this thursday. do u guys want to help me? i’m scared of these deadliest animals and sols. Coney dodo boney footki mishtey boto mondu kollah dooom doom (they mean in Hindi language that you guys are smart anc love me.
thanks, Predator-Prey relationship is between a predator is a carnivorous animal that hunts, kills, and eats other animal in order to survive and prey is an animals caught, killed, and eaten by another animal as food. does that mean i could get eaten by an snake or what. chocolate vanilla strawberry blueberry love u bye
May 27th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
:] yea, what about the daddy-long-leg spider? I always herd that it was the most deadly spider in the world, but their fangs just couldnt bite throught the human skin? Is that true?
June 29th, 2009 at 11:10 am
To the walnut: dude i live in Australia and actually the spider one is wrong the most deadly spider is the tree dwelling funnel web spider its venom is made to kill monkey like primates (eg. humans) even though there is no monkey’s in Australia so i guess we are “the giant isle of death” haha
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:55 pm
i think its a great list there is some kind of dabate on animals in the comments section above me, so heres my contribution, why is the blue ring octopus beautiful but deadly?