Which snakes possess the ‘deadliest venom’?
This is an age old question which can be argued time and time again. Ultimately the most deadly snake (with the most toxic venom), and the most dangerous snake are two entirely different concepts. Some of the snakes with the most toxic venom (as recorded by LD50 on mice and guinea pigs) rarely bite people.
Although not listed as the ‘most deadly snakes’ in terms of venom toxicity -- the most dangerous snakes are surely the Russell’s Viper (Daboia russelli) found from Pakistan to China and Indonesia; the ‘lance-headed pit-vipers’ (Bothrops spp.) of South America and the ‘saw-scaled vipers‘ (Echis spp.) of Northern Africa, the Middle East, India and Sri Lanka. These snakes are believed to be responsible for up to 50,000 deaths each year (Swaroop & Grab, 1954).
In the light of a recent study which estimates that 421,000 envenomings and 20,000 deaths occur worldwide secondary to snakebite -- here is my list of the top 12 ‘deadly dangerous‘ snakes in the world
- Inland Taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) -- Australia. [Image] The The most toxic venom of any snake. Capable of killing over 100 people or 250,000 mice.
- Common Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis) -- Australia. [Image] One 1/14,000 of an ounce of this venom is enough to kill a person.
- Malayan Krait (Bungarus candidus) -- Southeast Asia and Indonesia. [Image] 50% of the bites from this snake are fatal even with the use of antivenom treatment.
- Taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus) -- Australia. [Image] The venom delivered in a single Taipan bite is enough to kill up to 12,000 guinea pigs.
- Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus) -- Australia. [Image] The Tiger snake is a VERY AGGRESSIVE snake that kills more people in Australia that any other snake on that continent. Genus includes the highly venomous ‘Chappell Island tiger snake’; ‘Peninsula tiger snake’; ‘Tasmanian tiger snakes’ and ‘Western Tiger snake’
- Beaked Sea Snake (Enhydrina schistosa) -- South Asian waters (Arabian Sea to Coral Sea) [Image]
- Gwardar or Western Brown Snake or (Pseudonaja nuchalis) [Image]
- Death Adder (Acanthophis antarcticus) -- Australia and New Guinea. [Image] A dosage of 10mg of Death Adder venom is enough to kill a human. A good sized Death Adder can deliver up to 180mg in a single bite.
- Coral Snake (Micrurus fulvius) -- North America. [Image] Coral Snakes have a very potent venom but many are too small to deliver enough venom to kill a human. This is the only elapid (relative of the cobras and mambas) in the US.
- Boomslang (Dispholidus typus) -- Africa. Most venomous rear-fanged snake in the world. They have very long fangs and can open their mouths a full 180 degrees to bite.
- Saw Scaled Viper (Echis carinatus) -- Middle East Asia. Saw Scaled Vipers kill more people in Africa that all the other venomous African snakes combined. Its venom is 5 times more toxic than that of the cobra and 16 more toxic than the Russell’s Viper.
- Golden Lancehead (Bothrops insularis) -- Queimada Grande -- coast of Brazil [Image]
More people (21 v. 1.6) die each year in Australia from horse riding related accidents than snakebite. We do not go around hitting horses on the head with a shovel! Nor do we have as negative an attitude to Australia’s deadliest venomous animal: the honeybee, an exotic introduced from Europe!! It causes an average of ten deaths per year.
The family Taipan
About Mike Cadogan
I think the idea of a sea snake scares me where its harder to swim away fast, the other land snakes i’m not so worried about
Very interesting summary.
Out of curiosity, how many snake bite victims would you get in a typical month and how many would be fatal.
What’s generally the reason for the bite…walking in the bush or snake comes into person’s house?
Top 12 deadly dangerous snakes http://lifeinthefastlane.com/2008/11/top-12-deadliest-snakes/ Naja spp. (cobras) don't make the list…