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What are the most poisonous animals in the world

Animals fascinate us, there are slow and fast, large and small, there are incredibly colorful colors and others that are surprisingly camouflaged. There are many types and many characteristics, but the ones that we are going to explain below are the ones that you would never like to meet face to face.

Do you want to know which are the most poisonous animals in the world ? In the following AgroCorrn article we are going to give you a top 10 that you cannot miss, we will explain everything you need to know about animals and their lethal poisons.

You may also be interested in: The smallest animals in the world

Black widow

The black widow is one of the most popular spiders in the world, especially due to the fact that it is found in the vast majority of temperate areas of the world. Contrary to popular belief, the black widow is a spider that only attacks when threatened , disturbed or chased.

Its bite begins with a small puncture, however, after 30 minutes the area begins to swell, causing pain and muscle stiffness. It is wrongly believed that this spider causes many victims, however, that is not the reality. It rarely causes death in humans , only in specific cases such as the sick, the elderly or children.

Brown recluse spider

Next in this list of the top 10 most poisonous animals in the world we also find an arachnid, in this case, the brown recluse spider. This spider is also distributed throughout much of the planet, however, we mainly find it in South America, especially in Argentina and Chile.

If it is on this list it is because its bite can cause severe reactions, even causing the death of the person depending on their body mass. The fact is that despite the fact that in the first hours it does not cause any type of pain, its venom slowly penetrates, causing lesions on the skin, necrotizing the flesh and sometimes causing the need for amputation.

Like most spiders, the brown recluse spider only bites if they feel attacked, so if you come across any specimen the best thing to do is to walk away without disturbing them.

Scorpions

Scorpions are surely one of the most iconic poisonous animals and they deserve to be in this ranking of the most poisonous species. There is not a single scorpion, but on the entire planet we can find almost 1500 different species, adapting to all kinds of climates and latitudes.

Similarly, not all scorpions are equally poisonous, there are some with more powerful poisons than others. Some types of scorpions, in fact most, do not pose any danger to humans, however, there are some species like the Buthidae , with a venom so powerful that it can kill a person in less than 6 hours .

Scorpions, during their evolution, have developed a complex stinger capable of extracting venom when they stick it. This stinger serves as a defense against their greatest predators, snakes, lizards and owls.

Black mamba

In certain areas of Africa, if you talk about the black mamba, you will notice the fear they have of this snake, to whom they attribute almost mythological properties and powers. The reality is that the black mamba is the world’s deadliest snake , the one that causes the most deaths. Although its venom is not as powerful as some of those that appear in this list, the black mamba is very fast, restless and, when it feels cornered, it does not hesitate to attack and repeatedly bite its opponent, injecting poison with each bite. being able to kill in less than 20 minutes .

The nickname of black mamba has nothing to do with its skin color, as it is usually gray or dark green, but is due to its mouth, which it uncovers when it is going to attack, and which has a bluish color almost black. Normally it measures 2.5 meters, although it can reach 5 meters, something that combined with its speed of movement, around 20 km / h , makes it a fearsome animal.

Before we had an antidote, the bite of the black mamba was lethal in all cases, now it can be remedied with its injection. Unfortunately, given that in many areas of Africa it is not available or cannot afford it, there are still many who lose their lives every year when they come across a black mamba.

Blue ringed octopus

Blue-ringed octopuses are a family made up of three different species, the differences of which lie in their habitat and the number of rings they have along their body. They inhabit coral areas throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans , from Australia to Japan, hidden among rocks and mud, which makes them difficult to find.

But if it is in this top 10 it is because it is among the most poisonous animals in the world, being the only octopus whose venom can kill a human . The reality is that these octopuses are very small, rarely reaching 20 centimeters including the tentacles, and docile. However, its venom is a very powerful neurotoxin that can kill an adult human with as little as one milligram. This poison causes motor and respiratory paralysis, and worst of all, there is no known antidote .

That is why the only way to survive his bite is to maintain artificial respiration and chest massage until the body eliminates the poison after more than 24 hours.

Golden Arrowhead Frog

Among the 5 most poisonous animals in the world we find this picturesque amphibian that receives many names; golden poison frog, poison dart frog or golden dart frog. Its scientific name already tells us a lot about its characteristics: Phyllobates terribilis .

These animals live on the Pacific coast of Colombia and Panama, in humid jungles and warm forests with high rainfall. The golden frog is not only the most poisonous frog in the world, it is the most poisonous vertebrate on the planet , a single dose would be enough to kill 1,500 adults.

Its effects do not go unnoticed by the inhabitants of those areas, the indigenous tribe used the poison of these frogs to smear their arrows with it and hunt .

But not everything is death, recently scientific studies have investigated possible medical uses of the venom of these frogs and the result has been that it is possible to create a powerful analgesic by isolating some of the effects produced by these toxins.

Taipan snake

Taipan snake or ferocious snake is the most poisonous land snake in the world , in fact, its venom is so powerful that it would be able to kill more than 100 adults with a single bite. The lethality of its venom far exceeds that of snakes and other snakes, suffice it to say that it is 400 times more powerful than that of the rattlesnake.

However, despite the fact that when it is mating it can be more aggressive, it is a docile, fearful and elusive snake that rarely comes into contact with humans. However, when it does so and bites, releasing the venom, it is capable of killing an adult in less than 45 minutes if the necessary antidote is not administered.

There are three different varieties of this type of snake, although the last one has been discovered very recently and little is known about its distribution. The two best known are the coastal, which is found on the southern coast of Papua New Guinea, and the central, which is found in western New Zealand and Australia, as well as in the arid areas of the center of the southern continent.

Stone fish

Not only is stonefish a poisonous fish, it can be deadly to humans. This type of fish is native to areas of the Indo-Pacific coast, although it can also be found in the Caribbean, off the coast of Florida, Australia, the Red Sea and Indonesia.

Its name comes from its incredibly rock-like appearance , with its shades of white, brown, yellow or red, and its bumpy skin goes surprisingly unnoticed among the rocks. Normally its length is usually around 30 centimeters, and can reach 50. And you wonder. How do they attack? In the case of humans, you should know that they do not attack them, however, the danger comes if we step on them . This is exacerbated when they hide under sand or on top of a rock out of the water. These fish can survive up to 24 hours out of the water, and wait there until the tide rises again.

The thirteen spines on their dorsal fin inject a toxin proportional to the pressure exerted on them and their sting is terribly painful, causing great inflammation. This venom spreads very quickly, causing weakness, paralysis, and ultimately fatal shock if not attended to in time.

Belcher’s sea snake

Belcher’s sea snake is another of the most poisonous animals that deserved to be on this list. Not only is it the most poisonous sea snake , but it is also the most poisonous if we consider the terrestrial ones. Its venom is so powerful that it exceeds more than 100 times the most powerful venom of any terrestrial snake . But don’t worry, even though a few milligrams of its venom could kill hundreds of adults, the reality is that this snake bites little, and when it does it does not usually release all the venom. That is why only 1/4 of the people attacked by these snakes are going to be poisoned.

Of course, after the poisoning, if its antidote is not administered, from 20 minutes and up to 8 hours after the bite, the person will begin to feel dizzy, weak, seizures and cause death . The ancestors of these snakes are Australian land snakes and they look a lot like any land snake, only it has small adaptations to the marine environment, where it can spend up to 8 hours without surfacing.

Its size can range from half a meter to three meters for some individuals. Its diet is based on shellfish and fish and its habitat is that of warm waters or tropical seas, that is why it is only found in Oceania and Southeast Asia.

Most poisonous animal in the world: box jellyfish

And finally we reached the first place of the most poisonous animal in the world . Like others in this top 10, it is also marine, but although it may surprise many, it is a jellyfish. The wasp jellyfish or box jellyfish is so lethal that, when its presence is alerted in areas near the coast, bathing is strictly prohibited. Its natural habitat is Australia and its coasts.

Their appearance may seem small, about 25 centimeters, however, with open tentacles they can reach up to 3 meters long, with a weight that can exceed 2 kg. But what really stands out about this animal is its powerful venom and deadly sting .

They do not need a large amount, just 1.4 milligrams are capable of killing an adult, since this poison is capable of attacking the entire nervous system of the victim, paralyzing it in the midst of terrible pain and collapsing the heart, nervous system and circulatory. If you want to survive it is necessary to receive immediate medical attention, however, since the bites occur in the sea, many times the person dies before reaching the shore .

Maria Anderson
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Hello, I am a blogger specialized in environmental, health and scientific dissemination issues in general. The best way to define myself as a blogger is by reading my texts, so I encourage you to do so. Above all, if you are interested in staying up to date and reflecting on these issues, both on a practical and informative level.

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