Top 5 Most Venomous Snakes
Published:Did you know that almost all five of the Top 5 Most Venomous Snakes live in Australia? They aren’t just hiding in forests and deserts either, the Eastern Brown Snake is the second most deadly snake on Earth and it spends most of its time in and around major urban areas in crowded Australian cities!
1) Inland Taipan
- Maximum venom yield recorded for one bite is 110mg, enough to kill about 100 humans, or 250,000 mice
- 50 times more than the common Cobra
- Not very aggressive and rarely encountered by humans in the wild
- No fatalities have ever been recorded, though it could potentially kill an adult human within 45 minutes
- Subcutaneous Injection LD 50 : 0.025mg/kg
2) Eastern Brown Snake
- 1/14,000 of an ounce of its venom is enough to kill an adult human
- Venom contains both neurotoxins and blood coagulants
- Its preferred habitat is along the major population centers of Australia
- Fast moving, can be aggressive under certain circumstances and has been known to chase aggressors and repeatedly strike at them
- Subcutaneous Injection LD 50 : 0.053mg/kg
3) Coastal Taipan
- Venom is strong enough to kill up to 12,000 guinea pigs in one bite
- Venom clots the victim’s blood, blocking arteries or veins, and is also highly neurotoxic
- Before the advent of an antivenin, there were no known survivors of a Taipan bite, and death typically occurs within an hour
- Even with antivenin, most victims will have an extensive stay in intensive care
- Subcutaneous Injection LD 50 : 0.099mg/kg
4) Many-Banded Krait
- 50% of bites are fatal, even with the administration of antivenin
- Their venom is a neurotoxin, 16 times more potent than that of a Cobra
- Nocturnal breed - more aggressive under the cover of darkness
- Death usually occurs within 6-12 hours of a Krait bite
- Subcutaneous Injection LD 50 : 0.108mg/kg
5) Tiger Snake
- Found in Australia, it has a very potent neurotoxic venom
- Death from a bite can occur within 30 minutes, but usually takes 6-24 hours
- Prior to the development of antivenin, the fatality rate from Tiger snakes was 60-70%
- Symptoms can include localized pain in the foot and neck region, tingling, numbness and sweating, followed by a fairly rapid onset of breathing difficulties and paralysis
- Subcutaneous Injection LD 50 : 0.131mg/kg
