Many animals are endowed with venom by nature to hunt and defend themselves. Here are 10 of the scariest venomous animals.
1. Box jellyfish (class Cubozoa)
Up to this point, the box jellyfish (class Cubozoa) is the most venomous animal in the world known to man. They live mainly in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Statistics show that, every year, this terrifying animal claims the lives of hundreds of people.
With up to 15 tentacles about 3m long and containing more than 5,000 microscopic needles on each tentacle, the box jellyfish will cost anyone who touches it with their lives. According to scientists, the venom of this species directly affects the nervous and cardiovascular systems. As a result, its victims often die extremely quickly.
2. King Cobra
With a body length of 5.5m, the king cobra is the longest venomous snake in the world. This species lives mainly in the deep forests of Asia. However, in recent years, humans have destroyed too many primeval forests, seriously affecting the habitat of King Cobra, so they often appear in villages near the edge of the forest.
According to scientists, each bite of a king cobra carries the amount of venom that can kill an African elephant within hours and kill 20 adult men.
Normally, king cobras are very gentle and always stay away from places where people live. However, if we encroach on their territory, this species does not hesitate to stand up to about 1.8m tall and ready to attack at any time.
3. Blue Ring Octopus
The blue-ringed octopus lives mainly in the Pacific Ocean, from the territorial waters of Japan to Australia. Looking at the small body with a diameter of about 20cm and the extremely beautiful body color, few can imagine that this is one of the most dangerous species on the planet.
It is known that with only 25g of blue ring octopus venom can paralyze the whole body of 10 adults and they have 2 to 2 powerful venoms used for hunting as well as for defense. However, the scary point of this species is that their bites are not painful. Therefore, it is very difficult for humans to detect whether they have been attacked or not.
However, just a few minutes after being bitten, victims will experience paralysis, nausea, difficulty swallowing, breathing and eventually death if not treated promptly.
4. Marbled Cone snail
Marbled Cone snail is a special species of the genus Conus, they live mainly in the waters of the Indian Ocean. It is known that just one drop of this species' venom is enough to kill 20 adults. When poisoned, people immediately feel dizzy, short of breath, slow heart rate and die if not treated promptly.
However, this species only uses venom to hunt and is rarely fatal to humans. Because, Marbled Cone snail is soft-bodied, slow and can't bite us. However, if you carelessly touch them, people will have to pay a very heavy price and sometimes even their lives.
5. Stone Fish
Stone fish, also known as devil-faced fish, frog-bearing fish is a genus of the devil-faced fox family (Synanceiidae) and lives mainly in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Relying on superior camouflage skills, this species has always been one of the deadliest assassins on the ocean floor.
With 13 sharp spines containing venom in the dorsal fin, the devil face fish has surprised many divers. Notably, the venom of this fish often causes extreme pain, before leading to swelling, muscle relaxation and temporary paralysis.
Despite its beautiful transparent body, the Stalker scorpion is one of the most dangerous animals. They are pale yellow in color, frequently found in the Middle East and North Africa. Their venom can cause respiratory failure. People with cardiovascular disease or allergies can die from just one bite.
6. Deathstalker Scorpion
Up to this point, the Death Stalker is the most venomous scorpion of all scorpions living on Earth. They are pale yellow, distributed mainly in the Middle East and North Africa.
It is known that the venom of the Death Stalker scorpion contains many neotrotoxins, a toxin that causes central nervous system disorders, directly affecting the brain as well as the respiratory and cardiovascular organs. When bitten by them, the victim will immediately suffer a terrible pain, before there are signs of respiratory failure, cardiac arrhythmia and even death if not treated promptly.
7. Inland Taipan Snake
Taipan Inland is the name of a species of snake in the family Elapidae, found mainly in Australia. They are considered the most venomous snakes in the world, because the amount of venom in one bite of this species can kill 100 adults.
Although Taipan Inland snakes are very dangerous (200 times stronger than normal cobras), they are very shy and often stay away from places where people live. Therefore, so far, humans have not recorded any deaths related to this terrifying animal.
8. Phoneutria Spiders
In 2007, the Guinness Book of Records recognized that the Phoneutria spider or brown recluse spider, Brazilian wandering spider is the most venomous of all spiders living on Earth. In addition to the above names, they are also known as banana spiders, because this species often lives on banana leaves in Brazil and in the Amazon jungle.
While other spiders often spin silk to catch prey, Phoneutria spiders seek and attack prey directly on the ground. They are very aggressive and are usually nocturnal. The main prey of the Brazilian wandering spider is insects or other arachnids. However, sometimes, this species is ready to attack humans if disturbed. Its bites often cause extreme pain, loss of muscle control, paralysis of the respiratory organs, suffocation leading to death if not treated promptly.
9. Poison Dart Frog
Poison dart frog is the common name for a group of frogs in the family Dendrobatidae, living in the tropical regions of Central and South America. To date, scientists have found 179 different species of poison dart frogs. Among them, the yellow poison dart frog is the most toxic species.
The poison dart frog contains a compound called batrachotoxin. This is a toxin that directly affects the cardiovascular system and can block the action of nerve cells to the muscles, causing paralysis and death. Even the venom of one yellow poison dart frog is enough to kill 10 adults.
10. Pufferfish family
The pufferfish family (Tetraodontidae) is the second most venomous vertebrate in the world, after the yellow poison dart frog. They live mainly in the seas of Japan, China, the Philippines and Mexico.
The liver, kidneys and sometimes even the skin of the puffer fish contain a powerful neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin. Even the pufferfish's venom is 1,200 times more dangerous than cyanide, and just the amount of poison contained in 1 is enough to kill 30 adults. However, in Japan, puffer fish meat is a specialty that many people love.
