Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok.... i've seen a few top 10 lists saying most toxic, most venomous, and deadliest snakes... and every list was different. is there a difference between most venomous and most toxic? i'd like to know the top 10 most toxic snakes... i.e. if you were bitten, on average, which snakes would kill you the fastest without antivenom? one list i saw had the boomslang(Dispholidus typus) at number one, where another one didn't even list it, and same with the inland taipan(Oxyuranus microlepidotus). what are your opinions/experiences?

Throatoyster,

Queensland museum about 10 years ago put together a list of rating the Most dangerous of the Australian snakes....it rated temper, fang length, venom toxicity, venom yield and how many bites per year. Each was out of 5 points ..5 being the worst...the Coastal Taipan Oxyuranus scutellatus topped the list with 21 followed by the Mulga Snake Cannia australis with 16 and I think it was either the Common Death Adder Acanthophis antarcticus or or Eastern Brown Pseudonaja textilis with 15. check out the Queensland Museum website.

Regards,

Scott Eipper.

While I don't know whose lists you saw, try venomdoc.com and click the LD50 link. Might be of help.
Sincerely,
Bill Huseth

If you are just going for number of fatalities...Puff Adders are one of the highest "body count" snakes though obviously when it comes to potency of venom...etc there are a lot more potent candidates.
Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

wow... that venomdoc site was great, that's just what i was looking for... thanks!
-will

n/p