Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK I am still confused on the most venomous snake.I have heard bushmaster( i think thats the name ) black mamba and about 5 others as being the most venomous snake.Or is there really no "most venomous snake"?

Most of what are called the most venomous are found in Australia. It is a moot point really...After all dead is dead. How much worse can a bite be?

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

I think the most venomous land dwelling snake is either the fer-de-lance or the fierce (sp?) snake of Austrailia, if I understood what Steve Irwin said correctly. THe most venemous snake in the world is some type of sea-snake, maybe the banded sea snake? I remember they had a discovery channel episode i saw a few years ago that listed the 10 deadliest snakes in the world so I am trying to recall from that.

The most venemous Terrestrial snake is considered to be the Inland Taipan or "Fierce" snake...the most venemous sea snake I believe is the Beaked Sea Snake but I could be wrong..I seem to remember a show Dr. Frye did looking for Sea Snakes at one point... and mentioned that species as one of the most toxic if not the most toxic.
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Lucien

1.1 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh and Isis)
2.2 Leopard geckos (2 Blizzards (Caine and Goliath), 1 het Blizzard (Lilith) and 1 Tangerine Albino (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short))
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros)
13 rats
1 Gerbil
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
2 cats (Sahara and Hercules)

The inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) is more toxic than any other land snake and is also more toxic than any of the sea snakes (as is the eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis)). Its a great myth that the sea snakes are more toxic than the land snakes just as it is a myth that Australia has all of the top 'whatever'. This misunderstanding was based off a study that Sutherland did quite a number of years ago where the toxicity of a fair few Australian snakes was determined but only a handful of non-Australian snakes were thrown in for comparison purposes. The article gives the impression of being a ranking system. An easy trap to fall into (and one that got me as well). Have a look on my webpage for the actual rankings. It is of course all academic, there is no ranking system of 'dead'.

We have an article in the works where, as part of it, we've nailed why the Oxyuranus/Pseudonaja venoms are so much more toxic

Cheers
Bryan
Snake LD50s

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Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry
Deputy Director
Australian Venom Research Unit
University of Melbourne

www.venomdoc.com

Thanks for the clarification on that as I wasn't absolutely certain.... but you're right.. there is nothing beyond "dead" you can't get any deader *l*
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Lucien

1.1 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh and Isis)
2.2 Leopard geckos (2 Blizzards (Caine and Goliath), 1 het Blizzard (Lilith) and 1 Tangerine Albino (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short))
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros)
13 rats
1 Gerbil
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
2 cats (Sahara and Hercules)

The "most venomous" snake depends upon your definition.

The toxicity of a snake's venom is determined by the quantity of mice that a specific quantity of the venom is capable of killing. Therefore, the "most venomous" snake is not necessarily the most dangerous to humans (or even the most venomous to humans).

As far as I know, the snake that kills more people throughout the world is the Russell's viper. However, I would have to vote black mamba as the most dangerous (considering aggressiveness, no dry bites, highly toxic venom, speed).

As I understand it, the snake whose venom has been demonstrated to kill the most mice for a give quantity is the inland taipan of Australia. (However, I'd be a lot more terrified to be placed in a small room with a large pissed off black mamba)

I agree, it depends on how one defines it. The top ten list that Steve Irwin compiled a while back was topped by the Fierce snake of Australia (aka Inland Taipan, per the above replies). But all 10 on his list were from Australia, and I'm not sure what criteria he actually used to rank them. I recall many years ago that the Tiger snake, drop for drop, was considered to have the most potent venom. At least two species of Tiger snake also made it onto Irwin's list.

If the rankings were based on worldwide number of deaths, I'm sure they would be much different. Many more deaths probably result from Puff Adders, Mambas, Bushmasters, Fer-de-Lances, and the various species of cobras (in places like Africa, India, South/Central America, etc) than the ones usually listed based on toxicity of venom. Those are ones that humans are more likely to encounter. If I had a vote, I'd also vote for the Black Mamba based on combination of size, speed, agressiveness, and potency. It's the one I'd least want to tangle with!
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MichaelB

More agreement here. I'm not sure it's the Russel's viper, however it definetly is a snake in the bare-foot rice fields of India that kills the most on a yearly basis. Still, it pales in comparison to how many people are killed by the world's number one killer... Human Stupidity.