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I agree to receive editorial enewsletters and special offers and promotions relating to Australian Geographic merchandise and subscriptions I'd like to receive special offers from Australian Geographic partner organisations. Search for:. Search Articles. Search Store. But the deadliest will surprise you. Post Tags animals Crocodiles dangerous deadly reptiles sharks snake spider. The eastern brown snake is responsible for the most snake-related deaths in Australia.
Related Video. Shop now. It is also called the fierce snake, and carries enough venom in a single bite to kill around , mice. But why does Australia have so many animals that are highly venomous? First, we need to go back million years. This land mass gradually split apart , with Africa and South America breaking off first, followed 40 million years later by India and Madagascar. Australia and Antarctica finally broke apart around million years ago.
Today, venomous snakes are found in all of these places — apart from Antarctica, where it is too cold for them to live.
On the original combined land mass, it is thought that there was a population of ancestral snakes that was venomous. These were separated when the land masses broke apart. Curious Kids is a series by The Conversation that gives children the chance to have their questions about the world answered by experts.
These are a group of snakes that inject their prey with venom from hollow, fixed fangs. Imagine a snake that uses venom to kill its prey. No human deaths have been attributed to it and antivenom is available. One sting from this predatory snail could kill many adults. One component of its venom, which needs to be deadly and fast-acting to swiftly kill its fish prey, has an LD 50 of 0. It contains neurotoxins that in humans affect vision and speech. These snails are found near Indo-Pacific ocean reefs and are most likely encountered when they are stepped on.
Because stings can be painless, people may not realise they have been stung. One of the most venomous marine creatures known, the box jellyfish can kill a healthy adult in minutes. This jellyfish is found in northern Australian waters and has caused more than 70 deaths here since It has an LD 50 of 0. As well as haemo- toxins and neurotoxins, the venom contains dermatonecrotic substances, which cause skin-scarring. Venom is delivered by millions of tiny, harpoon-like stinging cells on up to 60 tentacles, and an encounter is said to be excruciating.
A bite delivers 2—6mg of venom and can cause cardiac arrest, but more often leads to uncontrolled bleeding, with symptoms seen within 15 minutes. The yellow-bellied sea snake is a true sea snake, spending its entire life in ocean waters throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific. With an LD 50 of 0. Bite symptoms range from muscle stiffness and drooping eyelids to paralysis and death. Fortunately, no known fatalities have been recorded in Australia, probably because this snake is rarely encountered by people.
Found along the coast from northern NSW to northern WA, coastal taipans are equipped with the longest fangs up to 12mm of any Australian snake, and have the third most toxic venom of any land snake in the world. Its venom contains neurotoxins, haemotoxins and myotoxins and can kill an adult in 30 minutes. Since antivenom was developed in there have been no known deaths.
This venom — which acts on nerves, muscles and blood — can trigger a severe reaction within 15 minutes, although antivenom is available. Common symptoms are paralysis, muscle damage and uncontrollable bleeding. The tiger snake is thought to be one wide-ranging species that has great variation in size and colour across southern Australia, including Tasmania. With its venom high in neurotoxins, it has an estimated, but unverified, LD 50 rating of 0.
It has been responsible for 13 known deaths in Australia, although none have been recorded since antivenom was developed in A bite yields an average dose of 0. Renowned for being aggressive and with fangs that can pierce toenails, it is found in bush and urban areas in the Sydney basin. All 31 Australian sea snakes are venomous, but most are docile — with the exception of the beaked sea snake. A single bite can result in paralysis and muscle damage within six hours and delivers enough venom 7.
Previously thought to be one species, it is now considered to be two: one from Asia and one from Australia.
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