9 Animals with the Deadliest Venom

Russell's Viper

The aftermath of a bite from this Old World viper is not pretty. Symptoms include bleeding from the gums and in urine, and pain for up to a month. The bite can also be lethal.

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Indian Cobra

The venom of mature cobras contains both nerve and heart toxins. The mortality rate for untreated victims is estimated to be 20 to 30 percent.

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Common Krait

The krait's bite may not cause any pain or even be noticed if a person is asleep. Its venom is full of powerful neurotoxins. A victim can suffocate to death four to eight hours after being bitten.

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Black Mamba

This snake can deliver a lot of venom at a time. The combination of neurotoxins and cardiotoxins can kill in as soon as seven hours.

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King Cobra

The king cobra's venom may not be the most potent, but its effects are incredibly deadly. It can spit its toxin and only 7 milliliters of the venom can kill 20 humans or one elephant.

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Saw-Scaled Viper

This viper's venom is so powerful that it is blamed for more human deaths than any other snake species in its region.

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Funnel-Web Spider

The venom of this spider is reputedly twice as deadly as cyanide. Effects on a human include increased blood pressure, arrhythmia, coma, and death. It can kill a small child within 15 minutes.

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Boomslang

The boomslang can open its jaws as wide as 170 degrees when biting. Its venom contains a hemotoxin that disrupts blood coagulation. The venom is slow-acting, which helps buy time to obtain anti-venom.

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Dubois Sea Snake

This sea snake has the deadliest venom of all sea snakes. The venom can cause paralysis, blurry vision, difficulty swallowing or speaking, and, in about 3 percent of victims, death.

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