The Most Poisonous and Venomous Animals in the World

Here is a short list of some of the most poisonous and most venomous animals in the entire world.

1. Stonefish

   The stone fish is definately one of the most poisonous animals in the world. Found around Australia, it lives and hunts in the Pacific ocean and it will attack anything that comes near it. The stonefish stores its deadly toxin in its 13 spines. What makes the stonefish so dangerous is that it is very well camouflaged and it easily blends in with the rocks and coral around it. In people, the stonefishes venom causes extreme pain, tissue swelling, and most of the time death.

2. Inland Taipan

   Found in Australia, this reptile is believed to be the most poisonous land snake on earth. Also called the Fierce Snake and the Small Scaled Snake, its venom is fifty times stronger then that of the Indian Cobra. Although usually calm, gentle, and non aggressive, one single bite from the Taipan has enough toxin in it to kill over a hundred grown men.

3. Poison Arrow Frog

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   The Poison Arrow Frog is considered to be the most poisonous vertebrate worldwide. This little bright colored amphibian lives in the waters of the tropical rain forests in Central America and South America. Its skin has a toxic chemical in it that will kill any animal that touches it. They excrete alkaloid toxins through their skin and a very small amount of this toxin can cause death to the biggest of animals. The frogs are also called the poison dart frog due to indigenous peoples’ use of their toxic excretions to poison the tips of their arrows and blowdarts.

4. Box Jellyfish

   The Box Jellyfish is believed to be the most venomous animal in the world. This invertebrate lives in the waters of Hawaii, Australia, and many other tropical areas. Box jellies use their powerful venom contained in epidermic nematocysts to stun and kill their prey prior to eating it. They also use it for defense purposes. Their venom is the most deadly in the animal kingdom and has caused over 5,000 human deaths since the 1950’s. In people, the venom causes extreme pain, it paralyzes the lungs, it stops the heart, and it also eats away at a persons skin before killing them.

5. Sydney Funnel Web Spider

   One of the most venomous animals in Australia, this Spider can kill a person within minutes of biting them. This large arachnid is very aggressive and it has the most powerful venom of any other spider. From its fangs, the spider delivers a powerful neurotoxin that cause extreme pain. Although many mammals are resistant to their bite, in humans and primates it can lead to serious illness and even death.

6. Blue-Ringed Octopus

   The blue-ringed octopus is the size of a baseball but its poison is powerful enough to kill a human with-in minutes of biting them. The poison is not injected but it is contained in the octopus’s saliva, which is stored inside of two different glands. The first gland is used for hunting its prey and the second is used for defense purposes. The last thing the victim sees are the blue rings which are only visible when the octopus is about to attack. In humans, a bite causes numbness, then you get paralyzed, then your heart stops working, and then you die. There is no antidote yet for a bite from a blue-ringed octopus.