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List of venomous animals

List of venomous animals is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of venomous animals rather than just read about it. In short: Numerous animal species naturally produce chemical toxins which are used to kill or incapacitate prey or as a defense against predators. Venomous animals actively deliver their toxins (called venom) into their target through a specially designed mechanism, such as a bite or sting, by using a venom apparatus, such as fangs or a stinger, in a processes called envenomation.

List of venomous animals — main illustration
List of venomous animals — illustration

Key takeaways

  • List of venomous animals belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect List of venomous animals to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of List of venomous animals from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Numerous animal species naturally produce chemical toxins which are used to kill or incapacitate prey or as a defense against predators. Venomous animals actively deliver their toxins (called venom) into their target through a specially designed mechanism, such as a bite or sting, by using a venom apparatus, such as fangs or a stinger, in a processes called envenomation. They are often distinguished from poisonous animals, which instead passively deliver their toxins (called poison) to their victims upon contact such as through inhalation, absorption through the skin, or after being ingested. The only difference between venomous animals and poisonous animals is how they deliver the toxins. This list deals exclusively with venomous animals. Venoms have adapted to serve a wide variety of purposes. Their intended effects can range from mild fleeting discomfort to paralysis and death, and they may be highly selective in which species they target, often making them harmless to all but a few specific organisms; what may be fatal to one species may be totally insignificant to another species. Because the definition of "venomous" can be extremely broad, this list includes only those animals with venom that is known or suspected to be medically significant for humans or domestic animals.

Invertebrates

Arthropods

Arachnids

Strictly speaking, all spiders and scorpions possess venom, though only a handful are dangerous to humans. Spiders typically deliver their venom with a bite from piercing, fang-like chelicerae; scorpions sting their victims with a long, curved stinger mounted on the telson.

Spiders

Australian funnel-web spiders (Atrax and Hadronyche spp.) Brazilian wandering spiders (Phoneutria spp.) All widow spiders (Latrodectus spp.), including the black widows, button spiders, Australian redback spider (L. hasseltii), and the endangered katipō of New Zealand (L. katipo) False black widows (Steatoda spp.) All recluse spiders (Loxosceles spp.), including the brown recluse (L. reclusa) and Chilean recluse (L. laeta) Macrothele spp. Mouse spiders (Missulena spp.) Sicarius spp. Hexophthalma spp. All species of tarantula (in addition to chelicerae, some also have urticating hairs)

Scorpions Of more than a thousand known species of scorpion, only a few dozen have venom that is dangerous to humans, most notably the bark scorpions, including:

Centruroides spp. Deathstalker (Leiurus quinquestriatus) Central and South American Tityus, include the Brazilian yellow scorpion. Androctonus spp. Parabuthus spp. Hottentotta spp.

Insects

Bees and wasps (see Bee sting) Some ants (see Ants of medical importance) Certain lepidopteran caterpillars are covered in urticating hairs for defense

Other arthropods Many species of centipede The remipede Xibalbanus tulumensis is a centipede-like crustacean that lives in underground anchialine caves of Mexico and Central America. Although blind, it is a formidable predator and feeds on the shrimp that share its underground pools.

Molluscs Cone snails of the family Conidae are a diverse group of predatory marine gastropods, mostly tropical in distribution, which hunt and immobilize prey using a modified harpoon-like radular tooth that can deliver neurotoxic conopeptides. All cone snails are venomous, though the danger posed to humans varies widely by species. Many species of octopus, squid, and cuttlefish make use of venom when hunting their prey.

The blue-ringed octopodes (Hapalochlaena spp.) produce tetrodotoxin, which is extremely toxic to even the healthiest adult humans, though the number of actual fatalities they have caused is far lower than the number caused by spiders and snakes, with which human contact is more common.

Cnidarians Jellyfish sting using microscopic cells called nematocysts, which are capsules full of venom expelled through a microscopic lance. Contact with a jellyfish tentacle can trigger millions of nematocysts to pierce the skin and inject venom. Some hydrozoans, including the Portuguese man o' war (Physalia physalis) Some sea anemones Some corals

Echinoderms Several species of sea urchins are venomous. The toxins are injected through their spines or pedicellariae.

Chaetognathans Chaetognathans, known as arrow worms, use the grasping spines in front of their mouth to catch prey and inject them with tetrodotoxin produced by symbiotic bacteria.

Annelids Glyceridae, also called bloodworms, is a family of carnivorous polychaete worms which have an eversible proboscis equipped with four jaws connected to venom glands, used for killing the invertebrates they feed on.

Vertebrates

Fish

There are at least 1,200 species of venomous fish, including:

Stonefishes (Synanceia spp.) Lionfishes (Pterois spp.) Scorpionfishes Toadfishes (Daector and Thalassophryne spp.) Rabbitfishes (Siganus spp.) Goblinfishes (Glyptauchen panduratus and Inimicus spp.) Cockatoo waspfish (Ablabys taenianotus) Striped blenny (Meiacanthus grammistes) Stargazers Chimaeras Weevers (Echiichthys vipera and Trachinus spp.) Dogfish sharks Most stingrays Most catfish species have venomous "stings" behind their fins, including: The estuary cobbler (Cnidoglanis macrocephalus) The striped eel catfish (Plotosus lineatus) and other eeltail catfishes (Neosilurus spp.) The Asian Stinging Catfish (Heteropneustes fossilis)

Reptiles

Snakes

Nearly all elapids, for example Australian black snakes (Pseudechis) All true cobras (Naja spp.), including the Indian cobra (Naja naja) King cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) Coral snakes (Micrurus, Leptomicrurus, and Micruroides spp.) Belcher's sea snake (Hydrophis belcheri) Dubois' sea snake (Aipysurus duboisii) Brown snakes (Pseudonaja), including the eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis) Death adders (Acanthophis spp.) Kraits (Bungarus spp.), including the common krait (Bungarus caeruleus) Mambas (Dendroaspis spp.), including the black mamba (D. polylepis) Taipans (Oxyuranus) Tiger snakes (Notechis spp.) Vipers, for example Bushmasters (Lachesis spp.) Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) and cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) Lanceheads (Bothrops spp.), including the fer-de-lance (B. lanceolatus) and the terciopelo (B. asper) Rattlesnakes (Crotalus and Sistrurus spp.) Russell's viper (Daboia russelii) Saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus) Boomslang (Dispholidus typus)

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

List of venomous animals: Many venomous animals, such as this greater blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata), are brightly colored or can display bright colors to warn potential predators
Many venomous animals, such as this greater blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata), are brightly colored or can display bright colors to warn potential predators
List of venomous animals: Latrodectus mactans, one of several venomous North American black widows
Latrodectus mactans, one of several venomous North American black widows
List of venomous animals: Synanceia verrucosa, a species of stonefish, is lined with dorsal spines that deliver an intensely painful and lethal venom. It is sometimes called the most venomous fish in the world.
Synanceia verrucosa, a species of stonefish, is lined with dorsal spines that deliver an intensely painful and lethal venom. It is sometimes called the most venomous fish in the world.
List of venomous animals: The black mamba has one of the deadliest bites of any snake
The black mamba has one of the deadliest bites of any snake

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of venomous animals

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of venomous animals claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of venomous animals before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of venomous animals ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of venomous animals

In research
List of venomous animals appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses List of venomous animals in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
List of venomous animals is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Lists of animals, Venomous animals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for List of venomous animals outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study List of venomous animals in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what List of venomous animals means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain List of venomous animals out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of venomous animals in simple terms?

Numerous animal species naturally produce chemical toxins which are used to kill or incapacitate prey or as a defense against predators. Venomous animals actively deliver their toxins (called venom) into their target through a specially designed mechanism, such as a bite or sting, by using a venom…

Why does List of venomous animals matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of venomous animals?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of venomous animals.

Tags

  • Lists of animals
  • Venomous animals

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