Which are the deadly animals?

Approach this lot at your peril! Not all animals are furry and friendly. Some specialize in producing poisons or venom. Poison is deadly if touched, but venom must be injected to have its toxic effect. Poisons can put off potential predators, but venomous fangs can be used to kill prey.

Box jellyfish

Box jellies, also called sea wasps and marine stingers, live primarily in coastal waters off Northern Australia and throughout the Indo-Pacific. They are pale blue and transparent in color and get their name from the cube-like shape of their bell. This scary stinger of the seas can kill in an instant. Each long venomous tentacle contains 5,000 stinging cells with the power to kill fish and other marine life, and even people, so doesn’t swim too close to one! Box jellies are highly advanced among jellyfish. They have developed the ability to move rather than just drift, jetting at up to four knots through the water. They also have eyes grouped in clusters of six on the four sides of their bell. Each cluster includes a pair of eyes with a sophisticated lens, retina, iris and cornea, although without a central nervous system, scientists aren’t sure how they process what they see.

Inland taipan

Nicknamed “the fierce snake”, Australia’s inland taipan has the most toxic venom of any snake in the world. Rats are its main prey and they are bitten several times before the snake swallows them whole. Inland Taipans are associated with the deep cracking-clays and cracking-loams of the floodplains, however they also venture onto nearby gibber plains, dunes and rocky outcrops if cover is available. The vegetation in these areas is usually sparse, consisting of chenopod shrubs, lignum and the occasional eucalypt near the water channels.

Golden poison dart frog

This frog has poisonous skin, and is the most poisonous animal in the world. A single golden poison dart frog could kill 10 people, but it is only found in the Colombian rainforest. Their coloring, which can be yellow, orange, or pale green, depending on their particular range, is deliberately ostentatious to ward off potential predators, a tactic called aposematic coloration. Their diet includes flies, crickets, ants, termites, and beetles.

Deathstalker scorpion

Taking the title of most deadly animal is the Deathstalker scorpion. Although its venom is less toxic than others, this desert scorpion kills the most people because it is aggressive, striking at night, and stinging on sight. It is not a common poison. It composed of neurotoxins and a significant amount of cardio toxins, which cause cardiovascular and respiratory dysfunction which can severely damage the body of sick or allergic persons or children.

Its sting is very painful, but far from its alarming reputation, does not usually kill a healthy adult human. Nevertheless, the medical attention is necessary.

In medicine, the Deathstalker venom has shown much potential for the treatment of human cancer tumors, thanks to a component called chlorotoxin. Similarly, other elements of the venom are useful against the effects of diabetes.

Brazilian wandering spider

The Brazilian wandering spider is a fast mover. In towns and cities, it hides during the day in dark places, such as a log pile or an old box, and will give a potentially fatal bite if it is accidentally disturbed. After a human is bitten by one of these spiders, he or she may experience initial symptoms such as severe burning pain at the site of the bite, sweating and goose bumps. Within 30 minutes, symptoms become systemic and include high or low blood pressure, fast or a slow heartbeat, nausea, abdominal cramping, hypothermia, vertigo, blurred vision, convulsions and excessive sweating associated with shock. People who are bitten by a Brazilian wandering spider should seek medical attention immediately.

 

Picture Credit : Google