Number 12 Gila Monster While snakes are typically the best-known
venomous creatures of the reptile world, there are also a few lizard species that can cause
severe distress by envenomation.
One such example is the Gila monster, native to North America.
It’s a sluggish reptile that only grows to be about 2 feet long, meaning that it’s
significantly shorter than a baseball bat.
It might not be large or particularly menacing but this creature is a force to be reckoned
with.
In its lower jaw, the lizard has modified salivary glands that produce venom.
It seeps into the victim’s wound as the lizard bites down and starts chewing.
The venom of the Gila monster has been characterized as being the most painful produced by any
vertebrate.
After being bitten, one zoologist claimed it felt like “hot lava coursing through
your veins”.
Human fatalities are very rare but the sheer searing pain is reason enough to give the
Gila monster a wide berth.
Number 11 Monarch Butterfly Some butterfly species are well-known for
the threatening displays created by their wings, as a means of intimidating predators.
There are, however, a few species that also rely on poison as a defense mechanism.
The monarch butterfly stores cardenolides from plants, mainly milkweed, it feeds on
as a caterpillar.
Cardenolides are steroids that not only give the monarch a foul taste but they may also
cause cardiac arrest in species unlucky enough to ingest it.
After the caterpillar becomes a butterfly, the toxins move to different areas of its
body.
Many of the monarch’s predators tend to first target its wings.
Once they taste the noxious substance present in the wings, predators might be deterred
from going after the butterfly’s body.
Those that do tend to regret it since the monarch keeps the most potent poison in its
abdomen.
Number 10 Tiger Keelback Some creatures are venomous and others are
poisonous but the tiger keelback, a snake species from East and Southeast Asia, is both.
At 39 inches, the snake’s only about half as long as a full size bed.
While actively going after prey, which it detects through visual or chemical cues, the
snake will rely on its venomous fangs.
However, these fangs are located at the back of the tiger keelback’s mouth.
This makes a successful strike on a large predator rather difficult.
Therefore, the tiger keelback has an alternative defensive mechanism.
It stores toxins that it gets from eating poisonous toads and secretes them from two
glands at the back of its neck.
A rather unique aspect is that the snake appears to know that it’s become poisonous.
In an experiment, scientists raised hatchlings from areas abundant in poisonous toads and
from areas that were toad-free.
After they were fed a controlled diet of poisonous toads, the snakes from the toad-free areas
started displaying their glands instead of fleeing from threats.
How the snake becomes aware of its own toxicity is still unknown.
Number 9 Slow Loris Primates are physically impressive creatures
and while many species are known for their intelligence, strength, agility or climbing
ability, only one is recognized as being venomous.
Found throughout Southeast Asia, slow lorises secrete a type of toxin from a gland on their
arms.
The toxin is activated by mixing with saliva meaning that the slow loris develops a venomous
bite that acts as a deterrent to predators.
These nocturnal primates will even apply the toxin to the fur of their infants as a form
of protection.
The secretion is related to cat allergen.
There’s only been a single case of human death caused by the slow loris and it was
the result of anaphylactic shock.
Number 8 Coral Often grouped in branches, mounds or outcrops,
corals are sometimes misinterpreted as undersea vegetation.
However, these are actually marine invertebrate animals that live in compact colonies of many
identical individual polyps.
They aren’t typically thought of as dangerous, but some coral species are highly toxic.
The apex in that regard is represented by those from the Palythoa genus.
They produce a highly toxic fatty acid called palytoxin.
Ingesting or inhaling even small quantities is potentially deadly for humans.
Since these creatures are often chosen as decorative specimens in marine aquaria, enthusiasts
that handle them are most at risk.
Recent reports include an aquarist that was accidentally poisoned through skin injuries
and another who experienced a severe respiratory reaction.
Number 7 Scolopendra Centipedes A number of centipedes from the Scolopendra
genus are notable for owning powerful venom.
Bites from these predatory arthropods are known to cause intense, long-lasting pain
in humans.
In 2014, one fatality was linked to Scolopendra gigantea, commonly known as the Amazonian
giant centipede.
The victim was a 4-year-old Venezuelan child who’d been attacked by a centipede hiding
in an open soda can.
While creating content for his channel, YouTube personality Coyote Peterson willfully sustained
bites and stings from a number of creatures infamous for inducing extreme pain.
Peterson ranked the excruciating, searing pain of a bite from Scolopendra heros, the
giant redheaded centipede, above all others.
The centipede’s venom is largely a mystery since it’s hard to extract in large quantities
and degrades rapidly when processed.
The deadly cocktail of toxins ruptures cells and also attacks the autonomic nervous system.
Number 6 Spanish Fly The Spanish fly is a beautifully-colored emerald
green beetle from a family of insects known as blister beetles.
Their name is derived from the insects’ defensive behavior in which they secrete a
toxic irritant called cantharidin.
It’s produced in much greater quantity by males and exuded as a milky fluid from their
joints.
The toxin is largely acquired by females through mating.
Aside from blistering and irritation, cantharidin can cause bleeding and discomfort.
It’s extremely dangerous as it can destroy the mucous membrane in every system, thus
leading to multiple organ failure and death.
The toxin has been known since antiquity, when it was sold as a powder that was obtained
from dried and ground beetles.
It’s been used in medicine and as an aphrodisiac, often due to erroneous assumptions of its
efficiency.
In 1954, a man was convicted of manslaughter after giving two women coconut-flavored candies
laced with cantharidin, which were intended as aphrodisiacs.
The women initially suffered from facial blistering and eventually lost their lives.
Number 5 Hooded Pitohui In the early 1990s, scientists were preparing
a museum collection involving the skins of the hooded pitohui, a songbird species endemic
to New Guinea.
Before long they started experiencing burning and numbness while handling the birds.
It was subsequently determined that the pitohui had a concentration of batrachotoxin in its
tissues.
The skin and feathers, particularly on the breast and belly, were the most toxic parts.
The toxin was also present in the creature’s muscles, heart and liver meaning that the
bird was immune to it.
The remarkable discovery made the hooded pitohui the first documented species of poisonous
bird.
The same toxin had previously been discovered in Colombian poison dart frogs.
Further research revealed other types of batrachotoxin in the bird’s skin.
By weight, these are the most toxic compounds found in nature as they’re up to 250 times
more powerful than strychnine.
It’s believed that the hooded pitohui and other poisonous pitohuis don’t produce the
toxin but acquire it by feeding on poisonous beetles.
The function of the poison within the piothui’s biology is still a matter of debate.
The most popular theories propose that it may be a defense mechanism or a way of dealing
with internal parasites.
Number 4 Spur-Winged Goose Spur-winged geese are Africa’s largest waterfowl
species.
It’s worth mentioning that, while related to geese and shelducks, these animals own
enough distinct features to be categorized in their own family, the Plectropterinae.
With a wingspan that’s almost as wide as Shaquille O’Neal is tall, these creatures
are certainly imposing.
However, there’s an additional aspect that contributes to their reputation.
The wing spikes that give these creatures their common name as well as their very meat
are potentially poisonous.
It’s not something they generate on their own but rather a by-product of their diet.
Spur-winged geese often feed on blister beetles, which we’ve referenced earlier on our list.
As such, they acquire cantharidin and store it in their tissues.
Those that cook and consume the bird risk death as it only takes about 10 milligrams
of cantharidin to kill a human being.
Number 3 Duck-Billed Platypus The duck-billed platypus truly is among nature’s
most unusual creatures, with physical attributes that seem to defy the mammalian class.
In fact, when European naturalists first examined the platypus, they believed it to be a hoax
and the result of several other animals that had been sewn together.
This animal has a duck’s bill, a beaver tail and otter feet.
To add to its many idiosyncrasies, it uses electroreception to locate prey and is the
only mammal to lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young.
The platypus is also venomous.
Males have an ankle spur that delivers rather unique venom, produced by the platypus’
immune system.
While strong enough to kill dogs, it isn’t typically lethal to humans.
That being said, the victim can become incapacitated from the extreme pain associated with envenomation.
It can develop into hyperalgesia, a heightened sensitivity to pain, that can last for days
or even months.
Number 2 Rough-skinned Newt In terms of toxic reputation, salamanders
haven’t really reached the same infamy that frogs, their amphibian cousins, have.
Yet, some salamander species rank highly among the animal kingdom’s most poisonous creatures.
The rough-skinned newt, found in North America, is a prominent example in that regard.
As a defensive mechanism against predation this newt species secretes potent toxins from
glands in its skin.
There’s at least one documented human fatality that resulted from newt ingestion.
This creature produces tetrodotoxin, the same dangerous neurotoxin found in pufferfish.
On sodium channels it acts like a cork to a bottle, blocking its flow to nerve receptors.
What this basically means is that nerves don’t receive the proper electrical signals.
This, in turn, can result in paralysis and death by asphyxiation.
Number 1 Blue Dragon Slug It’s rather hard to imagine the ethereal-looking
blue dragon slug as a vicious and venomous creature.
Even though it isn’t inherently dangerous, this deep sea dweller has a rather unique
manner of defending against predators.
It will feed on venomous hydrozoans, like the Portuguese man o’ war, and harvest their
nematocysts.
These are cells that can explode and release venomous stinging structures similar to tiny
harpoons.
The blue dragon swallows the exploding cells and stores them in its finger-like extremities.
Attracted by the sea slugs’ unusual appearance and electric-blue coloring, people may become
tempted to pick them up.
Doing so may result in a very painful sting that can cause allergic reactions, vomiting,
nausea and rashes.
Thanks for watching!
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