The most poisonous snakes
Venomous snakes are species of suborder Serpentes that are capable of producing venom which is used primarily for immobilizing prey and defense mostly via mechanical injection by fangs. Common venomous snakes include Families Elapidae, Viperidae, Atractaspididae and some of Colubridae. The toxicity of them is mainly indicated by murine LD50, while multifarious factors are considered to judge their potential danger to humans.
Supplement: A list of the Top 100 most venomous snakes in the world
There are four most popular methods in which the median lethal dose (LD50) test is measured:
- LDSC – Subcutaneous: Venom is injected into the fatty layer beneath the skin
- LDIV – Intravenous: Venom is injected directly into a vein
- LDIM – Intramuscular: Venom is injected into a muscle
- LDIP – Intraperitoneal: Venom is injected into the abdominal cavity
The most commonly tested methods are subcutaneous and intravenous injections of mice.
How many people can kill the snake’s venom?
Below is the estimated list of mice and human fatality count based on maximum venom dose of snakes.
Saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus)
23,841 Mice / 6 Humans
Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica)
24 000 Mice / 6 Humans
Terciopelo (Bothrops asper)
24,380 Mice / 6 Humans
Cape cobra (Naja nivea)
31,250 Mice / 9 Humans
Indian cobra (Naja naja)
33,689 Mice / 10 Humans
King cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)
45,830 Mice / 11 Humans
Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii)
88,211 Mice / 22 Humans
Black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis)
33 Humans
Caspian cobra (Naja oxiana)
62,165 Mice / 42 Humans
Coastal taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus)
208,019 Mice / 56 Humans
Eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis)
212,329 Mice / 58 Humans
Forest cobra (Naja melanoleuca)
244,889 Mice / 65 Humans
The most venomous snake in the world:
Inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus)
1,085,000 Mice / 289 Humans
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Most venomous and most dangerous are different propositions. Toxicity is a measure how strong a species’ venom is. That is one factor that determines how dangerous a venomous snake is, but volume produced and amount injected is also a crucial factor. A species that is capable of delivering a huge quantity of lower-toxicity venom can be more deadly than a species with higher venom toxicity delivered in lower volume.
Also, snake are venomous, not poisonous.