More Venomous Than Your Mother-in-Law! Quiz

Answer: True

A venomous animal is an animal that purposefully injects venom into a target through a bite, sting, or other similar method. A good example of a venomous animal is a cobra, which actively bites a threat (or meal). Something that is poisonous does not actively inject poison; rather it can only be harmful when eaten or touched. An example would be the aptly named poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), whose poison only rubs off on your skin. All but two of the animals mentioned in this quiz will fall under the venomous category.

Answer: stonefish (Synanceia horrida)

These monsters are found in coastal reef areas of the Pacific Ocean and can kill a human if not treated. The fish are often disguised among the reefs or rocks (hence the name stonefish), but sometimes they will just lie in the sand. The good news is that the stonefish's venomous fins are used mainly as a defense mechanism, so it won't bother you if you don't bother it.

Answer: pufferfish (Takifugu vermicularis)

The poison contained in pufferfish is tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin with no known antidote. It is sometimes used in very small quantities to treat arrhythmia, but is highly toxic and potentially fatal in higher quantities. Most species of pufferfish are found in the Northwest Pacific.

Fugu (the Japanese name for the fish) can be expensive, and most dishes cost at least $50. Some chefs actually prepare the meat with a little bit of the poison remaining so as to give the tongue a numbing sensation and to cause a slight feeling of drunkenness in the consumer.

Answer: Brazilian wandering spider (Phoneutria fera)

These spiders are especially dangerous, because not only are they aggressive, but they also tend to hide in populated areas such as houses. One could even be hiding in your shoe or in your bed... The good news (for most of you, that is) is that these spiders are only found in the tropical areas of Central and South America. An interesting symptom that can occur from a bite is priapism. (I'll let you look that one up on your own-let's just say it would be very unpleasant for a man.)

Answer: False

This is an urban myth that is simply false. Mythbusters actually did part of an episode on this which involved having the host covered with daddy long legs spiders until one of them bit him. The bite area turned a bit red and there was some mild stinging, but other than that the bite was completely harmless and healed very quickly.

In the UK, the name of daddy long legs normally refers to the insect called the crane fly.

Answer: marbled cone snail (Conus marmoreus)

The cones snails, found in the Indopacific regions, actually shoot out a barbed tooth which latches onto the target, injecting a deadly neurotoxin in the process. One other venomous cone snail, Conus geographus, is nicknamed the "cigarette snail", because it is said that after being stung the victim will have enough time to smoke a cigarette before dying. Ironically, the venom of some of these cone snails is being researched as a possible pain killer (in much smaller doses, obviously).

Answer: box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri)

Box jellyfish are often considered to be the most venomous creatures in the world, capable of killing a human in under five minutes, should the unfortunate Homo sapiens be stung by a large box jelly. According to several online sources, the best thing to do while waiting for professional medical help is to pour vinegar on the sting site to halt the further envenomation into the bloodstream.

Answer: golden dart frog (Phyllobates terribilis)

One golden dart frog secretes enough batrachotoxin from its skin to kill over 100 humans. Indigenous peoples rubbed the tips of their darts/arrows on the frog to poison them, making the darts much more potent weapons against hunted animals or enemies. In 'Apocalypto', Jaguar's Paw uses this method to kill one of the men pursuing him.

Note: The black spear frog is completely made up.

Answer: sunbeam snake (Xenopeltis hainanensis)

The sunbeam snake is a constrictor, meaning that it kills its prey by crushing the hapless animal.

The inland taipan, found in parts of Australia, is the world's most venomous snake, capable of killing 100 humans with just one bite. According to Wikipedia, the LD50 (a measure of how much venom it takes to kill 50% of the affected human victims) is 0.03 mg/kg, so a fairly average 85-kg man would be killed by 2.55 mg of venom 50% of the time. Just to give you an idea, 2.55 mg of water is 0.00255 ml, which would probably fit on the tip of a pin.

The common krait and the boomslang are both highly venomous snakes. The krait is found in India, and an untreated bite can kill a human 6-8 hours after envenomation. The boomslang is found in Southern Africa and has an LD50 of 0.72 mg/kg (compare with the taipan). Death from a boomslang bite is different than many other snakes. The venom it produces acts as an anticoagulant, and if untreated, a serious bite will cause excess bleeding from orifices and death by exsanguination.

Answer: Your lung muscles become paralyzed, and you suffocate.

The neurotoxin attacks the brain and spinal cord, and the onset of paralysis can be very rapid. For many of these creatures, you need a pretty bad bite/sting in order to die, but either way, it's not going to be pleasant. The moral of the story is if you see one of these creatures coming, go the other way.