What is the most venomous snake on the planet?

Question

What is the most venomous snake on the planet?

Answer 1

I gave a long winded answer to this question the other day, probably asked by someone else, so I'm going to summarize it here:

Venom potency is one thing, death by snake bite is another.  The most intelligent snake on the planet and the one responsible for more deaths than any other, is the King Cobra of India.  This snake can become very large for an Elapid.  It can put out a large quantity of venom at one time, and since most people in India go around bare foot, the bite frequency is high.  The venom is Neurotoxic (attacks the nerves) and is therefore not that painful like those of a Rattlesnake bite (Hemotoxic) which attacks the blood cells.  But, it can kill a lot more effectively.

I used to work in the Reptile House of a big zoo and I took care of the largest King Cobra in captivity, which had been privately owned but had killed it's owner.  He died in 9 minutes and never even made it to the hospital.  And, that was in America where we have fast ambulances.  Imagine the outlands of India.

Answer 2

The Inland Taipan, aka Fierce Snake, is the most venomous snake in the world. Fortunately, it doesn't come into contact with people regularly.

The following site is a good one that dispels a lot of myths. If you click on the links on the left of the page, there is a lot of info. there. It shows the lethal dose (LD50) for all the most venomous snakes as well.

http://www.venomdoc.com/

Hope that helps.

Added: Here is a range map for the Inland Taipan.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...

They are pretty much in the middle of nowhere, as you can see.

Answer 3

if i'm not mistaken, it's the inland taipan..though the most toxic, it's kind of shy in nature...found in south-western Queensland and north-eastern South Australia

Answer 4

What determines the world's deadliest snake is different than what determines the world's most venomous snake. Venom is a complex subject (see Snake Venom), and snake venom works differently on different creatures. But for the purposes of this page, we've listed the most toxic venom based on the lethal dose to mice, called the LD50.

Sniped for your help.

Answer 5

NAME: Expecteria Trouserius" (Trouser Snake).

LOCATION: Throughout the world.

DESCRIPTION: Varying from pink to black.  Fang-less with a highly venomous spit.

Size varies from 3 to 12 inches, depending on its mood & sub-species

Answer 6

Funny, I was just reading this the other day.   I will list links to the web-sites I was reading.

Hope this helps

Answer 7

King Cobra, the most venomous snakes on the planet, found in Asian countries and amazon basin, a fully grown can be of 12 to 15 ft long, the hood can be upto 10 inches, 1 bite can cause death of 4 adults.

Answer 8

The Black mamba.