The most dangerous snakes in Australia: photo and description

The Australian continent already at the first stage of its settling by Europeans impressed them with the abundance of poisonous snakes. Altogether there are 140 species of such creatures, and meeting with many of them is extremely dangerous for humans.

Snakes of the Green Continent

Some species of these creatures are so used to people that they even settle in the city. Especially often snakes can be found on farms, as well as in the suburbs. There are even known cases when large enough individuals were found in supermarkets, and a few years ago in the press there was a message that the 6-meter python fell through the roof and was right in the shopping center of one of the shops in Queensland.

This close neighborhood could not but cause concern, especially since snakes of Australia often attack people. True, it must be said that they seldom take the initiative, and attack only if they think that they are trying to catch or kill them. At the same time, due to the fact that in every medical institution of the country, as well as in the homes of many inhabitants of the Green Continent, there is a sufficient amount of an effective antivenin (antivenin), deaths are rare.

Although almost all snakes in Australia are potentially dangerous, we decided to talk about a few of the most dangerous of them, inhabiting both the continent and its coastal waters. Getting to know them is extremely interesting, and the photos of these creatures are simply mesmerizing.

Mesh brown snake

This reptile lives everywhere throughout the eastern half of the Australian mainland. It is aggressive, impetuous and has gained a bad reputation for its disgusting "character."

The mesh brown snake has a dangerous poison. By its toxicity, it ranks second among analogues in the world.

Many believe that this reptile is the most dangerous snake in Northern Australia, since it accounts for the largest number of victims of bites. This circumstance is connected not only with the aggressiveness of this reptile, but also with the fact that it prefers to settle on farms in rural areas where it engages in hunting for mice.

If the reticulated brown snake feels danger, it lifts the body above the ground, bending it in the shape of the letter S. After the bite, the poison after ingesting it into the blood causes progressive paralysis. Usually the victims lose consciousness within a few minutes, and they have to take several doses of antivenin to stop the effects of intoxication.

Western brown snake, or guardsman

The reptile with this name lives on most of Australia, except for only the most humid areas of the continent. Gvardar is less aggressive than a reticulated brown snake, but it is also dangerous, especially since it has a nervous character. He immediately throws himself at the man, if it seems to him that they are trying to close the way to retreat, and bites him painfully. At the same time, this venomous snake of Australia at a bite gives out three times more toxins than a brown snake, and the victims experience nausea, headache, and they develop a severe form of coagulopathy, sometimes damage the kidneys.

Tiger Snake

The habitat of this reptile is the entire southeast coast of Australia. The tiger snake is the record holder for the number of bites, as it likes to settle near a person's housing. In particular, she is a frequent guest even in the suburbs of Melbourne. The main occupation of this poisonous snake in Australia is catching mice at night, so unsuspecting future victims may accidentally step on them and become the target of a furious attack.

The tiger snake's bite in the event that you do not make an injection of antivenin in time is fatal for a person. After it there is pain in the legs and neck, the person feels tingling, sweating and numbness is observed, and then breathing becomes more difficult and paralysis develops. Toxins present in the poison also damage blood and muscles and cause kidney failure.

Adult tiger snakes reach a length of up to three meters. They are colored with stripes ranging from yellow to black. Many believe that this is the most poisonous snake in Australia.

Inland Taipan

This snake lives in cracks and crevices, and also on some plains of the Green continent.

Inland Taipan tries to stay away from people, so it can not claim the title "Australia's Most Dangerous Snake". At the same time, it has an exceptionally toxic poison, which when ingested into an adult can kill it in as little as 45 minutes.

Inland Taipan hunts inside the holes of the long-haired rat, using its powerful poison. At the same time with the bite of the snake produces a quantity of toxins, which is 40 thousand times more than the amount needed to kill a 200-gram rat. The victim then has little chance of resistance.

Coastal Taipan

The habitat of this dangerous snake of Australia is the northern coast of the mainland, and also the fields of sugar cane, in which they easily find their prey.

Coastal Taipans have the most powerful and longest fangs among the relatives of the Green Continent. The length of this deadly "weapon" is 13 mm, and their poison is the third most toxic among the remaining snakes of the planet.

Coastal taipes are nervous and cautious, and they are fiercely defended in the event of an attack, or if they cut off the path to retreat. At the same time, this snake does not differ in its desire to approach people and tries to stay away from them.

Before the creation of the antidote in the second half of the 20th century, any taipan bite had a fatal outcome, since with it, the victim was exposed to toxins that caused internal bleeding.

Mulga

Another name for this reptile is the royal brown snake. The range of its habitat is the whole territory of the continent, except for Victoria, the south-western outskirts of Australia and the island of Tasmania.

Mulga is the most massive of the poisonous snakes of Australia. In addition, when milking, it emits the most poison. In particular, a case was officially certified when 150 mg of such toxic liquid was extracted from her tooth, while the other her relatives give out only 10-40 mg.

The mule, inhabiting the south of the continent, is distinguished by a calm and even rather timid character, while specimens living in the north of the continent are much more nervous. This snake bites, not unclenching the jaw, and chews the bite place. Moreover, it introduces into the body of the victim a large amount of extremely toxic poison that destroys blood cells, as well as nerve and muscle tissue. If you do not have time to introduce an effective drug into the body, then a lethal outcome is possible with a sufficiently high probability.

Copperhead snake

This exceptionally beautiful reptile is also known as the magnificent Denisonia. It differs from others in its ability to lead an active lifestyle even at temperatures that are considered too low for other reptiles. The copper snake settles around the dams, along the canals, in the swampy terrain, the roadsides and drainage ditches. It reaches a length of 1 meter or slightly more and is distinguished by a large smooth scales. Individuals inhabiting valleys usually have a lighter coloration than snakes that live high in the mountains.

The copper snake is among the viviparous and produces 20 cubs in one brood.

The copper snake has a neurotoxic poison that destroys the human nervous system, as well as its blood cells. However, it rarely becomes the cause of death.

Blackish Hidden Eyes

Being only 50 cm in length, this reptile is considered to be fairly tiny, but has a fairly toxic and dangerous poison. It contains long-acting myotoxin, which also acts on the cardiac muscle for several days after the bite.

The blackish, secret-eyed, aspid goes out hunting at night, so rarely comes into contact with people. These snakes have a black or dark gray color and a silvery abdomen, which allows them to mask well in the dark. Being disturbed, aspides show aggressiveness, but do not hurry to bite.

Green wood snake Australia

Such reptiles also belong to the family of Aspida. However, it is the most ancient and primitive of its representatives. They inhabit the Green Continent since its separation from Gondwana and thrive, because there for understandable reasons could not penetrate the viper and dwarf snake. At the same time, as a result of evolution, new types of aspides appeared, including those with green color. Another green tree snake, but belonging to the Viper family, lives in the forests of West Africa. In addition, a snake with this name lives in India. It has a flattened trunk, and if it were not for the head, it could easily be confused with the strap.

Red-bellied black snake

Encounters with this creature in Australia occur much more often than with other similar reptiles, including in the city. At the moment, there is not a single fatal outcome due to the attack by the red-bellied black snake. However, her bite is not a harmless mosquito prick, so it causes considerable pain and requires qualified medical care.

The poison of the red snake of the black snake violates the blood coagulability of the victim and leads to damage to the muscles and nervous system.

Snake Dubois

Sea snakes of Australia, whose photos are not familiar to everyone, are even more poisonous than their terrestrial counterparts. In total, 30 species of reptiles live there, including several extremely poisonous ones. Among them, the so-called snake Dubois is of great interest. This amazing creature breathes lungs and is an excellent diver. It can hold under water for about two hours. His bite causes paralysis of the respiratory system, and the victim often dies of suffocation in just a few minutes.

The snake lives at a depth of 1-30 m among the corals, as well as mud and sand deposits, where a large number of algae grows and many invertebrates, eels and fish live. At the same time, these places are a beautiful and reliable shelter for the period of rest.

The right lung of the snake is many times larger than the left one and serves for it in some way as a swimming bladder. When immersed, the nasals of the reptile are closed by special valves, preventing the penetration of water into the lung. Snakes Dubois can also absorb oxygen directly from the water through the mucous membrane of the oral cavity. It contains a lot of small blood vessels, perfectly absorbing oxygen from the water. Thus, Dubois snakes can spend underwater even up to two hours.

Belcher

Admittedly, this is the most dangerous sea snake off the coast of Northern Australia. She got her name thanks to the learned Edward Belcher and has a striped coloring. The victims of her attacks are usually seamen and fishermen, whom she accidentally gets into the network along with other inhabitants of the Indian Ocean. This sea snake coast of Australia has a poison, 1 mg of which can kill 1000 (!) People. The reason for such exceptional toxicity lies in the fact that the catch of the belcher is cold-blooded fish, whose bodies are easier to cope with poisons. In this regard, to kill them requires a much larger dose of poisons than in the case of small rodents.

Fortunately, encounters with the protein belly are rare, and so many fewer people become victims of it, than in the case of other reptilian killers.

"Extinct" sea snakes

A couple of years ago biologists from the University of J. Cook discovered two types of sea snakes near the coast of Australia, previously considered extinct.

Earlier it was believed that these reptiles, which were found only in coral reefs, disappeared 15 years ago. The scientists had no limits, and they began to closely monitor their populations and investigate possible threats. One of the "risen" species is the short-nosed sea snakes, recognized as one of the rarest in the world. By the way, several individuals were found during shrimp fishing, which indicates the vulnerability of these creatures in this fishery.

Now you know which sea snake Australia is the most poisonous and which reptile is one of the most dangerous for humans.