Top 10 Venomous Snakes.

[uro millions]

I'm no expert but i thought brown snake was one of the most toxic/venomous.

It is too hard to come up with a list because there are so many different types of toxins and different amounts of those toxins put into victims in bites

[SnakingSprout]

Originally Posted by slippery42

Looks like Paul beat me to that one!

I was just about to say "What about Saw Scaled Viper!"

I mentioned it first

[PDR]

Originally Posted by scaleylover

PDR what is meant by medical importance?
sorry if this is a silly question

I imagine that its quite a hard thing to be specific about

in the list it mentions about how much a snake administers in a bite, but this will differ hugely i imagine, is the such a thing as an average venom dose per bite

i know for me deadly would be to do with the number of deaths in relation to the number of bites but this would be effected by reporting of bites and correct species identification

‘Medical importance’ is a term used to describe species responsible for high numbers of deaths and disfigurement where snakes co-exist with people. For example Echis Sp. which cause many thousands of deaths each year. People are often poor, have limited access to antivenom and hospital treatment.
By contrast the Inland Taipan rarely bites people outside of zoos or private collections and no deaths have been recorded. Australia has very good resources for treating bites (good hospitals, antivenoms, road/transportation and education) and deaths are very rare, on average 3 per year.
We collect data on the number of bites worldwide and then establish which snakes are of medical importance and those that are of limited interest.

[ForeverHams]

"the most dangerous species of snake is the one that just bit you" -Bruce George Snake buster from animal planet

[stuartdouglas]

absolutely, it's no point worrying about the toxicity of a snake that you will probably never see, the most dangerous ones are those that bite people in areas of limited resources, i.e Third World countries, they may not necessarily have the deadliest toxins in their venom, but if treatment is not available or is hundreds of miles away, then they might as well have.

[gtm]

Fer de Lance - they kill a lot of south americans.

[C.Bruno]

6. Black Mamba (Dendroaspis Polylepis)
people fear the black mamba due to its notorious aggression, it is also the fastest snake in the world, and it is said that if bitten by the snake you would have time for a quick drink before death. Also the most deadliest snake in africa.

This snake can kill in 10-20 mins I read!

[stuartdouglas]

See above, it can't kill you if it doesn't bite you! Russel's and Saw-scaled vipers claim more lives than mambas..........The point PDR and others are trying to make is venom toxicity has got little to do with the potential for mortality, Oxyuranus microlepidotus has, drop for drop, the most powerful venom of any land snake, yet there are no recorded fatalities from this snake.
Daboia russelli and Echis sp. don't have anywhere near as toxic venom, yet kill more people.

As for D polylepis being Africa's deadliest snake?................I think I'd go for Bitis arietans

[mark elliott]

Originally Posted by stuartdouglas

See above, it can't kill you if it doesn't bite you! Russel's and Saw-scaled vipers claim more lives than mambas..........The point PDR and others are trying to make is venom toxicity has got little to do with the potential for mortality, Oxyuranus microlepidotus has, drop for drop, the most powerful venom of any land snake, yet there are no recorded fatalities from this snake.
Daboia russelli and Echis sp. don't have anywhere near as toxic venom, yet kill more people.

As for D polylepis being Africa's deadliest snake?................I think I'd go for Bitis arietans

thats interesting stuart i was under the impression the cape cobra was the deadliest in Africa, can anyone clarify. just shows you can't believe all you read .
regards mark

[stuartdouglas]

I may well be Mark, I thought the Puff was, based upon numbers bitten and fatalities recorded. I could well be wrong...........(nothing new there comes the shouts from the back!!)