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Venoms 101 Venom
Basics Some of the world’s loveliest creatures are also the most lethal creatures. Why? Because they produce and use venom — an injected toxin — to capture prey and deter predators. Many people think that only snakes and spiders are venomous, but a variety of animals, both from land and sea, use venom. Consider the superbly camouflaged stonefish whose extremely sharp, venom-filled spines have caused human fatalities, usually when people accidentally stepped on the fish while wading. Or the Vietnamese Giant Centipede that can easily chase down and kill insects, lizards, snakes, toads, and mice. This centipede can give humans a serious and painful, but rarely fatal, bite. Venom gives animals a deadly edge in survival. By injecting toxins, venomous animals can kill prey larger and faster than themselves and deter even the most threatening predator. It is this deadly and "dangerous" nature of venom that makes venomous animals so interesting to us, and the fact that many of them are strikingly beautiful. Poison vs. Venom These terms are often used interchangeably, but they actually have very different meanings. It is the delivery method that distinguishes one from the other. Poison is absorbed or ingested; a poisonous animal can only deliver toxic chemicals if another animal touches or eats it. Venom, on the other hand, is always injected. Every venomous animal has a mechanism to inject toxins directly into another animal. Stab with tails. Slash with spines. Pierce with fangs. Spike with spurs. Shoot with harpoons. Chew with teeth.
The Eastern coral snake is best known for its dramatic coloration: rings of red, yellow and black make this animal strikingly distinctive. But don’t be fooled: the non-venomous Scarlet king snake mimics the Eastern coral snake, but its rings of red, yellow and black appear in a different order. To distinguish non-venomous mimics from coral snakes, remember this rhyme,
Alright, if you think you're so smart, take the Venoms Quiz!
Venoms
Websites AMPHIBIANS: Poison Dart Frog Dendrobates azureus Helix
Productions - Blue
Poison Frog (Dendrobates azureus) National
Aquarium in Baltimore - Poison
Dart Frog University
of Michigan-Museum of Zoology - Dendrobatidae Dendrobates
asureus AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES: Blue-ringed Octopus Hapalochlaena lunulata Blue-ringed
Octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata) - The
Cephalopod Page Pet Wherehouse
— Blue-ringed octopus Underwater
World — Perth, Australia California
Wild — Eye of the Newt, Skin of Toad, Bile of the Pufferfish
Corals Catalaphyllia jardinei and Millpora sp. Elegance
Coral (Catalaphyllia jardinei) Sea World Coelenterate
and Jellyfish Envenomations
Marbled Cone Snail — Conus marmoreus Cone
Shells by Tidal Region About
Cone Shells Doctor
Snail — Cone Snails Cone
Snail Web
Moon Jelly Aurelia labiata Oregon
Coast Aquarium Newport-jelly cam - Oregon
Moon Jelly (Aurelia labiata) Save
The Bay- Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island - Moon
Jelly (Aurelia aurita) South
Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources- Sea Science - Moon
Jelly (Aurelia aurita) University
of Michigan-Museum of Zoology - Moon
Jelly (Aurelia aurita)
Nudibranch Hermissenda crassicornis Nudibranch
of the Week Nudibrnch
of the Week II Aquarium
Frontiers without a Backbone
Sea Anenome Heteractis magnifica Sea Anemone
(Heteractis magnifica) Cautious
Coral Enterprises — Heteractis magnifica FishDomain.Com
— Heteractis megnifica
Sea Wasp Jelly Chironex fleckeri Australian
Venomous Marine Creatures- Australian Venom Research Unit - Sea
Wasp Jelly (Chironex fleckeri) Animal Diversity- University of Michigan - Marine
Stinger, Sea Wasp Jelly (Chironex fleckeri) University
of Melbourne — Department of Pharmacology - Box
Jellyfish or Sea Wasp Waikiki
Aquarium - Box
Jellies
Upside-down Jelly Cassiopea andromeda University
of Michigan-Museum of Zoology - Upside-down
Jelly (Cassiopea andromeda) Tennessee
Aquarium - Upside-down
Jelly (Cassiopea xamachama)
FISH Dwarf Lionfish Dendrochirus brachypterus Dwarf
Lionfish (Dendrochirus brachypterus) Venomous
Fish
Scorpionfish Scorpaena brasilensis National
Aquarium in Baltimore Distribution
of the barbfish Stonefish Synanceia verrucosa Reef
Stonefish Venomous
Fish
LAND INVERTEBRATES: Arboreal Tarantula Avicularia avicularia Arboreal
Tarantula/Pink Toe (Avicularia avicularia) Crystal
Palace Reptiles - Arboreal Tarantula/Pink Toe (Avicularia avicularia) Pinktoe
Tarantula Care Sheet Black Widow Laterodectus hesperus Desert
USA
Death Stalker Scorpion Leiurus quinquestriatus Leiurus
quinquestriatus picture Venom
& Stings The Scorpions
Emperor Scorpion Pandinus imperator Emperor
Scorpion Animal
Fact Sheets
Fire Worm Eurythoe complanata Fireworm
(Eurythoe complanata)
Giant Hairy Scorpion Hadrurus spadix Scorpion
Fauna of California Scott
Stockwell Scorpion Photographs
Goliath Bird Eater Theraphosa blondi Arachnophiliac
— Therapohosa blondi Care Sheet Tarantula
Planet
Oriental Tarantula Poecilotheria regalis Indian
Ornamental Tarantula (Poecilotheria regalis) Tarantula
Planet - Tarantula
Terminology
South African Fat-tailed Scorpion Parabuthus transvaalensis Dangerous
scorpions Poisons
and Toxins Sydney Funnel-Web Spider Atrax robustus Clinical
Toxinology- CSL Funnel Web Spider Antivenom Australian
Museum Online - Funnel-web
Spiders (Atrax robustus) Rochedale
School Australia - Sydney
Funnel Web Spiders Austaralasian
Anaesthesia - Australian
Spider and Insect Bites
Velvet Ant Michigan
Entomological Society - Wanderers
on the Sand–the Velvet Ants (Hymenoptera) National
IPM Network — North Carolina - Velvet
Ants (Hymenoptera) Penn
State University - Velvet
Ant (Hymenoptera) Pittsylvania
County Schools - Velvet
Ant (Hymenoptera) University
of Kentucky of Entomology - Velvet
Ants Manzanita
Project — California Academy of Sciences Vietnamese Giant Centipede Scolopendra subpinipes Scolopendra
page Urban
Knowledge Master
MAMMALS Solenodon Solenodon paradoxus Solenodon
paradoxus Haitian
Solenodon
Platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus Animal
Diversity Web — University of Michigan Creature
World — Platypus Wildlife
Information and Rescue Service Australia
Slow Loris Nycticebus coucang Animal
Diversity Web — University of Michigan Duke
Primate Center Victoria’s
Three Great Zoos
Trowbridge Shrew Sorex trowbridgii Mammals
of Oregon Southern
California Natural History Biodiversity
of the Truckee, Carson and Walker Watersheds
REPTILES: Copperhead Agkistrodon contortrix Animal
Diversity — University of Michigan Georgia
Wildlife Federation Massachussets
Snakes Coral Snake Micrurus fulvius Venoms
— Coral Snake\ Florida
Venomous Snakes Eastern
Coral Snake
Gila Monster Heloderma suspectum Animal
Diversity Web Gila
Monster — Desert USA Gila
Monster Manzanita
Project — California Academy of Sciences
Inland Taipan Oxyuranus microlepidotus Inland
Taipan Oxyuranus
microlepidotus Inland
Taipan Oxyuranus
Taipans
Mangrove Snake Boiga dendrophia Oakland
Zoo — Mangrove Snake Mangrove
Snake — Utah’s Hogle Zoo
Northern Pacific Rattlesnake Crotalus viridis oreganus Care
of the Northern Pacific Rattlesnake Images
— Manzanita Project (California Academy of Sciences) Avoiding
Wildlife Problems — Rattlesnakes (UC Davis)
Rhinoceros Viper Bitis nasicornis Reptiles
of the Impenetrable Forest — Bob Drewes (California Academy of
Sciences) WhoZoo
— Ft. Worth Zoo Animal
Diversity Web — University of Michigan
Scarlet Kingsnake Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides Scarlet
Kingsnake Scarlet
Kingsnake
Spitting Cobras National
Geographic — Dispatches from Myanmar Malayan
Cobra — Utah’s Hogle Zoo Britannica
Online - Cobras |
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Venom
Basics
Many
animals advertise their venom with color, behavior, or sound - bright
colors and threatening behaviors signal danger. Predators instinctively
know or learn to avoid animals with those colors or behaviors, even
those that aren’t venomous. Some non-venomous animals mimic the
colors or behaviors of venomous animals to scare off predators. 
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