Who is the Most Poisonous Snake in the World? Not the Oujiang Snake or the Black Mamba
Vipers, one of the most terrifying creatures on Earth, and many people shudder just at the sight of viper photos. There are thousands of species of venomous snakes, and each snake's venom is different. So, which venomous snake is the most venomous in the world? I'm sure many of you have wondered about this question.
Perhaps many people will first think of the King Cobra and the Russell's Viper, because these two snakes are distributed in many places in China, and their names are different in different places, so they are relatively familiar venomous snakes to us.
These two snakes, we know from childhood that we shouldn't provoke them. If a person is bitten by them, if they don't get timely treatment within half an hour to several hours, the mortality rate is 100%.
Scientifically, there is a measure of the toxicity of a substance, namely 'lethal dose 50' (LD50), which can be simply understood as the dose required to kill 50% of the test subjects. The smaller the number, the higher the toxicity.
The King Cobra's LD50 is generally between 0.34mg/kg and 1.7mg/kg, and the Russell's Viper's LD50 is 0.08mg/kg to 0.108mg/kg. Both are highly venomous, but compared to the most venomous, they are still far behind.
Some people say it's the Black Mamba, this venomous snake is known as the 'African Death Serpent' for its extreme lethality. Before humans developed anti-black mamba venom serum, the mortality rate of the Black Mamba was almost 100%. Its LD50 is 0.25mg/kg to 0.941mg/kg. The Black Mamba can be considered the most venomous in Africa, but it is not the leader globally.
The world's most venomous snake is the Inland Taipan, which is distributed in the Australian inland. It is the leader in global snake venom toxicity. Its LD50 is only 0.0021mg/kg! The venom discharged in one discharge can kill 20 tons of prey within 24 hours, which is equivalent to 250,000 white mice, 100 adults, or the weight of two African elephants.
Of course, although the Inland Taipan is the most venomous, it doesn't necessarily mean it is the king. If the Inland Taipan and the King Cobra were to fight, who would win is uncertain. Because the King Cobra has immunity to some snake venom, and its detoxification quantity makes up for the gap in toxicity, plus the size of each snake is different, and the quantity of venom discharged in each attack is also different, so it's difficult to say who is stronger. What do you think?
