The Australian continent at the first stage of its settlement by Europeans hit them with an abundance of poisonous snakes. In total, 140 species of such creatures live there, 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 cases when large enough individuals were found in supermarkets, and a few years ago the press reported that a 6-meter python had fallen through the roof and ended up directly in the trading floor of a store in Queensland.
Such a close neighborhood could not but cause concern, especially since Australian snakes often attack people. True, I must say that they rarely take the initiative and attack only if they think 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 residents of the Green Continent, there is a sufficient amount of effective antidote (antivenin), deaths are rare.
Although almost all Australian snakes are potentially dangerous, we decided to talk about some of the most dangerous of them that live both on the continent and in its coastal waters. Acquaintance with them is extremely interesting, and photos of these creatures are simply mesmerizing.
Mesh Brown Snake
This reptile lives throughout the eastern half of the Australian mainland. She is aggressive, impetuous and has gained notoriety for her disgusting "character."
Reticulated brown snake has a dangerous poison. In terms of toxicity, it takes second place among analogues in the world.
Many people believe that this reptile is the most dangerous snake in Northern Australia, as it accounts for the largest number of bite victims. This fact 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 hunts mice.
If the brown mesh snake feels the danger, it lifts the body above the ground, bending it in the shape of the letter S. The poison after a bite, falling into the bloodstream, causes progressive paralysis. Victims usually lose consciousness within minutes and have to take several doses of antivenin to stop the effects of intoxication.
Western brown snake, or guard
A reptile with this name lives in most of Australia, with the exception of only the wettest areas of the mainland. Gvardar is less aggressive than the netted brown snake, but also dangerous, especially since it is nervous. He attacks a person with lightning speed, if it seems to him that they are trying to close the path to retreat, and he bites painfully. At the same time, this poisonous snake in Australia emits three times more toxins when bitten than a brown snake, and victims will experience nausea, headache, and they will also develop severe forms of coagulopathy, and sometimes kidney damage.
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, because it loves 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 to catch mice at night, so unaware future victims can accidentally step on them and become the object of a fierce attack.
A bite of a tiger snake in the event that an anti-venin injection is not done on time is fatal to humans. After it appears pain in the legs and neck, the person feels tingling, he has increased sweating and numbness, and then breathing is difficult and paralysis develops. The toxins present in the poison also damage the blood and muscles and cause kidney failure.
Adult tiger snakes reach a length of up to three meters. They are colored in stripes ranging from yellow to black. Many believe that this is Australia's most poisonous snake.
Inland Taipan
This snake lives in cracks and crevices, as well as in some flat areas of the Green Continent.
The inland Taipan tries to stay away from people, so he can not claim the title of "Australia's Most Dangerous Snake." At the same time, she has extremely toxic poison, which, when ingested by an adult, can kill him in just 45 minutes.
The inland taipan hunts inside the holes of a long-haired rat, using its powerful poison. At the same time, when a snake bites, it releases an amount 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 in Australia is the northern coast of the mainland, as well as sugarcane fields 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 third in toxicity among the remaining snakes of the planet.
The coastal taipans are nervous and cautious, and they fiercely defend themselves in the event of an attack, or if they are 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 toxins that caused internal bleeding entered the victim's body.
Mulga
Another name for this reptile is the royal brown snake. Its habitat is the entire territory of the mainland, except Victoria, the southwestern outskirts of Australia and the island of Tasmania.
Mulga is Australia's most massive snake. In addition, when milking, it emits the most poison. In particular, the case when 150 mg of such toxic liquid was isolated from her tooth was officially certified, while her other relatives give out only 10-40 mg.
The mulga that lives in the south of the continent is characterized by a calm and even rather timid character, while the specimens living in the north of the mainland are much more nervous. This snake bites without opening its jaw and chews on the bite site. At the same time, she injects a large amount of extremely toxic poison, destroying blood cells, as well as nerve and muscle tissues, into the victim’s body. If you do not have time to introduce an effective drug into the body, then with a fairly high probability a fatal outcome is possible.
Copperhead Snake
This exceptionally beautiful reptile is also known as 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. A copper-headed snake settles around dams, along canals, in marshy areas, roadsides and drainage ditches. It reaches a length of 1 meter or a little more and has large smooth scales. Individuals inhabiting the valleys are usually lighter in color than snakes that live high in the mountains.
The copper-headed snake is viviparous and in one brood produces 20 cubs.
The copper-headed snake has a neurotoxic poison, which destroys the human nervous system, as well as his blood cells. However, it very rarely causes deaths.
Blackish Lurker
Being only 50 cm in length, this reptile is considered quite miniature, but has toxic and dangerous poison. It contains long-acting myotoxin, which also acts on the heart muscle for several days after a bite.
A black-eyed, hidden-eyed aspid goes hunting at night, so it rarely comes in contact with people. These snakes are black or dark gray in color and have a silver belly, which allows them to camouflage themselves well in the dark. Being alarmed, the aspids are aggressive, but in no hurry to bite.
Australia Green Tree Snake
Such reptiles also belong to the Aspida family. However, these are its most ancient and primitive representatives. They have inhabited the Green Continent since its separation from Gondwana and have prospered since, for obvious reasons, vipers and pit snakes could not enter it. At the same time, as a result of evolution, new species of aspids appeared, including those with a green color. Another green tree snake, but belonging to the Viper family, lives in the forests of West Africa. In addition, a snake with that name lives in India. It has a flattened torso, and if not for the head, it could easily be confused with a belt.
Red-bellied Black Snake
Meetings with this creature in Australia occur much more often than with other similar reptiles, including within the city. At the moment, not a single death has been recorded due to the attack of the red-bellied black snake. However, her bite is far from a harmless mosquito injection, therefore it causes significant pain and requires qualified medical attention.
The venom of a red-bellied black snake disrupts the blood coagulation of the victim and leads to damage to the muscles and nervous system.
Snake Dubois
Australia's sea snakes, whose photos are far from familiar to everyone, are even more poisonous than their terrestrial counterparts. In total, 30 species of such reptiles live, including several extremely poisonous ones. Among them, the so-called snake Dubois is of great interest. This amazing creature breathes light and is an excellent diver. It can spend under water for about two hours. His bite causes respiratory paralysis, and the victim often dies of suffocation in just a few minutes.
A snake lives at a depth of 1-30 m among corals, as well as silty and sandy sediments, where a large number of algae grows and many invertebrates, eels and fish live. At the same time, these places are a wonderful and reliable shelter for the period of rest.
The right lung of the snake is many times larger than the left and serves as a swimming bubble for it in some way. When immersed, the nasal openings of the reptile are closed with special valves, preventing the penetration of water into the lung. Dubois snakes can also absorb oxygen directly from the water through the mucous membrane of the oral cavity. It contains many small blood vessels that perfectly absorb oxygen from the water. Thus, Dubois snakes can spend under water even up to two hours.
Belcher
Admittedly, it is the most dangerous sea snake off the coast of Northern Australia. She got her name thanks to the scientist Edward Belcher and has a striped color. The victims of her attacks are usually sailors and fishermen, to whom she accidentally gets on the net along with other inhabitants of the Indian Ocean. This sea snake of the coast of Australia has poison, 1 mg of which can kill 1000 (!) People. The reason for this exceptional toxicity is that Belcher’s prey is cold-blooded fish, the body of which is easier to cope with poisons. In this regard, their killing requires a significantly larger dose of poisons than in the case of small rodents.
Fortunately, meetings with Belcher are quite rare, so her victims are much fewer people than in the case of other reptiles.
