Friday 20 January 2012

Most Venomous Snakes in the World


 1.Taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus): It is one of the most venomous and deadliest snakes in the world. There are three main sub-species of Taipan such as Papuan Taipan (Oxyuranus s. canni), Western or Inland Taipan (Oxyuranus Microlepidotus) or (Fierce Snake) and Common or Coastal Taipan (Oxyuranus Scutellatus). Taipans are found in Australia and New Guinea. Fierce snake or Inland Taipan is more toxic as compared to Papuan Taipan and Coastal Taipan. Inland Taipan is olive or brown in appearance, with uniformly black head or black marking on the head. Its habitat is grasslands and dry plains. Common or Coastal Taipan is dark or light brown in color with a paler shade on the sides and underside and lightly keeled scales. It is about 6 ft in length. It is found in the open woodlands and forests.

 2. Krait: This highly poisonous snake is found in Asia. It appears black or bluish-black in color with a white narrow cross-bands and a narrow head. Its average length is about 90cms. It is more active at night than during the day. It is 15 times more deadly than the common cobra. Its venom is a powerful neurotoxin, which causes the respiratory failure.
 
3. King cobra: It is world's largest venomous snake. Its average length is about 3.5 meters and it can be maximum 5.5 meters long. It appears uniformly brown, olive or green in color with black cross-bands. King cobra is commonly found in Southern China, Thailand, Philippines, South India and Malaysia Peninsula. Its venom is a neurotoxin type.
 
4. Russell's viper: Russell's viper is more commonly found in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysian Peninsula, Southern China, Sumatra, Java, Borneo and surrounding islands. It has a light brown body with three rows of black or brown splotches having white or yellow border. Its average length is about 1 meter. It is responsible for relatively more human deaths than any other types of venomous snake. While attacking, it coils tightly, hisses and strikes with such a high speed that its victim gets little chance to escape. Its venom is of hemotoxin type, which is a powerful coagulant, causing damage to blood cells and tissues.
  
5. Black Mamba: It is Africa's most feared venomous snake. It is found in Africa's open woodlands and African savannas. It is highly toxic and notoriously aggressive. Its venom is a powerful neurotoxin. It appears uniformly black or brown. Its average length is about 4.3 meters. Its mouth has a black internal lining. It is known as world's fastest land snake with the top speed of 16-19 km/hr.

 6.Tiger snake: It is olive or dark brown in color with olive or yellowish belly and cross-bands. Its subspecies are found in Victoria and Tasmania and it is uniformly black. Its average length is about 1.2 to 1.8 meters. It is one of the most venomous snakes found in Australia. It is also found in New Guinea, Tasmania and Bass Strait Islands. Its venom is a potent neurotoxin that affects the central nervous system. It produces venom in high quantities, with an average yield of about 35 mg to 180 mg.
  
7. Western Brown Snake (Pseudonaja nuchalis): It is found in the grasslands, forests, deserts and gravelly plains. It is a native of Australia. It has a narrow black head and black neck. It may be black or light brown in color with narrow dark crossbars or a series of lighter bands around the body. It is about 1.5 meters in length. Its venom is neurotoxic.

Rough Scaled Bush Viper (Atheris hispida)

Atheris hispida is a venomous viper species found in Central Africa. Known for its extremely keeled scales that give it an almost bristly appearance.[3] No subspecies are currently recognized.

 Description

The males of this species grow to maximum length of 73 cm (body 58 cm, tail 15 cm). Females grow to a maximum of 58 cm. The males are surprisingly long and slender compared to the females.

The head has a short snout, more so in males than in females. The eyes are large and surrounded by 9-16 circumorbital scales. Orbits separated by 7-9 scales. The nostril is like a slit and separated from the eye by two scales. The eye and the supralabials are separated by a single row of scales. The supralabials number 7-10, of which the fourth is enlarged.[3] The body is covered with elongated, heavily keeled scales that give this species a "shaggy", almost bristly appearance. The scales around the head and neck are the longest, decreasing posteriorly. Midbody, the dorsal scales number 15-19. There are 149-166 ventral scales and 35-64 subcaudals. The anal scale is single.


Common names

Rough-scaled bush viper, spiny bush viper, hairy bush viper, rough-scaled tree viper,African hairy bush viper, hairy viper.

The common name "hairy bush viper" should, however, be avoided for this species, as it will likely be confused with the recently described species, A. hirsuta, the specific name for which means "hairy".


Geographic range

Central Africa: DR Congo, south-west Uganda, west Kenya. The type locality given is "Lutunguru, Kivu" (DR Congo).[1]

More specifically, Spawls & Branch (1995) describe the distribution as isolated populations in Kivu and Orientale Provinces in DR Congo, southeastern Ruwenzori in Uganda and the Kakamega Forest in western Kenya.


Behavior

Capable of climbing reeds and stalks, this species is often found basking on top of flowers and terminal leaves. Mostly nocturnal.

 Feeding

Feeds on mammals, frogs, lizards and sometimes birds. Sometimes hunts for mammalian prey on the ground.