The only poisonous mammal in the world: truth and fiction

The wise mother nature endowed some animals with significant physical strength and sharp teeth, which serve as a means of protection from enemies (or are used for food). Others use the strongest poisons as weapons when attacking prey or for protection. A striking example is the platypus that lives in East Australia and on the island of Tasmania. This animal is often called the only poisonous mammal in the world. Is it really? Find out !

The fact that the platypus is dangerous already seems incredible. After all, he looks surprisingly harmless. He has a soft beak, similar to a duck, and the tail resembles the tail of a beaver. The body is covered with thick fur. Interestingly, the platypus lays and hatches eggs, like a bird, but feeds the cubs with milk.

However, no matter how cute the platypus is, it is still worth fearing. Concerns these are mainly male platypuses. These creatures have special glands that secrete poison, and they are located near the hips. Through the tubes, the poison enters from the glands to a special process on the hind legs. During the mating season, the male platypus uses it in the fight against rivals. The platypus venom can kill a small animal.

Is the platypus the only poisonous mammal in the world? The answer is definitely negative! There are, of course, extremely few poisonous mammals, besides the platypus, on Earth, however they are. Among them are some types of shrews: a short-tailed shrew and a water (ordinary) cutter. The latter, by the way, lives on the shores of Russian reservoirs.

There is also another animal on Earth that emits poison and is periodically mistakenly called the only poisonous mammal in the world. The name of this creature is not familiar to many. This is the crab, the owner of toxic saliva, which, paradoxically, is capable of killing him. Such incidents occur, as a rule, during fights between relatives. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to meet this animal, since the crab is leading in the list of endangered species.

As you can see, the platypus is not the only poisonous mammal in the world, although, undoubtedly, it is very interesting. By the way, about the interesting - get acquainted with these representatives of the terrestrial fauna, which are recognized as the most poisonous !

The most poisonous animals in the world - who are they?

Stone fish will never participate in a beauty contest, but it still gained worldwide fame as the most poisonous fish. It contains its poison in spikes on its back. Toxic substances are a means of protection against predators. Stone fish lives in the tropical climate of the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Cubomedusa emits the deadliest poison in the world, which affects the cardiovascular and nervous systems, the skin. It causes hellish pain. Cubomedusa lives in the seas of Asia and Australia.

King cobra is the longest poisonous snake in the world, more than five meters long. She feeds on other snakes. One cobra bite can kill a person. This snake can destroy even an elephant. King cobra can emit a lot of poison at one time, 5-6 times more than other poisonous snakes. It is often found in Asian mountain forests.

Scorpions leyruses are the most dangerous type of scorpions, since their deadly poison has a strong paralyzing effect. Leyruses live in North Africa and the Middle East.

The species of Taipans includes two species, the coastal Taipan and the fierce snake. One bite of the coastal taipan contains poison that can kill more than one hundred people or more than two hundred thousand mice. It is extremely neurotoxic, but there is an antidote. Taipans are mainly found in Australia.

The poison frog , or poisonous frog, lives in the moist equatorial forests of Central and South America. She is very bright and attractive, but in any case it is impossible to pick her up. Formerly frog venom, Indians smeared arrowheads.

The banana spider was included in the list of champions, as more people died through its fault than due to other representatives of arachnids. These spiders are also dangerous by their behavior, since they are constantly in motion and do not weave a web, but travel on the ground. They can be found everywhere: in buildings and cars, on clothes and shoes, so the risk of being bitten unexpectedly increases.

The blue ringed octopus is a small but very poisonous animal that lives off the coast of Australia. If you do not immediately take any action after a bite, then a person will have problems with breathing, speech and vision. After this, paralysis and death can occur.

A ball fish, or puffer, takes second place among the most poisonous vertebrates on earth after a frog frog. An interesting fact is that puffer meat is considered a delicacy in the countries of the Rising Sun, but it is important to remember that the skin of the fish and some of its internal organs contain poison. The most poisonous animals of Russia live in the south of the country. It is necessary to beware of the Central Asian cobra and gyurza, their bite is fatal. The most common venomous snake in Russia is the viper.