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The Ten Most Venomous Snakes

This table is a guide to the Worlds most venomous snakes. The worst are at the top of the table. All of the snakes listed on this page are for the experts only! This information was supplied by Steve Irwin. All of these snakes can be found in Australia.

	Common & Scientific Name	Comments
1	Fierce Snake Oxyuranus microlepidotus	Also known as the Inland Taipan. Distribution : Central Australia Habitat : Dry Plains And Grasslands Food : Frogs , Small Mammals Breeding : Egg-Laying Appearance : Brown Or Olive Colors , Black Markings On The Head Or Uniformly Black Head The venom injected in a single bite from this snake is sufficient to kill 100 adult humans. Up to 2m (6ft)
2	Common Brown Pseudechis australis	Also known as the King Brown Snake. Distribution : Whole Australia Habitat : Forests To Deserts Food : Frogs , Small Mammals Breeding : Live-Bearing Appearance : Dark Reddish To Brown Colors , The Colors Become Paler On The Sides And Undersides Size: Up to 2m (6ft)
3	Taipan Oxyuranus scutellatus	Distribution : NE And Extreme North Australia , New Guinea Habitat : Forests , Open Woodlands Food : Small Mammals Breeding : Egg-Laying Appearance : Lightly Keeled Scales , Light Or Dark Brown Fading To A Paler Shade On The Sides And Underside . Head Is Usually Lighter In Colour Size: Up to 6 ft (2 m) long, closely related to the Fierce Snake.
4	Eastern Tiger Notechis scutatus	Size : To 1.2M Distribution : Australia : The Eastern Side Of Australia Habitat : Forests , Open Grasslands Food : Frogs Breeding : Live-Bearing , Usually 30 At Onetime Appearance : It Can Be Olive Or Even Reddish And Usually Has A Series Of Lighter Crossbands , It Flattens Its Neck When It Is Angry
5	Riesvie Tiger Snake	Size : To 2M Distribution : Australia Habitat : Forests , Open Grasslands Food : Small Mammals , Birds Breeding : Live-Bearing
6	Beaked Sea Snake	Size : To 2M Distribution : NE Australia Habitat : A Marine Species Food : Fish , Eels Breeding : Egg Appearance : Wide Head , Some Species With Bands
7	Western Tiger Snake	Size : To 2M Distribution : Australia Habitat : Forests , Open Grasslands Food : Small Mammals , Birds Breeding : Live-Bearing
8	Giant Black Tiger Snake Notechis ater	Size : To 1.2M Distribution : Australia : Tasmania , Islands In The Bass Strait Habitat : Rocky Places , Dunes , Beaches , Tussock Grass Food : Small Mammals , Frogs , Seabird Chicks Breeding : Live-Bearing Appearance : Large Body , Usually Black Sometimes Has Traces Of Lighter Crossbands , When Alarmed It May Spread Its Neck
9	Death Adder Acanthopis antarcticus	Size : To 40-50cm Distribution : Most Of Australia Except Central Desert Region Habitat : Dry , Rocky , Or Scrubby Places Food : Small Mammals , Birds And Reptiles , It Uses The Tip Of Its Tail To Lure The Prey To Within Striking Distance Breeding : Live-Bearing Appearance : Broad , Triangular Head , Short Tail , Colors Grey To Brown Or Red , It Has A Number Of Irregular Crossbands Over The Body
10	Western Brown Snake Pseudechis nuchalis	Size : To 1.5M Distribution : Most Of Australia Except Extreme SW And Se Habitat : From Forests To Grasslands , Gravelly Plains And Deserts Food : Small Mammals And Reptiles Breeding : Egg-Laying Appearance : Narrow Black Head And Black Neck Or Many Narrow Dark Crossbars , Colors Light Brown To Black Or May Have A Series Of Lighter Bands Around The Body

I've received the following information:

"The information you have is not correct. Steve is basing his statements on an old article by Broad, et al in Toxicon. The article was not intended to be a ranking but rather just a representation of some of the Australian venoms (with a couple of non-Australian venoms thrown in for measure). While the top three land snakes are Australian, non-Australian snakes come in heavily in the top ten and twenty."

Here's a link to a scientific page that lists the potency of venom of venomous snakes by LD50 ratings, by envenomation method. Australian Venom & Toxin Database.

Last Updated: April 04, 2007