Good lord there is some ridiculous mis-information in this thread.
1) They are NOT POISONOUS - snakes are VENOMOUS. If you ate it and died that would be poisonous. This is basic fact about snakes.
2) The most VENOMOUS snake on Earth is known by four names. They are: Fierce Snake, Western Taipan, Inland Taipan and Small-scaled snake. THEY ARE ALL THE ONE SNAKE.
3) There is a difference between the most VENOMOUS and the most DANGEROUS. A Black Mamba for example is not one of the most venomous (not even close) but it is one of the most dangerous. Calculating which is the most dangerous is a difficult thing to achieve.
The black mamba could be the most dangerous snake but not the most venomous snake,the Hydrophis Belcheri seasnake is considered the most venomous snake on the planet,and the Inland Taipan is the most toxic land snake on earth. Black mambas are the fastest snake in the world and they're aggressive, but Inland Taipans are shy and people can barely meet one, so the black mamba could be the most dangerous snake.
Ah I just wrote this out and clicked save by accident which didn't save it but redirected me to a page exipired page! Aargh here we go again!
NickMonk is correct that we should not refer to these snakes as poisonous. A good rule of thumb is that venoms are injected and poinsons are ingested so anything which kills its prey by injected venom is venomous.
It is difficult to pin down exactly which is THE most venomous species of snake to humans in the world as it will depend on where the person is bitten, where the venom is injected (subcutaneously, intramuscularly etc) and venom yield. We have statistics for LD50 of various venoms in mice but unless someone wants to repeat these tests with humans - not likely - we cannot say for sure which is the most potent to us.
However, having said that, there are certain species which have been recorded to bring about death extremely quickly. As mentioned before the sea snakes are particularly dangerous as well as the inland taipan (also known as the fierce snake). There are plenty of snakes which are incredible venomous to us - all the usual suspects such as the king cobra, tiger snake, puff adder etc - and will bring about death very quickly if first aid is not applied and antivenom given.
It is also useful to note that although the brown snake does not possess as potent a venom as many of the other species, it is the culprit of many more deaths than say the taipan as it is encountered more frequently.
Hope this helps. If you are interested you can check out www.venomdoc.com
I assume if you were to calculate the "most dangerous" snake "to humans" among known snake species you would have to construct a fairly elaborate algorithm. You would have to take into account snake population ratios and their overlap with major human population centers. You would also have to factor toxicity levels, number of victims bitten who survived, propensity for the snake to attack without apparent provocation ect. It could get incredibly complicated, especially since new venomous snakes are discovered fairly regularly.
Or you could just find the ration of victims bitten to victims dead. I'm assuming that you are assuming that death = most dangerous. As far as I know from my vague memory of a past Zoology class that distinction belongs to the King Cobra, though I would be hard pressed to find actual statistics for you. You can't trust Yahoo! Answers farther than you can throw them, but BWANA at http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080626031627AAIrWkn seem fairly knowledgeable.
On another note, were any of you ever told that old urban legend about "Daddylong Legs" or Opiliones being the most venomous of spiders, only they couldn't bite humans because their jaws were too small? Hilarious, especially since Opiliones aren't spiders, but I was wondering if there was a any correlation in the snake world. Perhaps there are snakes which are incredibly venomous for their size, but pose a limited threat to humans because of the limited amount of venom they can generate.
Vote: I'd have to say King Cobra, because I don't think there are any recorded deaths from Taipan bites.
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.
The most poisonous snake in the world is not the Black Mamba. People confuse the most poisonous with the most dangerous. The Mamba is the most dangerous snake in the world, but the most poisonous by far is Belcher's Sea Snake...and the most poisonous land snake is the inland Taipan, look it up. The King Cobra produces the most venom, and the Krait snake is no. 3. The Black Mamba is actually no. 7, as a matter of fact only two snakes on the list above are even in the top 10. It goes a little something like this:
1. Belcher's Sea Snake(sea) Inland Taipan(land)
2. Krait snake
3. Philippine Cobra
4. Indian King Cobra
5. Russell's Viper
6. Black Mamba
8. Multiband Krait
9. Tiger Snake
* Note: That the most poisonous sea and land snake or on the same line. But Belcher's Sea Snake is way more poisonous, but want bite a fly. Its poison is used to make the most powerful snake anti-venoms.
I think a black mamba is the most poisonous snake in the world. Only 2mg of its venom can kill a human. it can attack from 4-6 feet. Though now it is on the verge of extinction.
Always Be Happy...
I agree this post should be changed to clarify what is meant by poisonous. If they meant venomous, replace with "venomous" or post the two and note the difference. Although you guys have already clarified this.
Animals are the key to unlocking our past. So why does human kind continue to harm them? Do we want to be lost forever in the present? -J.G Bowden
I would never eat not poisinius nor normal snake
talking about venomous - Fierce Snake or Inland Taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus ), Australia. The most toxic venom of any snake. Maximum yield recorded (for one bite) is 110mg. That would porbably be enough to kill over 100 people or 250,000 mice.
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