Venomous animals

Species that manufacture toxins and deliver them by bite, sting or spur.

• King CobraOphiophagus hannah
• Indian CobraNaja naja
• Black MambaDendroaspis polylepis
• Greater Blue-ringed OctopusHapalochlaena lunulata
• PlatypusOrnithorhynchus anatinus
• Southern Black WidowLatrodectus mactans
• Pandinus imperator
• Red LionfishPterois volitans
• Conus geographus
• Chironex fleckeri

About this list

Venom is injected; poison is ingested or absorbed. A pufferfish is poisonous, a cobra is venomous, and a small number of animals manage both.

Venom is not a rarity — it has evolved independently dozens of times — but venomous mammals are. The platypus is one of the few, and its spur is the only mammalian venom delivery system used primarily against rivals of its own species rather than against prey.