Have you or someone you know ever been bitten by an animal? Did you get worried that you will die? And, have you or someone you know eaten an animal and worried that it might be poisonous? If so, then you’re not only novice of what would happen to you or them; you probably don’t know the difference between poisonous and venomous creatures. Let’s learn about their differences.
Related media: Poisonous vs. Venomous
If You Bite Me, You Will Die
A poison, in fact, is any substance that when ingested into the body is capable of causing illness, and in extreme cases, death. Several substances — being it plants and animals — are noted to cause effects so dangerous and are often used for different purposes.
According to biologists, the term poisonous applies to organisms that have toxins within their flesh when eaten or consumed. But most people call animals poisonous because of the fact that when they bite you, you die; spoiler alert: that’s not the case. In fact, poisonous creatures are the ones that cause fatal illnesses and death when their flesh is being consumed as food — if not properly prepared. Biologists label out the difference between creatures that are poisonous and the ones that are not.
Poisonous creatures may include the following:
- Pufferfish
- Marbled Cone Snail
- Poison Dart Frog
- Stonefish
If I Bite You, You Will Die
A venom, on the other hand, is a substance secreted by animals, and its typically injected into the prey or victim by biting or stinging. The injected substance is capable of killing the prey or victim instantly, and if not severe, cause paralysis or seizure to the prey or victim.
The term venomous is applied to organisms that bite or sting to inject their toxins into their prey or victims. This means that very few snakes are truly poisonous. The vast majority of snake toxins are transferred by bite. Other creatures such as spiders, scorpions, and bees transfer their venom by stinging their prey or victims.
Venomous creatures may include the following:
- Belcher’s Sea Snake
- Redback Spider
- Death Stalker Scorpion
- Brazilian Wandering Spider
- Box Jellyfish
- Boomslang
- Blue-Ringed Octopus
- Carpet Viper
- King Cobra
- Black Mamba
- Inland Taipan
Have A Bite, Or Get Bitten
You’re probably wondering about if there are creatures that are both poisonous and venomous. The answer is, YES!. There are creatures both poisonous and venomous at the same time. Snakes are such creatures, being poisonous — you consume them, you die; and venomous — you die, when they bite you.
The arachnid species — comprising of mostly spiders and scorpions — (you guessed it), are also both poisonous and venomous creatures. This is because, its rare to find people eating a spider or scorpion as a delicacy, since their toxins are indeed very fatal when ingested (that’s consuming it), or injected (that’s being sting by it) into the body. Some insects too bite or sting to secret their toxins, and are also poisonous if consumed.
Here’s a list of creatures you should be careful of, and certainly keep off your menu.
- Marbled Cone Snail
- Poison Dart Frog
- Stonefish
Our word of advice, don’t eat anything that crawls or creep around with more than four legs.
Image Credits: Shutterstock / iStock / Getty Images Plus
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Written by: Nana Kwadwo, Sun, Dec 23, 2018.
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