Slow lorises are one of the world's only venomous mammals. Even rarer, they use their venom on one another.
Eulipotyphla (previously known as insectivores) With the exception of vampire bats, Eulipotyphla are the only mammals so far observed to produce toxic saliva. These species have significantly enlarged and granular submaxillary salivary glands from which the toxic saliva is produced.
There are four mammalian orders with known venomous representatives, as recognized today. These comprise solenodons and some species of shrews (Order Eulipotyphla), platypuses (Order Monotremata), vampire bats (Order Chiroptera), and slow lorises (Order Primates).
Shrews are small, mole-like mammals that are sometimes mistaken for mice. But unlike most other mammals, some shrew species are venomous. One of these is the American short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda). Venom can be transferred in many ways, including through spines, stingers or claws.
The platypus is a monotreme, an egg-laying mammal, found only in Australia. Males are venomous. During the breeding season they are able to deliver venom through spurs located on their hind legs. Venom delivery is believed to provide individuals with an advantage over conspecifics throughout the breeding season.
Animals that start with Q include mammals such as the quokka and quoll; birds such as quails, quetzals and quelea; fish such as the queen angelfish and Queensland lungfish; invertebrates such as the quahog and Queen Alexandra's birdwing butterfly; and extinct species such as the quagga and Queen of Sheba's Gazelle.
After analyzing the genes of the platypus, Grutzner and his colleagues discovered that the creature's venom contained the metabolic hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). This is normally secreted in the guts of both animals and humans. It stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin and lower blood glucose levels.
This results in an animal that can withstand venom with little or no side effect. So far scientists fully understand venom resistance in only four mammals - mongooses, honey badgers, hedgehogs and pigs - as well as several snakes.
The meerkat was unmasked in a scientific study as the most homicidal of over 1,000 mammals. One-in-five will be violently dispatched by another meerkat, likely their own mother, sister or auntie, demonstrating how the female of the species really is more deadly than the male.
The Box Jellyfish is the most venomous animal in the world. Death can occur minutes after being stung. There are 51 species of box jellyfish, and four — Chironex fleckeri, Carukia barnesi, Malo kingi, and Chironex yamaguchii — are highly venomous!
The platypus is a remarkable mammal found only in Australia.
If its appearance alone somehow fails to impress, the male of the species is also one of the world's few venomous mammals! Equipped with sharp stingers on the heels of its hind feet, the male platypus can deliver a strong toxic blow to any approaching foe.
Killer Whale (Orcinus orca)
Apex predator – and one of the world's largest carnivores – orca are also known as killer whales, though they are actually the largest animal in the Delphinidae family of oceanic dolphins. At 8 meters long and 5,400 kg, an average-sized orca can eat up to 230 kg of food a day.
In the mammalian realm, hedgehogs, skunks, ground squirrels, and pigs have shown resistance to venom. Some scientists even believe the lowly opossum, which wields a venom-neutralizing peptide in its blood, may hold the key to developing a universal antivenom.
Blue-ringed octopus
Although it's relatively small -- only the size of a golf ball -- its venom is debilitating and deadly. It can cause respiratory failure within 10 minutes and death within 30. One bite can kill up to 26 men, and there is no antidote.
Platypus are found in eastern Australia from the steamy tropics of far north Queensland to the freezing snows of Tasmania. In Queensland, platypus live in rivers east of the Great Dividing Range, and are also found in some western-flowing streams. In north Queensland, the range of the platypus is close to the coast.
Ungainly as it is, the hippopotamus is the world's deadliest large land mammal, killing an estimated 500 people per year in Africa. Hippos are aggressive creatures, and they have very sharp teeth. And you would not want to get stuck under one; at up to 2,750kg they can crush a human to death.
In terms of the number of humans killed every year, mosquitos by far hold the record, being responsible for between 725,000 and 1,000,000 deaths annually.
Crocodiles. Crocodile attacks on people are common in places where crocodiles are native. The saltwater and Nile crocodiles are responsible for more attacks and more deaths than any other wild predator that attacks humans for food.
The naked mole-rat is impervious to certain kinds of pain.
Yes, animals do practice revenge. Chimps do it, for example. Macaques do it, too, although not directly: if they cannot attack the offender because he is much stronger, they would hurt someone weaker instead, sometimes the attacker's relative.
“Ostriches have the most powerful immune system of any land animal,” Ms. Anikeyeva said.
But bears, unlike people, do not develop diabetes. The seasonal insulin resistance they experience during the winter actually ramps up their ability to burn fat. Perry and his team have discovered eight proteins in grizzlies that are critical to regulating insulin levels.
No Antidote
Yet there is still no remedy against two of the most venomous animals of the world: the blue-ringed octopus and the blowfish.
Australian biologists have discovered that platypuses might produce some of the healthiest milk out there. And who's really that surprised? The platypus is a weird mammal for a whole lot of reasons; its super nutritious milk is the icing on the quirky cake that is this half-duck/half-otter monotreme.