The new species was dubbed Atractaspis branchi or Branch's stiletto snake. Today, it joins at least 21 other known stiletto snakes - or burrowing asps, as they are also sometimes known - most of which, like this new one, are found in sub-Saharan Africa.
Scientists usually hold snakes with good ol' fingers-behind-the-head technique, since most snakes attack by opening their mouth and lunging forward. This doesn't work for Branch's Stiletto Snake and others in its family, who can bite -- by stabbing with their fangs -- without even opening their mouths.
It's rare for Australian snakes to strike. It's even more uncommon for the fangs to penetrate clothing and the skin.
Inland taipans have the most powerful venom on Earth. The inland taipan is known for being among the most venomous snakes in the world. A maximum dose of its venom is about 110mg from a single bite, and that is enough to kill 289 people and over 1 million mice.
You may also feel pain all the way up whichever limb was affected, such as in the groin for a bite on the leg or the armpit for a bite on the arm. But not everyone feels pain. For example, a bite from a coral snake can be almost painless at first, but still deadly.
The bite may look like a slight scratch or graze, or some minor swelling - there may be no pain or other symptoms. Even so, always perform first aid and seek treatment. Symptoms of a snakebite can include: Puncture marks (or small, very visible scratches)
Snakes will usually avoid people and bite only if they feel threatened. Most snakes are fairly harmless (not poisonous/not venomous). Even so, if you're bitten by any kind of snake, you should take it seriously.
Introducing the most venomous snake in the world and epic predator of the Australian outback! The inland taipan is otherwise known as the fierce snake or small scaled snake.
The inland or western taipan, Oxyuranus microlepidotus, is the most venomous snake in the world, according to Britannica. Native to Australia, this snake has the deadliest venom based on median lethal dose, or LD50, tests on mice.
Unfortunately, the black mamba can move at about 7 mph and strike much, much faster. That means the snake moves about as fast as the average person jogs. A black mamba will chase a person down to kill them. However, their speed does make getting away from one that feels threatened a bit more difficult.
Brown snakes hunt by actively looking for prey and searching in likely hiding places. They have good eyesight and once prey is detected they will give chase and subdue the prey using both venom and constriction.
When bitten by a snake, the Jaanga First Nations people of inland Queensland survived by laying down under a tree and not moving a muscle for four to five days while their people brought them food and water.
Another common plant remedy was the sap of the Native or Cherry Ballart (Exocarpas cupressiformis), used for snake bites.
Painless venom: Indian kraits (Bungarus caeruleus) are notorious for biting sleeping people at night. While highly lethal, the bites are so painless that they are often dismissed as trivial until it is too late.
It belongs to a family of snakes known as Atractaspidinae—otherwise known as mole vipers, burrowing asps or stiletto snakes—which have a unique skull anatomy and fangs sticking out the sides of their mouths that they can use to deliver venom via a sideways stabbing motion.
Wrong, experts say. Putting your mouth on a venomous wound is the last thing you should do. A study in The New England Journal of Medicine two years ago found that cutting, sucking or cutting off the blood supply to a bite could damage nerves and blood vessels and lead to infection.
The black mamba, for example, injects up to 12 times the lethal dose for humans in each bite and may bite as many as 12 times in a single attack. This mamba has the fastest-acting venom of any snake, but humans are much larger than its usual prey so it still takes 20 minutes for you to die.
Later that night, when Laita began reviewing the photos he had taken during the shoot, he found that he had snapped a shot at the exact moment the snake sank its fangs into his leg. Surviving a black mamba bite without treatment is so rare that Laita's story is now mentioned in Wikipedia's “black mamba” article.
Inland taipan
Reclusive and rare, the inland taipan hides out in its remote, rocky habitat. This snake only makes the top 10 because of its highly toxic venom, considered to be the most potent of any land snake in the world; it has the potential to kill an adult human within 45 minutes.
All three snakes are known for being incredibly deadly, and the task had everyone's hearts racing as each snake was revealed from the bags. The Milk Off made the Coastal Taipan victorious at a massive 2.4 grams of venom, while the King Brown came second at 1.6 grams and the Tiger Snake came third with 0.2 grams.
1. Green Tree Snake (Dendrelaphis punculata) – this non-venomous snake is quite commonplace in Australia, and can be found in areas where there is thick vegetation.
We repeat, move away from the snake. That means don't walk up to it, poke it with a stick, try to pick it up, etc. We recommend retreating a safe distance away but keeping an eye on the snake. If you can, use your camera or smartphone's zoom to snap a quick picture of the snake.
Snakes are most likely to bite when they feel threatened, are startled, are provoked, or when they have been cornered. Snakes are likely to approach residential areas when attracted by prey, such as rodents. Regular pest control can reduce the threat of snakes considerably.
Also contrary to prior belief, the snake does not suffocate the victim. Instead, a study of boa constrictors showed that constriction halts blood flow and prevents oxygen from reaching vital organs such as the heart and brain, leading to unconsciousness within seconds and cardiac arrest shortly thereafter.