While poisonous animals may seem the same as venomous animals, there is a crucial difference between the two. Venomous animals inject toxins through claws, fangs, or stingers and are used aggressively to disable prey or ward off threats. On the other hand, the secretions of poisonous animals are used defensively, with the poisons only being threatening when ingested, inhaled, or if one comes in contact with the animal’s skin.
List of Animals that are Poisonous
Birds
- Arafura Shrikethrush
- Black Pitohui
- Blue-capped Ifrit
- Bower’s Shrikethrush
- Common Quail
- Crested Pitohui
- Grey Shrikethrush
- Hooded Pitohui
- Mamberamo Shrikethrush
- Northern Variable Pitohui
- Raja Ampat Pitohui
- Rufous Shrikethrush
- Rusty Pitohui
- Sandstone Shrikethrush
- Sepik-Ramu Shrikethrush
- Sooty Shrikethrush
- Southern Variable Pitohui
- Spur-winged Goose
- Tagula Shrikethrush
- Variable Shrikethrush
- Waigeo Shrikethrush
- White-bellied Pitohui
Reptiles
- Angel’s Keelback
- Barbour’s Water Snake
- Bavi Keelback
- Bindee Keelback
- Black-striped Keelback
- Blue-necked Keelback
- Boettger’s Keelback
- Burmese Keelback
- Chiwen Keelback
- Green Keelback
- Guangdong Keelback
- Hawksbill Sea Turtle
- Heller’s Red-necked Keelback
- Hubei Keelback
- Javanese Keelback
- Muruden Keelback
- Orange-collared Keelback
- Red-bellied Keelback
- Red-necked Keelback
- Singalang Keelback
- Specklebelly Keelback
- Sri Lanka Keelback
- Swinhoe’s Grass Snake
- Tiger Keelback
- Tiger Grooved-neck Keelback
- White-lined Water Snake
- Yellow-headed Keelback
- Zigzag-lined Water Snake
Amphibians
- American Toad
- Asiatic Toad
- Baron’s Mantella
- Beautiful Mantella
- Bernhard’s Mantella
- Black-eared Mantella
- Blue Poison Dart Frog
- Blue-legged Mantella
- Brown Mantella
- California Newt
- Cane Toad
- Climbing Mantella
- Colorado River Toad
- Common Toad
- Cowan’s Mantella
- Dyeing Dart Frog
- Ebenau’s Mantella
- European Green Toad
- Fowler’s Toad
- Golden Mantella
- Golden Poison Frog
- Granular Poison Frog
- Green Mantella
- Guibe’s Mantella
- Harald Meier’s Mantella
- Malagasy Mantella
- Marojejy Mantella
- Northern Corroboree Frog
- Phantasmal Poison Frog
- Red-bellied Newt
- Rough-skinned Newt
- Sierra Newt
- Southern Corroboree Frog
- Strawberry Poison Frog
- Yellow Mantella
- Yellow-banded Poison Dart Frog
Fish
- Amazon Pufferfish
- Bandtail Pufferfish
- Blue-spotted Pufferfish
- Caribbean Barracuda
- Globefish
- Great Barracuda
- Greenland Shark
- Japanese Pufferfish
- Oceanic Pufferfish
- Prickly Pufferfish
- Red-tailed Dwarf Pufferfish
- Stellate Pufferfish
- Striated Surgeonfish
- Valentin’s Sharpnose Pufferfish
- White-spotted Pufferfish
Invertebrates
- Belus Swallowtail
- Black Blister Beetle
- Bushman Arrow-poison Beetle
- Cinnabar Moth
- Colima Swallowtail
- Common Tiger Butterfly
- Cramer’s Swallowtail
- Crassus Swallowtail
- Criton Birdwing
- Dark Blue Tiger Butterfly
- Dyar’s Swallowtail
- Green Fuzzy Mushroom
- Green-patch Swallowtail
- Ivy Bee Blister Beetle
- Limu-make-o-Hana
- Madyes Swallowtail
- Monarch Butterfly
- Pfeffer’s Flamboyant Cuttlefish
- Pipevine Swallowtail
- Polydamas Swallowtail
- Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing
- Queen Butterfly
- Rajah Brooke’s Birdwing
- Small Elephant Ear Mushroom
- Soldier Butterfly
- Spanish Fly
- Sri Lankan Birdwing
- Striped Blue Crow Butterfly
- Sunray Zoanthid
- Tropical Milkweed Butterfly
- Violet Oil Beetle
- Zetides Swallowtail
Which are the most poisonous animals in the world?
1. Poison Dart Frogs
These frogs secrete toxins strong enough to kill a healthy adult with a drop. The most poisonous of them is the golden poison frog, which can kill 10 to 20 men with its venom. Their bright coloring serves as a warning to any potential predators. Interestingly, their toxicity depends on their diet, as dart frogs raised in captivity do not generate such potent toxins.
2. Hooded Pitohui
The hooded pitohui is the first ever documented poisonous bird. It generates toxins similar to the poison dart frog, with the skin and feathers being the most toxic.
3. Tiger Keelback
While the tiger keelback, or Asian tiger snake, produces venom which it can inject with its fangs, thanks to its diet, its skin is also highly poisonous. It feeds on frogs and toads.
4. Hawksbill Sea Turtle
The hawksbill turtle feeds on several toxic sponges and jellyfish, whose toxins get absorbed into the turtle’s body. While hawksbills are immune to their prey’s toxins, the turtle’s flesh is toxic to most predators.
5. Cane Toad
When threatened, this toad secretes a milky-white fluid called bufotoxin. This toxin is capable of poisoning dogs and can even affect humans.
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