List of poisonous animals

The following is a list of poisonous animals, which are animals that passively deliver toxins (called poison) to their victims upon contact such as through inhalation, absorption through the skin, or after being ingested.[1][2] They are often distinguished from venomous animals, which actively inject their toxins (called venom) into their victims through a venom apparatus such as fangs or a stinger.[1][2] The only difference between poisonous animals and venomous animals is how they deliver the toxins.[3][2] This list deals exclusively with poisonous animals.

The hooded pitohui. The neurotoxin homobatrachotoxin on the birds' skin and feathers causes numbness and tingling on contact.

Poisonous animals

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This list is a partial list of animals that are poisonous to humans and other animals in that their flesh is toxic if consumed, or in some cases if they are touched:

Frogs and toads

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Frogs

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Toads

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Some of these toads are "milked" for their bufotoxins.

Mammals

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  • Slow loris (usually thought of as venomous, but they also lick their fur, making it toxic)[4]

Birds

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Snakes

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Salamanders

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Most birds dislike the taste of monarch butterflies; they contain toxins from poisonous milkweed, ingested as caterpillars.

Fish

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Cephalopods

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Insects

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Crustaceans

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Cnidarians

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Echinoderms

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Annelids

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Nemerteans

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  • Antarctonemertes valida is one of several nemerteans which make use of defensive toxic secretions[13]

Flatworms

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Sponges

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Placozoans

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  • Trichoplax use large specialized cells to release antipredatory toxins[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Gupta, Ramesh C. (24 March 2017). Reproductive and developmental toxicology. Saint Louis. pp. 963–972. ISBN 978-0-12-804240-3. OCLC 980850276.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ a b c Chippaux, JP; Goyffon, M (2006). "[Venomous and poisonous animals--I. Overview]". Médecine Tropicale (in French). 66 (3): 215–20. ISSN 0025-682X. PMID 16924809.
  3. ^ "Poison vs. Venom". Australian Academy of Science. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  4. ^ Nekaris, K. Anne-Isola; Moore, Richard S.; Rode, E. Johanna; Fry, Bryan G. (2013-09-27). "Mad, bad and dangerous to know: the biochemistry, ecology and evolution of slow loris venom". Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins Including Tropical Diseases. 19 (1): 21. doi:10.1186/1678-9199-19-21. ISSN 1678-9199. PMC 3852360. PMID 24074353.
  5. ^ Bartram, S.; Boland, W. (2001). "Chemistry and ecology of toxic birds". ChemBioChem. 2 (11): 809–811. doi:10.1002/1439-7633(20011105)2:11<809::aid-cbic809>3.0.co;2-c. PMID 11948866. S2CID 6259254.
  6. ^ Williams, Becky L.; Brodie Jr., Edmund D.; Brodie III, Edmund D. (2004). "A resistant predator and its toxic prey: persistence of newt toxin leads to poisonous (not venomous) snakes" (PDF). Journal of Chemical Ecology. 30 (10): 1901–1919. Bibcode:2004JCEco..30.1901W. doi:10.1023/B:JOEC.0000045585.77875.09. PMID 15609827. S2CID 14274035.
  7. ^ "Western Newts". Toxic Animals Around The World. December 2005.
  8. ^ "Kings of Camouflage". NOVA. April 3, 2007. "Well, it turns out the flamboyant cuttlefish is toxic. It's as toxic as blue-ringed octopuses."
  9. ^ Rowlett, Joe (2018-04-11). "Rhodactis Mushroom Corals Are Surprisingly Deadly". Reefs.com.
  10. ^ Pearsonothuria graeffei – Invertebrate Zoology
  11. ^ d'Ambrosio, M.; Martins, C.; Costa, P. M.; Costa, Pedro M. (2022). "An investigation into the toxicity of tissue extracts from two distinct marine Polychaeta". Toxicon: X. 14. Bibcode:2022TxcnX..1400116D. doi:10.1016/j.toxcx.2022.100116. PMC 8921474. PMID 35300382.
  12. ^ Toxicity of the purple mucus of the polychaete Halla parthenopeia (Oenonidae) revealed by a battery of ecotoxicological bioassays
  13. ^ Evolution, Expression Patterns, and Distribution of Novel Ribbon Worm Predatory and Defensive Toxins
  14. ^ Meet, but don't touch, the toxic invasive worm that experts say has been hiding in plain sight
  15. ^ Moroz, Leonid L.; Romanova, Daria Y.; Kohn, Andrea B. (2021). "Neural versus alternative integrative systems: Molecular insights into origins of neurotransmitters". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 376 (1821). doi:10.1098/rstb.2019.0762. PMC 7935107.