Australia’s snakes, spiders and other venomous critters tend to strike fear in many people. But is Australia’s reputation as a nation of deadly creatures deserved?
Articles on Deadly Australia
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To understand why insects sting and why the stings of such tiny animals hurt so much, we first needed a way to measure the pain they cause. So I created a sting pain index.
Bees, wasps and ants – a group known as Hymenoptera – can claim the title of deadliest insects. How did they evolve to be so painful?
Many venoms contain bioactive components that are so stable to the body’s enzymes and selective of their biological target that they’re increasingly being used as novel research tools.
It’s not just Australia’s animals that can be deadly, there are plenty of dangerous plants too.
From stingers to swans, Australia’s oceans are full of (potentially) deadly wildlife.
Despite a fearsome reputation, it seems Australia’s wildlife doesn’t scare away tourists.
Your guide to the cocktail of deadly chemicals in animal venom.
Australian snakes are the best mouse killers in the whole world. And while that’s clearly bad news for mice, how does it translate into human risk?
There’s a simple reason why Australia isn’t the most lethal nation in the world.
Only two Australian spiders can kill you, but the rest are a pretty fascinating bunch.
Top contributors
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Director, Clinical Toxicology Research Group, University of Newcastle
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Professor of Tourism & Director, Centre for Tourism and Regional Opportunities, CQUniversity Australia
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Entomologist, Southwest Biological Institute, University of Arizona
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Research Scientist, The University of Queensland
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Professor & Director, Centre for Pain Research, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland
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Research Scientist in Marine Biology, University of Tasmania
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Associate Professor in Ecology, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University
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Toxinologist; Senior Research Fellow, Australian Venom Research Unit, The University of Melbourne
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Head, Charles Campbell Toxinology Centre at the University of Papua New Guinea & Australian Venom Research Unit, The University of Melbourne
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Director of the Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO
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Research Manager, Melbourne Clinical And Translational Sciences, The University of Melbourne