List of poisonous animals explained

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. The only difference between poisonous animals and venomous animals is how they deliver the toxins.^{[3] [2]} This list deals exclusively with poisonous animals.

Poisonous animals

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

Frogs

• Corroboree frog
• Mantella
• Poison dart frog

Toads

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

• American toad
• Asiatic toad
• Cane toad
• Colorado River toad
• Common toad
• European green toad
• Fowler's toad

Mammals

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

Birds

• Pitohui
• Blue-capped ifrit
• Shrikethrushes
• Spur-winged goose (diet-dependent)^[5]
• Common quail (diet-dependent)

Snakes

• Rhabdophis keelback snakes
• Garter snake (diet-dependent, when feeding on Pacific newts)^[6]

Salamanders

• Pacific newts or Western newts^[7]

Fish

• Tetraodontidae (Blowfish, Pufferfish)
• Greenland shark
• Barracuda (age and diet dependent)

Cephalopods

• Blue-ringed octopus
• Pfeffer's flamboyant cuttlefish^[8]

Insects

• Blister beetle
• Diamphidia
• Cinnabar moth
• Certain tiger moths (Erebidae)
• Birdwings
• Milkweed butterflies (include Monarch butterfly)
• Battus (butterfly)

Crustaceans

• Gorilla crabs (Xanthidae)

Cnidarians

• Some members of the genus Palythoa produce the highly toxic palytoxin
• Rhodactis species^[9]

Echinoderms

• It is common for sea cucumbers like Pearsonothuria graeffei to protect itself with toxins^[10]
• Actinopyga agassizii a toxic sea cucumber
• Some starfish, like Plectaster decanus, are poisonous

Annelids

• The polychaete worm Hediste diversicolor^[11]
• Halla parthenopeia^[12]

Nemerteans

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

Flatworms

• Bipalium kewense, the hammerhead flatworm, is coated in toxic mucus^[14]

Sponges

• Negombata magnifica, the toxic finger-sponge, is one of many toxic species of sponges

Placozoans

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

See also

• Poisonous amphibians
• Toxic birds
• List of venomous animals
• List of poisonous plants
• List of poisonous fungi

References

1. Book: Gupta, Ramesh C.. Reproductive and developmental toxicology. 24 March 2017 . Saint Louis. 978-0-12-804240-3. 980850276. 963–972.
2. Chippaux. JP. Goyffon. M. [Venomous and poisonous animals--I. Overview].. Médecine Tropicale. 66. 3. 2006. 0025-682X. 16924809. 215–20. fr.
3. Web site: Poison vs. Venom. Australian Academy of Science. 3 November 2017 . 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. 10.1186/1678-9199-19-21. 1678-9199. 3852360. 24074353 . free .
5. Bartram. S.. Boland, W. . Chemistry and ecology of toxic birds. ChemBioChem. 2001. 2. 11. 809–811. 10.1002/1439-7633(20011105)2:11<809::aid-cbic809>3.0.co;2-c. 11948866. 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. Journal of Chemical Ecology. 30. 10. 1901–1919. 10.1023/B:JOEC.0000045585.77875.09. 15609827. 2004JCEco..30.1901W . 14274035 .
7. Web site: Western Newts . December 2005 . Toxic Animals Around The World.
8. "Well, it turns out the flamboyant cuttlefish is toxic. It's as toxic as blue-ringed octopuses.". https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3404_camo.html . . Kings of Camouflage . April 3, 2007.
9. Web site: Rowlett . Joe . Rhodactis Mushroom Corals Are Surprisingly Deadly . Reefs.com . 2018-04-11 .
10. https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/iz/discover-invertebrates/pearsonothuria-graeffei/ Pearsonothuria graeffei – Invertebrate Zoology
11. 8921474 . 2022 . d'Ambrosio . M. . Martins . C. . Costa . P. M. . Costa . Pedro M. . An investigation into the toxicity of tissue extracts from two distinct marine Polychaeta . Toxicon: X . 14 . 10.1016/j.toxcx.2022.100116 . 35300382 . 2022TxcnX..1400116D .
12. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=5351688 Toxicity of the purple mucus of the polychaete Halla parthenopeia (Oenonidae) revealed by a battery of ecotoxicological bioassays
13. https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/99885/1/msac096.pdf Evolution, Expression Patterns, and Distribution of Novel Ribbon Worm Predatory and Defensive Toxins
14. https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/meet-but-dont-touch-the-toxic-invasive-worm-that-experts-say-has-been-hiding-in-plain-sight/ Meet, but don't touch, the toxic invasive worm that experts say has been hiding in plain sight
15. 10.1098/rstb.2019.0762 . Neural versus alternative integrative systems: Molecular insights into origins of neurotransmitters . 2021 . Moroz . Leonid L. . Romanova . Daria Y. . Kohn . Andrea B. . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences . 376 . 1821 . 7935107 .