Fact Friday

The family Scorpaenidae includes a number of the world’s most venomous fish species. The scorpionfish in this photo has a painful sting if you happen to be unlucky enough to come into contact with one of its spines. The pain caused by its cousin, the stonefish, can be so painful that the body goes into shock and may die.

Photo Credit: Ken Marks

Need Help?

Send us an email

Email
Banded Sea Snake

November 3, 2023

Banded Sea Krait

Do you know that the banded sea krait contains a neurotoxin in its venom that’s one of the most lethal in the world? Sea snakes spend most of their time in the water. Sea kraits are not true sea snakes because they spend a lot of time on land digesting food and nesting. Sea kraits differ from their cousins on land because they have a paddle-like tail used for swimming. They hunt eels and other small fish that live in the coral reef, easily fitting into the reef’s crevices. They use their deadly neurotoxin to paralyze their victims before swallowing them whole.

Photo Credit: Ken Marks