Golden Poison Dart Frog
These brightly colored frogs are as beautiful as they are deadly. An inhabitant of the northern part of South America and measuring a mere two inches when fully grown, just one of these frogs packs enough poison (called batrachotoxin) to kill 10 grown men.
Unlike venomous snakes or spiders, these creatures don’t need to bite to kill; simply handling them can transfer poison to a person.
Box Jellyfish
This many-tentacled killer floats off the coast of northern Australia and adjacent seas, and is easy for swimmers and surfers to miss as they head out into deep waters.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration considers it the most venomous marine animal in the world, striking with thousands of stinging cells, known as nematocysts, that strike the victim’s heart, nervous system, and skin cells all at once.
Blowfish
Also known as a pufferfish, these creatures have two impressive defense options: When threatened, they “inflate” their elastic stomachs with water, making them hard for a predator to get its jaws around them.
But more devastating is the tetrodotoxin it carries, a poison that not only makes it taste terrible, but is deadly to those fish or humans who make the mistake of trying to eat it.
Indian Cobra
Native to Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and, as per its namesake, India, these hooded creatures are immediately recognizable and can grow to five to six feet long. Their bites cause severe pain, swelling, and paralysis, with death occurring in as little as 15 minutes for those left untreated.
Cone Snail
Another killer in the “looks beautiful and harmless, is actually super deadly” category, these brown-and-white snails that live in the warm Caribbean and Hawaiian waters hide a set of harpoon-like “teeth” (actually called “radulae”) packed with conotoxin, which wrecks its prey’s nervous system, paralyzing it before it devours it.
Deathstalker
This scorpion is so lethal, it even has “death” in its name. Its highly toxic venom is matched by its incredibly fast lunge, which allows its poisoned stinger to whip over its head at 130 centimeters per second, striking its prey before it even knows what hit it.
