Both venomous and poisonous animals produce toxins which can cause harm or death to other animals.
What makes an animal venomous is when it can inject the toxin into another animal using a part of its body like a sting or fangs.
Poisonous animals on the other hand don’t have stings or fangs to inject another animal. It could be that its entire body contains a toxin or certain parts of it are. The harm comes when these animals are eaten by something else or touched. Some insects are known to spray chemicals on other animals that can cause burning or blisters to form.
Venoms *usually* have a molecular structure that’s based on a certain set of naturally-occurring molecules. Because they come from animals, the animal has made it (in its body) so it will be made up of natural stuff. If anyone ever tells you natural molecules are good for them, laugh loudly.
So a lot of venoms are a kind of molecule called a peptide. The structure of your body – your skin, hair and muscles are all made of proteins. These are very long molecules made up of amino acids. Like a chain, with lots of links? You join up the amino acids and you have a protein. What the protein does depends on what amino acids are in there. You can choose about 20 amino acids at any position, so there are LOADS of possible proteins.
Short proteins are called peptides. I don’t know why. The shorter ones – like 5-15 amino acids – can do interesting things. Rather than being involved in your bodies strength, they can carry messages around your body. There are some hormones that are peptides. They’re quite powerful molecules at carrying messages around your body.
OK, where were we? Right – venoms. Some snake venoms are peptides. Small chains of amino acids. You think – wait, how can something poisonous be made from natural stuff? Well, that’s the amazing thing about the choice of amino acids – some combinations are good. Some very bad.
An example of a venom is a peptide that makes your blood vessels contract. If that happens, you cut off blood to important parts of the body and those body parts would die. That kind of venom, a “vasoconstrictor” is nasty. It’s worse if, as Mags suggests, that molecule gets injected into your blood by the snake. Your blood vessels would then start to contract and uh-oh. Some other venoms go to your brain and cause all sorts of trouble. Venoms are molecular trouble.
The snake’s evolved these over time. They’re amazingly powerful molecules. We can make them in the lab and study them. This has had interesting results. If you understand venoms and how they work then you can make molecules in the lab that can constrict and relax blood vessels. There’s a drug called Losartan that is used all over the world to treat high blood pressure. It does that by relaxing blood vessels – and, amazingly, Losartan was discovered by modifying a natural, and very nasty, snake venom!
Poisons are more general. Animal poisons are very varied in their molecular structure and as Mags says are not called venoms because they’re not injected. But poisons are also things that don’t come from animals. We use poisonous things all the time in the lab. We don’t get them from animals. So for example we use cyanide to make molecules – it’s very useful, and very poisonous, but doesn’t come from a creature. We also use mercury to do chemical reactions. Same idea. Poisonous, not venomous.
Venoms and poisons are both toxins (a nasty substance) produced by an organism (a living thing) which can injure or kill another organism, but they are a bit different.
Venoms are stored in the gland at the base of a fang or stinger, and are injected into the other organism. A couple of examples are snakes (fangs), bees (stinger), and jellyfish (stinger). Venoms are generally used by animals to capture prey. Some venoms will kill a human, but many will only hurt us but cause greater damage in the intended prey of the venomous organism.
Poisons are contained in the body, or a part of it, and are transferred when eaten or touched. Some examples of poisonous creatures are the Posion Dart Frog (no surprise there), Fugu (pufferfish. Kills a number of Japanese diners each year) and the Cane Toad (big problem for the Australian wildlife which try to eat it). Poisons are generally used by the animal to defend itself.
We’re so fortunate here in Australia to have some of the deadliest poisonous and venomous creatures roaming the land and sea. So before you go bushwalking, swimming, or even into your own backyard, it may pay to learn a bit of First Aid.
I agree with what everyone else has said. Animals that are poisonous usually release their toxins if they get bitten or eaten by a predator – poisons are a way for an animal to protect itself and to discourage other animals from eating them. Poisonous animals often have warning colours, so that a predator knows the animal is poisonous without having to taste it – warning colouration is better for the predator (doesn’t die from poison) and for the poisonous animal (doesn’t get eaten).
Venomous animals deliver their poison via fangs (eg snakes and spiders), stings (bees, wasps) or spurs (platypus). Venomous animals use their venom not only to defend themselves against predators, but also to catch other animals to eat or to fight with other males to get a girlfriend.
Did you know that male platypuses are venomous? They have a spur (a little spike) on their back leg which they use when they are fighting over females. If you ever get spurred by a platypus, it is incredibly painful. Not even morphine (one of the strongest painkillers available) can help the pain! Ouch 🙁
There is! It’s a very small difference though.
Both venomous and poisonous animals produce toxins which can cause harm or death to other animals.
What makes an animal venomous is when it can inject the toxin into another animal using a part of its body like a sting or fangs.
Poisonous animals on the other hand don’t have stings or fangs to inject another animal. It could be that its entire body contains a toxin or certain parts of it are. The harm comes when these animals are eaten by something else or touched. Some insects are known to spray chemicals on other animals that can cause burning or blisters to form.
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Venoms *usually* have a molecular structure that’s based on a certain set of naturally-occurring molecules. Because they come from animals, the animal has made it (in its body) so it will be made up of natural stuff. If anyone ever tells you natural molecules are good for them, laugh loudly.
So a lot of venoms are a kind of molecule called a peptide. The structure of your body – your skin, hair and muscles are all made of proteins. These are very long molecules made up of amino acids. Like a chain, with lots of links? You join up the amino acids and you have a protein. What the protein does depends on what amino acids are in there. You can choose about 20 amino acids at any position, so there are LOADS of possible proteins.
Short proteins are called peptides. I don’t know why. The shorter ones – like 5-15 amino acids – can do interesting things. Rather than being involved in your bodies strength, they can carry messages around your body. There are some hormones that are peptides. They’re quite powerful molecules at carrying messages around your body.
OK, where were we? Right – venoms. Some snake venoms are peptides. Small chains of amino acids. You think – wait, how can something poisonous be made from natural stuff? Well, that’s the amazing thing about the choice of amino acids – some combinations are good. Some very bad.
An example of a venom is a peptide that makes your blood vessels contract. If that happens, you cut off blood to important parts of the body and those body parts would die. That kind of venom, a “vasoconstrictor” is nasty. It’s worse if, as Mags suggests, that molecule gets injected into your blood by the snake. Your blood vessels would then start to contract and uh-oh. Some other venoms go to your brain and cause all sorts of trouble. Venoms are molecular trouble.
The snake’s evolved these over time. They’re amazingly powerful molecules. We can make them in the lab and study them. This has had interesting results. If you understand venoms and how they work then you can make molecules in the lab that can constrict and relax blood vessels. There’s a drug called Losartan that is used all over the world to treat high blood pressure. It does that by relaxing blood vessels – and, amazingly, Losartan was discovered by modifying a natural, and very nasty, snake venom!
Poisons are more general. Animal poisons are very varied in their molecular structure and as Mags says are not called venoms because they’re not injected. But poisons are also things that don’t come from animals. We use poisonous things all the time in the lab. We don’t get them from animals. So for example we use cyanide to make molecules – it’s very useful, and very poisonous, but doesn’t come from a creature. We also use mercury to do chemical reactions. Same idea. Poisonous, not venomous.
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Venoms and poisons are both toxins (a nasty substance) produced by an organism (a living thing) which can injure or kill another organism, but they are a bit different.
Venoms are stored in the gland at the base of a fang or stinger, and are injected into the other organism. A couple of examples are snakes (fangs), bees (stinger), and jellyfish (stinger). Venoms are generally used by animals to capture prey. Some venoms will kill a human, but many will only hurt us but cause greater damage in the intended prey of the venomous organism.
Poisons are contained in the body, or a part of it, and are transferred when eaten or touched. Some examples of poisonous creatures are the Posion Dart Frog (no surprise there), Fugu (pufferfish. Kills a number of Japanese diners each year) and the Cane Toad (big problem for the Australian wildlife which try to eat it). Poisons are generally used by the animal to defend itself.
We’re so fortunate here in Australia to have some of the deadliest poisonous and venomous creatures roaming the land and sea. So before you go bushwalking, swimming, or even into your own backyard, it may pay to learn a bit of First Aid.
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Venoms are injected. poisons do not have to be. Poisons can be breathed, or ingested, etc.
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I agree with what everyone else has said. Animals that are poisonous usually release their toxins if they get bitten or eaten by a predator – poisons are a way for an animal to protect itself and to discourage other animals from eating them. Poisonous animals often have warning colours, so that a predator knows the animal is poisonous without having to taste it – warning colouration is better for the predator (doesn’t die from poison) and for the poisonous animal (doesn’t get eaten).
Venomous animals deliver their poison via fangs (eg snakes and spiders), stings (bees, wasps) or spurs (platypus). Venomous animals use their venom not only to defend themselves against predators, but also to catch other animals to eat or to fight with other males to get a girlfriend.
Did you know that male platypuses are venomous? They have a spur (a little spike) on their back leg which they use when they are fighting over females. If you ever get spurred by a platypus, it is incredibly painful. Not even morphine (one of the strongest painkillers available) can help the pain! Ouch 🙁
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