- Is Australia really such a horrendous hellscape as we think? Well, yes and no.
If there’s one thing everybody knows about Australia, it’s the fact that the continent is sentient and just wants you dead. It seems almost every single living Australian creature is venomous to some degree.
Ants, spiders, snakes, octopi, reptiles, and even the weirdly cute platypus are all venomous. We suspect even the Australians themselves might be hiding venom sacs somewhere.
But why is that?
There must be a reason why so many Australian creatures spew venom in all directions. Are they just locked in an endless arms race with each other, or is there something else at play?
Well, we decided to dig a bit and figure out what’s going on. As it turns out, people much smarter than us have already answered this question — so we’re bringing that answer to you.
And while we were sleuthing about, we also found out something surprising. Australia doesn’t actually have a particularly huge number of venomous species.
That said, it’s the amount of venom in the species it does have that’s the problem. Let’s get to the bottom of it all and figure out whether Australia’s wildlife deserves its deadly reputation.
Just Walk There
Australia’s venomous animals can be split roughly into two categories based on how they got to the island continent. The first category’s case is pretty straightforward — the critters simply walked there.
You see, Australia wasn’t always an island. Millions of years ago, Australia used to be connected to Antarctica (which wasn’t a frozen wasteland at the time).
As such, all kinds of animals could simply walk, slither, and crawl their way to the areas that would later become known as the land of beer-swilling shrimp grillers. Many of Australia’s venomous spiders and ants reached the continent this way.
Take, for example, the Australian bulldog ants, which can both sting and bite. They’re some of the most dangerous ants in the world, yet they can trace their lineage to ants that lived all over primordial Earth 100 million years ago.
Yet, some 85 million years ago, Australia began to break away from Antarctica. It didn’t separate overnight, though, and it took over 50 million years for Australia to become an island. But once it did, all the venomous animals in there got stuck.
It’s the same story with Australia’s venomous marine life. The place becoming an island didn’t bother them one bit — they were already living around Australia’s coast and simply traveled with the island.
The Survivors
The second category of Australian venomous animals is a bit more interesting. Michael Lee, a professor of evolutionary biology at the South Australian Museum and Flinders University, called this event an “accident of history.”
The case of Australia’s venomous snakes illustrates this story very well. Roughly 65% of Australia’s snake species are venomous, compared to about 15% globally.
We can trace the cause of this discrepancy to the time when Australia was breaking off from Antarctica. The continent initially drifted southward, toward much colder climates.
As a result, Australia simply became too cold and most of its snakes died. But the few that survived (or swam to Australia after its separation) were venomous.
Consequently, the only snakes left in Australia carried potent venom. Over the millennia, they branched off into more species — some of them losing their venom glands but most hung onto them.
And there you have your answer. In the case of certain venomous animals, Australia has a lot of them because the non-venomous varieties simply died off for one reason or another.
But Is It Really So Bad?
Now, however, we get to the twist of the story. Australia is famous for swarming with venomous creatures, but the place doesn’t actually have all that many of them.
Overall, Australia is home to 66 venomous animal species (that we know of). Globally, that’s not particularly impressive.
Many places in Central and South America have a lot more venomous creatures. Brazil, for instance, boasts 79 species, while Mexico has a whopping 80.
So, Australia is nowhere near the top in the number of venomous animals. However, the venom of the species that are there is, on average, more potent.
It’s a quality-over-quantity situation. Australia may not have as many venomous species, but the ones it has are generally deadlier.
Yet, you don’t really have to worry about them. Because the critters are so toxic, antivenom of all kinds is readily available in Australia’s tourist locations in case something bites or stings you.
So, what’s the verdict? Is Australia’s reputation as the deadliest place on Earth warranted?
Well, probably. We’re saying that because we haven’t even mentioned all the non-venomous Australian animals that are more than ready to rip you to shreds.