Venomous Mammals in the World

Modern mammalians are rarely venomous because, no matter how strong the poison is, it still needs time to affect their victims. While it is a very efficient method, modern mammals evolved to have sharp teeth and claws with which to kill their prey and stopped relying on venom. Although super rare, there are living venomous mammals in the world, but which ones are they and what venom do they have?

 

Slow Loris

Slow lorises are a group of eight species found in South-east Asia. They have a long, flexible torso so that they can twist and extend to nearby branches, and they are the only venomous primate on Earth. They are nocturnal and eat mainly tree gum, saps, and nectar, as well as insects. These fabulous creatures obtain their venom by licking the sweat glands on their arms and later mixing it with saliva. By doing that, they obtain a venom used for protection. Lorises are extremely territorial and use their venom to protect their mates, children, and food. Sadly, they are all endangered because of the pet trade and habitat loss. They are famous for lifting their arms to be tickled, but that’s absolutely not true. It is actually the animal taking a defensive position, and if their enemy is bitten, their venom repels the predators and can cause anaphylactic shock and even death in humans.

Platypus

They are egg-laying, stomach-less mammals that have some reptile traits, and to top it all off, they’re venomous. Both male and female Platypus hatch with spurs, but later on, females lose them during their development. In males, these spurs are connected to their venom glands, and during the mating season, they become highly active. Studies show that they use the venom on mostly two occasions: when they hunt and while males fight because of mating rivalry. During their attacks, platypuses press their back legs together so that their spurs can penetrate the flesh of the opponent. Then a few millilitres are injected by repeatedly stabbing the prey. The spurs are so strong that males often hang from the victim and need help to be removed. Although their venom isn’t deadly for humans, it can cause excruciating pain, and victims can sometimes be temporarily incapacitated.

Solenodons

Solenodons are small, furry, shrew-like mammals endemic to the islands of Hispaniola and Cuba. They live in burrows and are active during the night, when they use their toxic saliva and long snout to prey on insects, worms, and some vertebrates. Currently, there are two species: the Cuban and the Hispaniolan Solenodon, and threats to both species include habitat destruction and predation by non-native animals like cats, dogs, and mongooses, deliberately introduced by humans to control rat and snake populations. It is still unclear why solenodons use their venom, but they inject it similarly to snakes, with the only difference being that their lower teeth have grooves in them that inject the venom. There is speculation that during their evolution, individuals with more venomous enzymes than others brought more prey, and eventually all of them evolved to be venomous. 

Shrews

Shrews are small, mouse-like animals that are most closely related to moles and hedgehogs. Although they look like mice, they are not rodents and have sharp, spike-like teeth. They are distributed worldwide except in New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand and are fiercely territorial, driving off rivals and coming together only to mate. Their family is the third largest in the mammal family and has 385 known species. Some species possess venom similar to that of the Solenodon with grooves in the lower teeth that inject the venom, and both species are one of the few known land mammals to use echolocation. Scientists believe these critters use their venom to hunt and later store their preys. Shrew venom is harmless to humans and can only cause a little swelling around the bite, and strangely enough, it is used in modern medicine as a cure for cancer, migraines, and other diseases affecting the nervous system.

 Vampire bats

Vampire bats are a type of leaf-nosed bat found in Central and South America. They have three living species and feed on blood as their only food source, making them the only mammals to sustain themselves solely on blood. They produce a venom in their saliva that helps with their feeding, preventing the victim's blood from clotting and numbing it so that they aren’t detected. They use a specialised receptor to find the best feeding spot, where the animal's blood is circulating most closely to the skin, and then, using their sharp teeth, they bite the prey and lick the blood that’s coming out.

Vampire bats (photo by The NAU Review)                            

So that was it! –Now you know all Venomous Mammals! I hope you learned a lot regarding the spectacular wildlife on our planet with The Wildlife Echo!