Why does Australia have the most venomous everything?

Question

Seems the Aussies have the worst of everything...spiders, snakes, ants...yada. Why? It has to be something to do with the animals diet. Could it be the plants there? The way venom and poison work are usually through the animals diet. There is no doubt, Australia is one seriously mysterious place.

Answer 1

they have a large desert, a lot of poisonous animals are in deserts. its hard to find prey so if you bite something they can run away but not if you poison it .

Answer 2

Good question. I really don't know why, but we do have a unique collection of animals not found elsewhere in the world. Perhaps it is (as already has been suggested) due to the fact that Australia was one of the last places discovered, we do have a lot of dry arid country, we also have (or had before the fires) a large amount of rugged bushland where lots of animals could live in safety from humans. My guess is they evolved with the times, instinct kicked in along with the venoms to allow the animals to play their particular roles in the food chain. I really don't know if it has anything to do with the plants, as some of our venomous creatures are not plant eaters, and the animals that they eat are not all plant eaters either...

Answer 3

Probably an adaptation to catching prey. The faster a poison acts, the less likely it will get away. In desert areas, food might be scarce, letting any get away would be detrimental.

We are lucky in Australia that tourists have now become a food source for our more dangerous animals, such as Great White Sharks, Taipans and the deceptively cuddly Koalas.

Answer 4

That seems about right. As for why, I don't have a clue. Might be due to the harsh environment. Most of the real poisonous creatures tend to habitate the northern (tropical) regions of Australia, and the deserts. The box jellyfish inhabits the northern coastline during the summer. Same with the blue ringed octopus. The funnel web spider tends to inhabit the Sydney region. Unfortunately the snakes tend to be everywhere. it helps if you know a bit about them, and how to avoid them.

Answer 5

My personal theory is this,
Australia was one of (or close to it) the last large continents conquered by man, i.e. animals ruled there the longest,
In nature the most deadly animals surivive, therefore on the least human populated land masses with the longest time frame of being "unspoiled" for lack of a better word, you'll find the deadliest of all creatures.
Just a theory. nice question.

Answer 6

Limited and fast moving resources spur the arms race.

I can hardly belive the egomania that inspired any response that had anything to do with humans, or the "disovery" of AU. (like it was lost or something)

One: Humans had NOTHING to do with why venom is developed
Two: Humans existed fairly harmoniously on AU LONG before any white settlers came along....go read a damn book, geesh!

Answer 7

Australia is one of the oldest continents.poison evolves to immobilize pray quickly to ensure them getting the meal, without it escaping them.The longer a species is around the more highly evolved it can become.Adaptation to ones environment.Irukandji jellyfish is 2.5 centimeter and it is the most deadlist thing there.Human differences,adaptation to ones environment,but there is only 1 human now.We are all the same with different wrappers.

Answer 8

Because Australian animals are subjected to extreme conditions, and the poisonous animals evolved increasingly deadly venom to preserve it's own kind.

Answer 9

We do have a lot of venomous creatures in Australia, but you don't exactly trip over them walking to the shops.
And none of these creatures carry guns or mace - so I feel a lot safer here thanks!

Answer 10

Probably, it's because people didn't discover Australia until later...