Venomous snake
Belcher's sea snake ("Hydrophis belcheri"), which many times is mistakenly called the hook-nosed sea snake ("Enhydrina schistosa"), has been erroneously popularized as the most venomous snake in the world, due to the first edition of Ernst and book, "Snakes in Question: The Smithsonian Answer Book", published in 1996.
Prominent venom expert Associate Professor Bryan Grieg Fry has clarified the error: "The hook nosed myth was due to a fundamental error in a book called "Snakes in Question". In there, all the toxicity testing results were lumped in together, regardless of the mode of testing (e.g., subcutaneous vs. intramuscular vs. intravenous vs. intraperitoneal). As the mode can influence the relative number, venoms can only be compared within a mode. Otherwise, it's apples and rocks." Belcher's sea snake's actual LD (recorded only intramuscularly) is 0.24 mg/kg and 0.155 mg/kg. Studies on mice and human cardiac cell culture show that venom of the inland taipan, drop by drop, is the most toxic among all snakes.
List of dangerous snakes
The Asian Monocled cobra ("Naja kaouthia") is a medically important species as it is responsible for a considerable amount of bites throughout its range. The major toxic components in the Monocled cobras venom are postsynaptic neurotoxins, which block the nerve transmission by binding specifically to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, leading to flaccid paralysis and even death by respiratory failure. The major α-neurotoxin in "Naja kaouthia" venom is a long neurotoxin, α-cobratoxin; the minor α-neurotoxin is different from cobrotoxin in one residue. The neurotoxins of this particular species are weak. The venom of this species also contains myotoxins and cardiotoxins. The median lethal dose () is 0.28-0.33 mg per gram of mouse body weight. In case of IV the is 0.373 mg/kg, and 0.225 mg/kg in case of IP. The average venom yield per bite is approximately 263 mg (dry weight). The monocled cobra causes the highest fatality due to snake venom poisoning in Thailand.
Envenomation usually presents predominantly with extensive local necrosis and systemic manifestations to a lesser degree. Drowsiness, neurological and neuromuscular symptoms will usually manifest earliest; hypotension, flushing of the face, warm skin, and pain around bite site typically manifest within one to four hours following the bite; paralysis, ventilatory failure or death could ensue rapidly, possibly as early as 60 minutes in very severe cases of envenomation. However, the presence of fang marks does not always imply that envenomation actually occurred.