Most Potent Venoms

Abstract

In reviewing a recent issue of your publication (SN: 9/25/76, p. 204) under the heading Zoology I came across the following: It (black widow spider venom) has been found to be six times more potent than the venom of the cobra and 15 times more potent than the venom of the prairie rattler, making it the most dangerous of all animal poisons. The venom of the black widow may indeed rank as stated with the venom of the cobra and prairie rattler but if the information I have is correct it is in no way the most lethal of animal toxins. In the three-volume Venomous Animals and Their Venoms, edited by Wolfgang Biicherl, Eleanor Buckley and Venancio Deulofeu, the black widow spider (Latrodectus m. mactans) is listed as having a venom which is less potent than some other arachnids. In experiments involving mice weighing 20 grams, the following data was gathered as to the average amount of venom from respective animals required to kill the 20 gram mice.