Top 7 Deadliest Sea Creatures in the World!

The ocean is stunning but it is also a dangerous place. However, sharks aren’t the only danger lurking in ocean waters. A shocking range of species, including fish, reptiles, crustaceans, and cnidarians, have the power to cause serious injury or even result in death to humans. Here are the top 7 deadliest sea creatures around the world. 

Beaked sea snake

Also known as Hydrophis schistosus, the beaked sea snake gets its name from the characteristic appearance of its nostril. Belonging to the 64 deadliest snake species in the world, just 1.5mg of it’s venom is adequate to kill a fully grown adult human.

The venom causes death via a powerful paralyzing agent, causing respiratory failure. It’s commonly found throughout the tropics of the Indo-Pacific. Preferring deep sea waters, they can stay up to 5 hours underwater before resurfacing. Their principal source of food is fish and they are rarely known to bite humans.

Cone Snail

Typically found in tropical seas and oceans worldwide, there are around 900 identified species of cone snails. All of these species are venomous and capable of stinging. They have conical-shaped shells of varying sizes with exotic patterns on them. Cone snails are carnivores and use a harpoon-like structure called the Radhula tooth to grab onto prey. Their venom glands contain a toxin called conotoxin, which is capable of temporarily paralyzing their prey.

Stings of most of the smaller species have little effect on humans, but a few larger species are known to cause fatal stings. More than two dozen human deaths are confirmed to be caused by cone snails.

Stonefish

Stonefish, or Synanceia is considered the deadliest fish species in the world. They get their name from their grey and mottled outer appearance. This acts as a great camouflage when they are hunting prey on the ocean floor. Their dorsal fin acts as the main source of venom. People usually get stung by inadvertently stepping on them while walking on the shallow ocean floor. Stonefish inject the victim with an amount of venom directly proportional to the pressure applied on its body.

Stonefish venom, when untreated can cause intense pain, respiratory failure, cardiovascular failure, and seizures. It can cause death, when untreated. However, this chemical gets easily denatured in high heat. Therefore one of the treatment methods is to apply heat to the stung area.

Stonefish, despite its venom, is considered a delicacy, when prepared in the correct method.

Pufferfish

Pufferfish, also known as blowfish, get their name from their ability to ‘puff up’ their bodies by quickly ingesting large amounts of water during an enemy encounter. They can puff up to several times their normal size, which makes them inedible to predators. This adaptation compensates for their leisurely pace of swimming.

There are around 120 known species of pufferfish. Their size varies from 1-inch-long pygmy puffer to the freshwater giant puffer, which can grow to more than 2 feet in length. Their diet mostly consists of algae and small invertebrates.

The pufferfish also contain tetrodotoxin, a lethal venom, in their skin and body. This toxin is known to be 1500 times more lethal than cyanide and has no known antivenom. A single pufferfish is known to contain venom enough to kill 30 humans.

However, lethality has not deterred humans from consuming pufferfish meat. In Japan, you have to have years of experience and a license to prepare pufferfish for human consumption.

Lionfish

Lionfish are native to the Indo-Pacific, where they live in relatively shallow waters among reefs, coral, and lagoons. There are 12 recognized species of lionfish. They have distinctive maroon, and white stripes or bands covering the head and body, with long tentacles and dorsal fins.

Lionfish have 18 venomous spines which protect it on all sides. Venom is stored in their dorsal, anal, and pelvic spines. Though their venom is rarely lethal, they cause complications which include vomiting, fever, seizures, and paralysis.

They usually live from 5 to 15 years and have complex courtship and mating behaviors. Courtship is always initiated by the males. The male rests next to the female on the substrate and looks toward the water surface while propping himself up on his ventral fins. He then proceeds to circle the female. The male then ascends to the water surface with the female following behind. While ascending the female will tremble her pectoral fins. The couple may descend and ascend several times before spawning.

Lionfish prey on reef fish, crustaceans, and mollusks, as well as species such as the scamp grouper. Irresponsible commercial breeding of lionfish has resulted in the endangering of several other native species around the world. With the lack of natural predators for lionfish, the problem has only escalated.

Australian Box Jellyfish

There are about 50 species of box jellyfish. They are transparent in color and get their name from the box-like shape of their bell. While many box jellyfish species contain venom, Australian box jellyfish, or Chironex fleckeri,  is the most venomous. The stinging of an Australian Box Jellyfish can cause death to a grown human in as short as 5 minutes. The sting causes excruciating pain and also can cause paralysis and cardiac arrest. Up to 66 deaths have been accounted to the Australian Box Jellyfish sting over the years. Sting is most fatal to children, as the sting covers a larger percentage of their bodies compared to adults.

Up to 15 tentacles grow from their bell and can reach 10 feet in length. Each tentacle has about 5,000 stinging cells. A chemical on the outer layer of its prey triggers the sting. Box jellyfish are highly adapted that, unlike other jellyfish that can only float, they can navigate the water by swimming against the current. They also can ‘see’ with their eyes with advanced structure, though how they process that information without a central nervous system remains a mystery.

Blue-ringed octopus

The blue-ringed octopus is a species of small octopuses ranging from 12 to 20 cm in length. But, despite its small size, it carries enough venom to kill 26 adult humans within minutes. Their bites are often painless. So many victims do not realize that they have been stung until respiratory depression and paralysis begin.  No blue-ringed octopus antivenom is available.

Blue-ringed octopus get their name from the iridescent blue rings that appear throughout their body when they feel threatened. They live amongst the coral reefs and tide pools in the Pacific and Indian oceans. They usually have a lifespan of two to three years.

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