Cytotoxin: Chewing Starts Digestion

There is good reason to keep your ears pricked for the rattles on the tail of the American rattlesnake. Its bite is spiked with a very powerful cytotoxin.

Cytotoxins, which initiate the digestion of the prey even before it is swallowed, are the most primitive form of venom. The poison destroys cells—especially those in muscles—so they die and tissue collapses. Some types attack specific cardiac muscles, causing heart failure, while others have more widespread effects. Powerful venoms of this type are found in American rattle­snakes, among others. Someone who’s been bitten and survives may still end up with disfigured fingers, toes, arms or legs; requiring amputation in severe cases.

Hemotoxin: Acts in Two Ways

The West African Gaboon viper has a bite that causes blood to congeal so that prey die from masses of blood clots.

Blood toxins are found in the lance-headed snakes of South America and in the Gaboon viper, among others. These large and powerful snakes’ venom can work in two different—but similarly deadly—ways.

The venom can function as a special­ized cell toxin that very specifically targets the prey’s red blood cells and destroys blood vessels. The animal then dies of internal and external bleeding. Or the blood toxin can speed up coagulation, so that blood clots through­out the prey’s body. This way is especially fast-acting.