You are not venomous. Your spit, while unpleasant, cannot kill. Your dog is not venomous, either. Neither is the squirrel on the sidewalk, the bullfrog in the pond, or the dragonfly floating by your window.

Venom is the mark of a special club, a select subset of the animal kingdom. It includes vipers, jellyfish, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, bees, cone snails, newts, platypus, and even a primate. All these animals produce molecules that attack a victim in minutes or even seconds. The molecules are intricately complex, with shapes that allow them to precisely lock onto certain proteins on our own cells. Depending on its exact target in the body, venom will paralyze nerves, rot muscles, and stop blood from clotting.

Venomous animals