Horrifying three-fanged snake discovered in Australia might be most venomous yet

A venomous snake with three fangs has been found in Australia - and it’s terrifying.

The Land Down Under is well-known for having a large variety of snakes, many of which are venomous. In fact, the country is home to some of the most dangerous snake species on Earth.

In what has been described as an unprecedented discovery in Australia, a death adder with a rare mutation was found during a venom milking programme at the Australian Reptile Park. This death adder that has been part of the Australian Reptile Park’s venom extraction programme for around seven years, and has been found to have a rare third fang next to one of the other fangs on the left side of the mouth.

“I was milking it one day and noticed it had two fangs on one side,” park manager Billy Collett said. “Then I noticed that when milking, venom comes out of both those fangs. It is bizarre.”

It was initially believed that the death adder would eventually shed its third fang because venomous snakes are known to regularly replace their fangs. Alas, the third fang is still there.

The three-fanged death adder being milked for venom at Australian Reptile ParkAustralian Reptile Park

“This is very rare. I have never seen a functioning third fang like that,” he shared, via The Independent. “It actually makes me really nervous milking this girl.”

A death adder is a type of venomous snake native to Australia and is considered one of the deadliest snakes in the world. It’s usually found across Australia’s Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia. The breed got its name due to its lethal bite and its ability to remain still and camouflage while waiting to ambush its prey. A bite can lead to paralysis or death.

So you can imagine why this new discovery is so frightening, as it has three fangs instead of two. “The Australian Reptile Park has no record of a three-fanged snake in the collection for at least 20 years. In that time, we have housed thousands of snakes and done hundreds of thousands of milkings,” the park told The Independent.

Death adders, even with the usual two fangs, have a deadly biteen.m.wikipedia.org

Their large fangs measure 6-8mm in length and are more mobile than the ones found in other venomous snakes.

The snake’s third fang helps the animal produce “massive yields” of venom per bite, making it even more deadly. However the park does not have the facilities to investigate the exact cause that led to the snake sprouting a third functioning fang.

You should also read:

• Extinct snake discovered in India is the largest ever recorded
• World's longest snake identified as four different species – not one

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