Up to 60 cm. Mottled brown — perfect camouflage as a rock or piece of coral. 13 dorsal spines deliver deadly venom on contact. Asian counterpart of the Australian reef stonefish.

Excruciating pain often described as the worst known. Without antivenom, large stings can be fatal in hours from cardiovascular collapse. Several deaths/year across Asia.

Estuaries, mangroves, shallow tidal pools of India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Philippines.

Lies motionless half-buried in sand/mud. Hunters often step on them while wading or fishing barefoot.

Beautiful patterned shell 10-15 cm long. The most venomous of all cone snails. Hunts fish with a venomous harpoon-like tooth fired from a proboscis.

Conotoxin causes total paralysis with no antidote — mortality ~30%. Victims describe being conscious but unable to move or breathe. Patients survived by being put on ventilators until toxin cleared.

Coral reefs and sandy areas of tropical Indo-Pacific — Australia, PNG, Indonesia, Philippines, all Pacific islands.

Slow-moving but hunts fish (!) by harpooning them with a tooth shot at high speed. Tourists picking up the pretty shell get stung.

Tiny — only 12-20 cm tip-to-tip. Yellow-brown with bright blue rings that pulse vividly when threatened. Looks adorable. Is lethal.

Tetrodotoxin (same as pufferfish) — 1,000x more potent than cyanide. One bite paralyzes adults; victim conscious but can't breathe. No antivenom. Treatment: artificial respiration for 24+ hours until toxin clears.

Tide pools and coral reefs of Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Philippines, Solomon Islands.

Hides in shells, bottles, debris. Bite is painless — victim may not realize until paralysis begins minutes later. Picked up by tourists curious about color.

Up to 5 m with vertical tiger-like stripes (fade with age). Eats almost anything — license plates, tires, and human remains have been found in their stomachs.

Second only to great white in unprovoked human attacks. Common in Caribbean and Hawaiian waters. Slow but powerful — strikes once and waits.

Tropical and subtropical waters — Florida, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii.

Solitary, mostly nocturnal. Migrates long distances. Females birth up to 80 live pups.

Black above, bright yellow below, paddle-shaped tail. Up to 1 m. The most widespread snake in the world — Indo-Pacific from Africa to Americas.

Highly potent neurotoxin — 10x more toxic than cobra. But docile and rarely bites swimmers. Most bites: fishermen entangled in nets.

Open ocean throughout Indo-Pacific — Australia, all Oceania islands, Indonesia, Philippines, India, even Pacific coast of Mexico/Central America.

Fully aquatic — cannot move well on land. Drinks fresh water from surface rain layer. Floats among debris hunting small fish.

Stocky, aggressive shark up to 3.5 m. Uniquely tolerant of fresh water — found in Mississippi, Amazon, even Lake Nicaragua.

Top contender for most dangerous shark to humans. Hunts in shallow, murky water — exactly where people swim. Many attacks attributed to 'great whites' are actually bull sharks.

Shallow coastal waters, estuaries, rivers — Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean (Cuba, Bahamas, DR), Lake Nicaragua, Mississippi River, Pacific coasts of Mexico and Central America.

Aggressive and territorial. Tolerates salinity from 0 to 53 ppt. Attacks unprovoked more than other sharks.

Up to 6 m and 1,900 kg. Pacific population concentrates around northern California (Farallon Islands) and Mexico's Guadalupe Island.

Most fatal unprovoked shark attacks worldwide. About 5–10 fatalities per year globally. Mistakes surfers for seals — the 'investigative bite' is often fatal.

Cool coastal waters of California, Oregon, Washington, Mexico (Pacific), northeastern US, Atlantic Canada.

Apex predator. Migrates thousands of km. Breaches fully out of water when attacking seals.