Victims often don’t even feel it when they’ve been bitten by a blue-ringed octopus. These tiny cephalopods are only the size of a golf ball, but the amount of venom they carry is enough to kill 26 human adults. The key toxin in the mix is tetrodotoxin, which paralyzes the victim’s muscles, including their diaphragm. Once bitten, they have to be connected to a ventilator so that they can breathe. There is no known antivenom to treat the bite, meaning that those afflicted must wait for around 15 hours as the toxin wears off.
Click the image above to learn more!
(via curiositydotcom)
