Commonly called death adders, they are native to Australia, New Guinea and nearby islands, and are among the most venomous snakes in the world.

French naturalist François Marie Daudin established the genus Acanthophis in 1803, with the common death adder (A. cerastinus) as its only species.

In 1985, Wells & Wellington proposed four new species – A. armstrongi, A. hawkei, A. lancasteri, and A. schistos – but these were not widely adopted at the time.

Despite their name, they are not related to adders, which are members of the family Viperidae, and their similar appearance is due to convergent evolution.

They can also be easily distinguished from other Australian snakes because of a small, worm like lure on the end of their tail, which is used to attract prey.

Death adders are ovoviviparous with the embryos developing in membranous sacs inside the female who will give birth to litters of 8 to 30 live neonates.

Unlike most snakes, death adders do not actively hunt, but rather lie in ambush and draw their prey to them.

Although it has been claimed to have the quickest strike of any snake in the world,[24] this topic has not been well enough studied to make reliable comparisons.

Symptoms of envenomation can be reversed through the use of death adder antivenom, or using anticholinesterases, which break the synaptic blockade by making acetylcholine more available to the parasympathetic nervous system, thus mitigating the effects of the venom.