Three-fanged death adder a rare find

You don’t want to come across a three-fanged death adder – unless you work at the Australian Reptile Park, that is.

The Park made an extraordinary discovery when it discovered an ultra-rare death adder with an unprecedented third fang.

The never-before-seen mutation makes the venomous snake one of the most dangerous in the world.

Typically, death adders possess just two fangs, but this specimen has developed an additional fang on the left side of its mouth, resulting in massive venom yields for the park’s life-saving venom-milking program.

“This is something we’ve never seen before,” Park Manager Billy Collett said.

“We’ve had this death adder in the venom program for about seven years, but only recently did we notice the third fang.

“I thought it would just shed off over time, but a year later it’s still there.”

Given the increased venom output due to its extra fang, the snake is now a vital contributor to the venom-milking program.

Death adders are already among the most venomous snakes in the world, with a bite capable of causing paralysis and, if untreated, death.

They are known to have possibly the fastest strike of any snake in the world, attacking prey in less than 0.15 seconds.

With an additional venom-producing fang, this snake is arguably the most dangerous death adder ever recorded.