A new venomous British snake? Why there's no need to panic

A new venomous British snake? Why there's no need to panic

Great Britain has long been thought to be home to a single venomous snake species, the adder. Although its bites are rarely life-threatening, they require a trip to the emergency department and will more than likely ruin your week. The other two native British snakes, the grass snake and the smooth snake, have largely been considered nonvenomous.

A new venomous British snake? Why there’s no need to panic

Great Britain has always been thought to be home to a single venomous snake species, the adder. Although its bites are rarely life-threatening, they will require a trip to A&E and more than likely ruin your week. On the other hand, the other two native British snakes, the grass and smooth snakes, have been largely considered non-venomous. This status quo has been shaken by a new paper by herpetologists Alessandro Paterna and Grégoire Meier sugge…