Misterpaul:


I don't think it is wrong to use the word "poisonous" if we consider the dictionary meaning of the word.

Venom as we know is a poison when it hit d blood stream. And any snake that produces these poison can be referred. to as a poisonous snake.

They are interrelated but they are not the same. See it like this: A venom is a toxin and a poison but a poison is a toxin but not a venom. If I get bitten by a snake and poison is injected into me, then it means I got bitten by a venomous snake.

It should be clearer this way: We have many poisonous species of toads, frogs, fish that contain poison glands. Touching any of these animals alone is poisonous.

Now, we also have certain species of insects, snakes, spiders that contain venom. If I touch any of these species, are they poisonous? No. Why? Because they are venomous animals and they have to inject their poison through bites or stings.

The next time you are in doubt, use this reasoning:
* If poison is transferred thru touch, it is poisonous.
* If poison is transferred thru bite or sting, it is venomous.

Using that logic, is a scorpion poisonous or venomous? A scorpion is venomous and you know why.

anangboy:


They are interrelated but they are not the same. See it like this: A venom is a toxin and a poison but a poison is a toxin but not a venom. If I get bitten by a snake and poison is injected into me, then it means I got bitten by a venomous snake.

It should be clearer this way: We have many poisonous species of toads, frogs, fish that contain poison glands. Touching any of these animals alone is poisonous.

Now, we also have certain species of insects, snakes, spiders that contain venom. If I touch any of these species, are they poisonous? No. Why? Because they are venomous animals and they have to inject their poison through bites or stings.

The next time you are in doubt, use this reasoning:
* If poison is transferred thru touch, it is poisonous.
* If poison is transferred thru bite or sting, it is venomous.

Using that logic, is a scorpion poisonous or venomous? A scorpion is venomous and you know why.

I quite understand ur point. Ofcourse I'm not disputing the correctness of the term "venomous snake".

What I'm saying is that, it is still not totally wrong to use the term poisonous snake. If we consider the dictionary meaning of the word "poisonous" (i.e. capable of putting poison into another animal's body by BITING it)

You ar jst giving d word "poisonous" ur own personal definition to suit ur argument, check ur dictionary for a proper definition sir.

Misterpaul:


I quite understand ur point. Ofcourse I'm not disputing the correctness of the term "venomous snake".

What I'm saying is that, it is still not totally wrong to use the term poisonous snake. If we consider the dictionary meaning of the word "poisonous" (i.e. capable of putting poison into another animal's body by BITING it)

You ar jst giving d word "poisonous" ur own personal definition to suit ur argument, check ur dictionary for a proper definition sir.

Science is not semantic. Science is not pedantic. Science is all about accuracy of terms. There is no middle ground in sciences especially in zoology where behaviours and attributes of organisms whether single celled or chordata, determine their classification. And if you go looking for science terms in mainstream or non-tech dictionaries then it's safe to say you are grossly misguided.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison [pay attention to the terminology section]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venom [pay attention to the snake section]

www.reptilegardens.com/reptiles/snakes/venomous/ [pay attention to the concept of venomous]

www.hubpages.com/animals/What-is-snake-venom-poison [pay attention to venomous vs poisonous]

Etc Etc Etc.

Lots of technical materials abound online for your perusal. Peer reviewed zoological journals do not accept snakes as poisonous but venomous because poison is a simple subset of venom and the mode of delivery is what matters and is paramount.

I no longer wish to continue this discourse. It is now exhaustive. Thank you.