Occurrence and trait data of medically important venomous snake species

This dataset provides a standardized compilation of occurrence and biological trait data for 373 medically important venomous snake species based on the World Health Organization (WHO) Category 1 and 2 classification (WHO, 2024). The dataset integrates georeferenced distribution records, venom characteristics, and Red List conservation statuses to support global analyses of venomous snake diversity, medical importance, and biogeography. There are two files included: 1. snake_data.csv — occurrence records for medically important snake species; 2. snake_info.csv — species-level information including toxicity type and WHO medical importance categories. File 1: snake_data.csv Description: Contains georeferenced occurrence records of venomous snake species from GBIF, iNaturalist, and The Atlas of Living Australia compiled between 1900 and 2025. Variables: Variable Description source Data source (GBIF, iNaturalist, ALA) gbifID Unique occurrence identifier from the source database family Taxonomic family genus Genus name species Species epithet decimalLatitude, decimalLongitude Geographic coordinates (WGS84) eventDate Observation or collection date (YYYY/MM/DD) redlistCategory IUCN Red List status (e.g., Least Concern, Endangered) File 2: snake_info.csv Description: Provides species-level trait and classification data for all 373 medically important venomous snakes. Includes WHO medical importance category and major venom type (neurotoxic, haemotoxic, or both). Variables: Variable Description scientific_name Scientific binomial of the species category1 WHO Category 1 classification (high medical importance) category2 WHO Category 2 classification (secondary medical importance) neurotoxic Binary indicator (1 = neurotoxic venom; 0 = not) haemotoxic Binary indicator (1 = haemotoxic venom; 0 = not) Acknowledgements Data compiled from publicly available biodiversity databases (GBIF, iNaturalist, ALA) and the Clinical Toxinology Resources database. WHO medical importance categories were based on WHO (2024) classification.