The venom may be more than 80 years old, but it has lost none of its bite.

University of Queensland venomologist Bryan Fry has been left stunned by a “treasure trove” of old snake venom, some dating back to 1935, which has proven to be just as potent today as it was back then.

Associate Professor Fry, whose findings were published in the Journal of Proteomics this week, said he first came across the collection about a decade ago, but it was not until recently that he was able to study them.

And the find turned out to be a “much richer” area of research than Associate Professor Fry ever anticipated.