Fierce snake
| Inland taipan | |
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| Oxyuranus microlepidotus at Australia Zoo | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Genus: | Oxyuranus |
| Species: | O. microlepidotus |
| Binomial name | |
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Oxyuranus microlepidotus (F. McCoy, 1879) |
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| General range of inland taipan (in red). The current, documented range of the species is more limited | |
| Synonyms | |
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The inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus), also commonly known as the western taipan, the small-scaled snake, or the fierce snake, is an extremely venomous snake of the taipan (Oxyuranus) genus, and is endemic to semi-arid regions of central east Australia.Aboriginal Australians living in those regions named the snake Dandarabilla. It was first described by Frederick McCoy in 1879 and then by William John Macleay in 1882, but for the next 90 years, it was a mystery species to the scientific community. No more were found, and virtually nothing was added to the knowledge of this species until its rediscovery in 1972.
The inland taipan is the most venomous snake in the world; based on the median lethal dose value in mice, its venom, drop for drop, is by far the most toxic of any snake – much more so than even sea snakes – and it has the most toxic venom of any reptile when tested on human heart cell culture. Unlike most snakes, the inland taipan is a specialist mammal hunter so its venom is specially adapted to kill warm-blooded species. It is estimated that one bite possesses enough lethality to kill at least 100 full grown men, and, depending on the nature of the bite, it has the potential to kill someone in as little as 30 to 45 minutes if left untreated. It is an extremely fast and agile snake that can strike instantly with extreme accuracy, often striking multiple times in the same attack, and it envenoms in almost every case.
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Wikipedia