The word "fierce" from its alternative name describes its venom, not its temperament.
Because it lives in such remote locations, the inland taipan seldom comes in contact with people therefore it is not considered the deadliest snake in the world overall, especially in terms of disposition and human deaths per year. However, it will defend itself and strike if provoked, mishandled, or prevented from escaping. Īlthough extremely venomous and a capable striker, in contrast to the rather defensive coastal taipan, the inland taipan is usually quite a shy and reclusive snake, with a placid disposition, and prefers to escape from trouble. 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 envenomates in almost every case. It is estimated that one bite possesses enough lethality to kill at least 100 fully grown humans. The inland taipan is a specialist hunter of mammals, so its venom is specially adapted to kill warm-blooded species. īased on the median lethal dose value in mice, the venom of the inland taipan is by far the most toxic of any snake – much more so than even that of sea snakes – and it has the most toxic venom of any reptile when tested on human heart cell culture. 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 to the scientific community no further specimens were found, and virtually nothing was added to the knowledge of this species until its rediscovery in 1972. Aboriginal Australians living in those regions named the snake dandarabilla. The species is endemic to semi-arid regions of central east Australia. The inland taipan ( Oxyuranus microlepidotus), also commonly known as the western taipan, the small-scaled snake or the fierce snake, is a species of extremely venomous snake in the family Elapidae.
The current, documented range of the species is more limited.