Inland taipan

Inland taipan
Oxyuranus microlepidotus at Australia Zoo
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Elapidae
Genus:	Oxyuranus
Species:	O. microlepidotus
Binomial name
Oxyuranus microlepidotus (F. McCoy, 1879)
General range of inland taipan (in red). The current, documented range of the species is more limited.[2][3][4]
Synonyms
Diemenia microlepidota F. McCoy, 1879 Diemenia ferox Macleay, 1882 Pseudechis microlepidotus / Pseudechis ferox — Boulenger, 1896 Parademansia microlepidota — Kinghorn, 1955 Oxyuranus scutellatus microlepidotus — Worrell, 1963 Oxyuranus microlepidotus — Covacevich et al., 1981[5]

The inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus), also commonly known as the western taipan, small-scaled snake, or fierce snake,^[6] is a species of extremely venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to semiarid regions of central east Australia.^[7] Aboriginal Australians living in those regions named the snake dandarabilla.^[8][9] It was formally 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.^[8][10]

Based 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^[11][12][13] – and it has the most toxic venom of any reptile when tested on human heart cell culture.^[14][15][16] The inland taipan is a specialist hunter of mammals, so its venom is specially adapted to kill warm-blooded species.^[17] One bite possesses enough lethality to kill more than an estimated 100 fully grown humans.^[18] It is an extremely fast and agile snake that can strike instantly with extreme accuracy,^[19] often striking multiple times in the same attack,^[20] and it envenomates in almost every case.^[21]

Although the most venomous and a capable striker, in contrast to the coastal taipan, which many experts cite as an extremely dangerous snake due to its behaviour when it encounters humans,^[22][23][24] the inland taipan is usually quite a shy and reclusive snake, with a placid disposition,^[25] and prefers to escape from trouble.^[26] However, it will defend itself and strike if provoked,^[27] mishandled,^[28] or prevented from escaping.^[29] Because it lives in such remote locations, the inland taipan seldom comes in contact with people;^[30] therefore it is not considered the deadliest snake in the world overall, especially in terms of disposition and human deaths per year.^[31] The word "fierce" from its alternative name describes its venom, not its temperament.^[32]