What is the inland taipan?
The inland taipan is a snake of remote central Australia with the most toxic venom of any land snake, based on laboratory tests on mice. Despite this, it is shy and has rarely bitten people.
Inland taipans live in the cracking clay plains and gibber country where Queensland and South Australia meet, an area so remote that few people ever see one. They shelter in deep soil cracks and abandoned burrows.
The snake changes colour with the seasons, becoming darker in winter to absorb more heat and lighter in summer. Its diet is mainly native rodents such as the long-haired rat.
Powerful venom
Its venom is highly potent against mammals, which helps it subdue rodents quickly before they can fight back in tight burrows. A single bite contains enough venom to kill many people, but nearly all known bites have been to snake handlers.
The snake is also called the fierce snake or small-scaled snake, although it is placid and avoids conflict.
No deaths from inland taipan bites have been recorded when antivenom was given promptly.
Did You Know?
The inland taipan was described by scientists in 1879 but then not seen again by researchers until 1972.