Inland taipan may include headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, dizziness, collapse or convulsions leading to major organ effects: neurotoxicity, coagulopathy, rhabdomyolysis or renal failure/damage and finally death. Inland taipan snake venom contains potent presynaptic neurotoxins (toxins in venom that cause paralysis or muscle weakness). Also present are postsynaptic neurotoxins, which are less potent but more rapid acting than the presynaptic neurotoxins. Presynaptic neurotoxins disrupt neurotransmitter release from the axon terminal. This takes days to resolve and does not respond to antivenom. Postsynaptic neurotoxins competitively block acetylcholine receptors but the effect can be reversed by antivenom. Neurotoxic envenoming causes a progressive descending
Taipan Taipan The taipans are snakes of the genus Oxyuranus in the elapid family. They are large, fast-moving, highly venomous, and endemic to Australasia. There are currently three recognised species, one of which, the coastal taipan, has two subspecies. The taipans are considered some of the most deadly known snakes. The common name, taipan, was coined by anthropologist Donald Thomson after the word used by the Wik-Mungkan Aboriginal people of central Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. The genus name is from Greek "oxys" (sharp, needle-like) and "ouranos" (an arch, specifically the arch of the heavens), and refers to the needle-like anterior