Inland taipan South Wales, and William John Macleay described the same snake under the name "Diemenia ferox" (thinking it was a different species). No more specimens were collected until 1972. In 1896 George Albert Boulenger classified both as belonging to the same genus, "Pseudechis" (black snakes), referring them as "Pseudechis microlepidotus" and "Pseudechis ferox". In 1956, relying only on published descriptions and notes, James Roy Kinghorn regarded "ferox" as a synonym for "microlepidotus" and proposed the genus "Parademansia". In 1963 Eric Worrell considered "Parademansia microlepidotus" and "Oxyuranus scutellatus" (coastal taipan, named simply "taipan" in those days) to be the same species. In
Coastal taipan is exceeded in length among venomous snakes only by the Asiatic king cobra, African black mamba, and genus "Lachesis" (bushmasters) of the American neotropics. The head of the coastal taipan is long and narrow like that of the African black mamba ("Dendroaspis polylepis"), but without the "coffin" shape. The two species are strongly convergent in several aspects of morphology, ecology and behaviour. "O. scutellatus" has an angular brow and is lighter-coloured on the face. The body is slender and colouration can vary. It is often uniformly light olive or reddish-brown in colour, but some specimens may be dark gray to