Coastal taipan Coastal taipan The coastal taipan ("Oxyuranus scutellatus"), or common taipan, is a species of large, extremely venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to the coastal regions of northern and eastern Australia and the island of New Guinea. According to most toxicological studies, this species is the third-most venomous land snake in the world after the Inland taipan and Eastern brown snake based on its murine . German naturalist Wilhelm Peters described the coastal taipan as "Pseudechis scutellatus" in 1867. Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies. The coastal taipan is the longest
What is a Masterpiece? What is a Masterpiece? What is a Masterpiece? is a 1979 non-fiction book by British historian Kenneth Clark. It is a transcribed version of the Walter Neurath memorial lectures given by Clark. The work, initially released on 1 January 1979, received a Thames & Hudson republication on 1 May 1992. Kenneth Clark had already achieved fame with a series of popular books while also serving as, from 1969 on, the writer, producer and presenter of the BBC programme, "Civilisation", a pioneering television documentary series. The prestigious series earned a Peabody Award as well as general commercial success. In the work,