Inland taipan in serious cases where there is significant envenoming. Causes of death: Until 1955, the only antivenom available for general distribution for Australian snakes was the monovalent (specific) tiger snake ("Notechis") antivenom, which gave varying degrees of cross-protection against the bites of most other dangerous Australian snakes. Thereafter followed specific anti-venom for other common snakes among them the coastal taipan, and finally, a polyvalent (broad spectrum) antivenom, a combined antivenom for the bites of any unidentified snake from Australia. The coastal taipan anti-venom, known as "taipan antivenom", is effective against the inland taipan venom as well, but it is not as
Coastal taipan coastal taipan occurs only in Australia and the island of New Guinea, which comprises two Indonesian provinces on the west side of the island and the nation of Papua New Guinea on the east side of the island. Found in northern and eastern Australia, the coastal taipan, despite its name, can live in habitats hundreds of kilometres away from the nearest beach. Its geographical range extends from north-western Western Australia, the Northern Territory, across Cape York Peninsula and down eastern Queensland into northern New South Wales (as far south as Grafton). However, the coastal taipan is not found in regions