Inland taipan Wombey argued that "Parademansia microlepidotus" belongs to a distinct genus, and this was also the opinion of Harold Cogger. Covacevich, McDowell, Tanner & Mengden (1981) successfully argued, by comparing anatomical features, chromosomes and behaviour of the two species then known as "Oxyuranus scutellatus" (taipan) and "Parademansia microlepidota", that they belonged in a single genus. "Oxyuranus" (1923), the more senior name, was adopted for the combined genus. "Oxyuranus microlepidotus" has been the fierce snake's binomial name since the early 1980s. The generic name, "Oxyuranus", means "oxus" (Greek) "sharp pointed", "oura" (Greek) "tail"; "-anus" (Latin) "belonging to", and refers to the inland
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