Inland taipan ago. The inland taipan would have been known to Aboriginal Australians 40,000-60,000 years ago and is well known to them today. To the aboriginal people from the place now called Goyder Lagoon in north-east South Australia, the inland taipan was called "Dandarabilla". The inland taipan first came to the attention of Western science in 1879. Two specimens of the fierce snake were discovered in the junction of the Murray and Darling Rivers in northwestern Victoria and described by Frederick McCoy, who called the species "Diemenia microlepidota", or small-scaled brown snake. In 1882 a third specimen was found near Bourke, New
Inland taipan taipan is dark tan, ranging from a rich, dark hue to a brownish light-green, depending on season. Its back, sides and tail may be different shades of brown and grey, with many scales having a wide blackish edge. These dark-marked scales occur in diagonal rows so that the marks align to form broken chevrons of variable length that are inclined backward and downward. The lowermost lateral scales often have an anterior yellow edge. The dorsal scales are smooth and without keels. The round-snouted head and neck are usually noticeably darker than the body (glossy black in winter, dark brown in