Inland taipan Inland taipan The inland taipan ("Oxyuranus microlepidotus"), also commonly known as the western taipan, the small-scaled snake, or the fierce snake, is an extremely venomous snake of the taipan ("Oxyuranus") genus, and is endemic to semi-arid regions of central east Australia. Aboriginal Australians living in those regions named the snake "Dandarabilla". It was first described by Frederick McCoy in 1879 and then by William John Macleay in 1882, but for the next 90 years, it was a mystery species to the scientific community. No more specimens were found, and virtually nothing was added to the knowledge of this species until
Taipan Rosendale, a Guugu Yimithirr aborigine bitten at Hope Vale in 1949. Murray writes that Rosendale's condition was so severe that nurses later showed him extracted samples of his own blood that were completely black in colour. Temperament also varies from species to species. The inland taipan is generally shy while the coastal taipan can be quite aggressive when cornered and will actively defend itself. Taipan The taipans are snakes of the genus Oxyuranus in the elapid family. They are large, fast-moving, highly venomous, and endemic to Australasia. There are currently three recognised species, one of which, the coastal taipan, has