Inland Taipan

Yeah I said, 'the most venomous'! No King Cobra and no Black Mamba! When it comes to the potency of venom, then no other snakes have the mettle to compete with the Inland Taipan. Scientifically known as the Oxyuranus microlepidotus, this reptile hails from the Australian continent. It belongs to the family called Elapidae and is one of the species of taipan. Speaking about poison, the snake has the capability to inject 44 mg of venom with each bite. However, this is just an average measure, as there have been cases, wherein, the Inland Taipan bite has delivered a lethal dose of 110 mg of venom in one shot. To add more facts to the toxicity of its venom, it's a whooping 200 to 400 times as powerful as compared to most species of the nasty rattlesnake.

According to some studies conducted on mice, the venom of this snake was found to be 68 times as poisonous as the King Cobra and again an amazingly 740 times as the western diamondback rattlesnake. In the study, it took about 1.7 mg and 18.5 mg of venom of the King Cobra and the Rattlesnake respectively, to kill 50% of the mice. But to kill the same number, all it took was a shocking 0.025 mg of poison from the Taipan.

Facts About Inland Taipan

Habitat
The snake's habitat is not subjected to a wide variety of regions or areas. The reptile is a carnivore and so its habitat depends upon the population of animals whom it preys on. Mainly, the arid regions of Central Australia constitutes the habitat of this creature. The snake can be spotted in places like burrows abandoned by rats, deep fissures and crevices, sink holes and the like. Talking about the geographical distribution, it populates parts of southeast Northern Territory and west Queensland. Northern regions of Lake Eyre and western regions of the Murray River, Darling River, and Murrumbidgee River.

Diet
The Inland Taipan feeds on birds, mice, lizards, small marsupials and other small mammals. Apart from possessing excellent senses of smell and eyesight, the snake is also an agile hunter. It lays a single bite on its prey with a quick move and retreats. Once the venom has done its work, it returns to safely consume its prey. Given the quick effect of the venom, the serpent does not have to wait long for its meal to be ready!

Other Facts
Amazingly, this snake has the ability to adapt to seasonal changes by changing its color. During the summer, the Taipan takes on a lighter color and when it's winter, it takes on a darker complexion. This ability of the snake is known as thermoregulation which allows it to absorb more light during colder months. In summers, you may find this creature olive colored and during winters, it becomes brown colored

A clutch of 1 to 2 dozen eggs is usually what the snake lays. The eggs are generally lain in abandoned burrows or crevices and two months later they hatch.

The Inland Taipan is often compared with the infamous Black Mamba. Know that when it comes to potency of the poison, the latter stands no chance before the former. However, when it comes to being fast, aggressive and deadly, well, no snake is more notorious than the Mamba.

To conclude, although the Inland Taipan holds the undisputed title of the most venomous snake on land, it is not a threat to humans. This is because of the snake's shy and reclusive nature. The snake's first line of defense against any trouble is to make an escape. But when cornered or threatened, it may have no other choice than to lay its fatal bite. To add to this, records show that Australia only has 2-3 deaths each year which may result from the Inland Taipan.