Inland taipan where is it found

No bites to humans have been recorded and preliminary analyses indicate that its venom is quite different to that of the other two taipans. Distribution : Northern and eastern coastal and central Australia, and southern New Guinea see species accounts for further details. Distinguishing characteristics : Large, slender-bodied, long-tailed, with smooth scales in rows, six supralabials, temporolabial present or absent. Australian species : Three, two endemic, one O.

The Papuan taipan was formerly classified as O. Habita t: Taipans primarily occur in open habitats such as deserts, floodplains and grasslands, but coastal taipans are also found in savannah woodland, dry sclerophyll forest, oil palm plantations and cane fields.

Reproduction : All three species are oviparous, the species for which documented clutches exist produce eggs. Venom : Taipan venoms are amongst the most potent against lab mice snake venoms known. The primary clinical sequelae of taipan bites to humans are neurotoxicity, mediated by pre-synaptic phospholipase A2 toxins and venom-induced consumption coagulopathy VICC caused by a procoagulant toxin complex.

Myotoxicity, also mediated by phospholipase A2, has been documented in several cases, as has thrombotic microangiopathy, which is likely a secondary consequence of VICC. The recommended treatment for taipan envenomation is Seqirus bioCSL taipan antivenom and rapid administration is critical, as both VICC and pre-synaptic neurotoxicity are life-threatening and irreversible if allowed to progress. Patients may face extended stays in hospital, including the need for mechanical ventilation, if treatment is delayed.

Preliminary studies of the venom of the western desert taipan indicate that it is markedly different in composition and activity from those of the other two species of taipan.

All known bites have been treated using antivenom. The Inland Taipan is dark tan in color, ranging from a rich, dark hue to a brownish olive-green depending on season.

Its back, sides and tail may be different shades of brown and grey, with many individual 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 summer , the darker colour allowing the snake to heat itself while only exposing a smaller portion of the body at the burrow entrance.

The eye is of average size with a blackish brown iris and without a noticeable coloured rim around the pupil. It has twenty-three rows of mid-body scales, between fifty-five and seventy divided subcaudal scales, and one anal scale.

The Inland Taipan averages approximately two metres about 6. Inland Taipan adapt to their environment by changing the colour of the skin during seasonal changes. Inland Taipan tend to be lighter in summer and darker in winter.

This seasonal colour change serves in thermoregulation, allowing the snake to absorb more light thence converted to heat in the colder months. The Inland Taipan is native to the arid regions of central Australia, extending from the southeast part of the Northern Territory, and into west Queensland.

Inland Taipan are known to live in holes, and feed on small rodents such as mice and rats. Despite its other common name Fierce Snake , the Inland Taipan are not known to be particularly aggressive, but docile. They will strike if provoked, however, injecting their incomparably toxic venom. See above. The fierce snake is found throughout a remote area in south-west Queensland and north-west South Australia!

They thrive amongst the harsh conditions of their arid, outback environment! They can vary in coloration, however, are typically a light brown, dark brown or a straw-like colour.

They are well adapted to the boom or bust life cycle of the brown plains rat, which also lives in the area. As the seasons change and food is abundant the rodents build to plague proportions, allowing the snakes to feast.

As the harsh outback takes its toll and the food disappears, the rodents die off.