Taipans are snakes of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Oxyuranus'' in the

elapid Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids ; grc, ἔλλοψ ''éllops'' "sea-fish") is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus Emydoce ...

family. They are large, fast-moving, highly

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

, and endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Three

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

are recognised, one of which, the coastal taipan, has two

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

. Taipans are some of the deadliest known snakes.

Taxonomy

The common name, taipan, was coined by anthropologist

Donald Thomson Donald Finlay Fergusson Thomson, OBE (26 June 1901 – 12 May 1970) was an Australian anthropologist and ornithologist who was largely responsible for turning the Caledon Bay crisis into a "decisive moment in the history of Aboriginal-Europea ...

after the word used by the

Wik-Mungkan The Wik-Mungkan people were the largest branch of the Wik people, an Aboriginal Australian group of peoples, speaking several different languages, who traditionally ranged over an extensive area of the western Cape York Peninsula in northern Quee ...

Aboriginal people of central

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. The Wik-Mungkan people used the name in reference to an ancestral

creator being A creator deity or creator god (often called the Creator) is a deity responsible for the creation of the Earth, world, and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator. A number of Monolatris ...

in Aboriginal Australian mythology known as the

Rainbow Serpent The Rainbow Serpent or Rainbow Snake is a common deity often seen as the creator God, known by numerous names in different Australian Aboriginal languages by the many different Aboriginal peoples. It is a common motif in the art and religion ...

. The genus name is from Greek ὀξῠ́ς (''oxys'': sharp, needle-like) and οὐρανός (''ouranos'': an arch, specifically the vault of the heavens), and refers to the needle-like anterior process on the arch of the palate, which Kinghorn noted separated the genus from all other elapids. The oft-quoted meaning "sharp-tailed" (based on a confusion with οὐρά, ''oura'', "tail", and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

anus The anus (Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, the residual semi-solid waste that remains after food digestion, which, d ...

'') is both etymologically and morphologically incorrect. The three known species are the coastal taipan (''Oxyuranus scutellatus''), the inland taipan (''O. microlepidotus''), and a recently discovered third species, the

Central Ranges taipan The Central Ranges taipan, or Western Desert taipan (''Oxyuranus temporalis''), is a species of taipan that was described in 2007 by Australian researchers Paul Doughty, Brad Maryan, Stephen Donnellan, and Mark Hutchinson. Taipans are large, fast ...

(''O. temporalis''). The coastal taipan has two subspecies: the coastal taipan (''O. s. scutellatus''), found along the northeastern coast of Queensland, and the Papuan taipan (''O. s. canni''), found on the southern coast of New Guinea. A 2016 genetic analysis showed that the speckled brown snake (''Pseudonaja guttata'') was an early offshoot of a lineage giving rise to the taipans, with the Central Ranges taipan being an offshoot of the common ancestor of the inland and coastal taipans.

Species

Diet

Their diet consists primarily of small

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s, especially rats and bandicoots.

Venom

Species of this genus possess highly neurotoxic venom with some other toxic constituents that have multiple effects on victims. The venom is known to paralyse the victim's

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes th ...

and clot the

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...

, which then blocks

blood vessel The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away ...

s and uses up

clotting factors Coagulation, also known as clotting, is the process by which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a blood clot. It potentially results in hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, followed by repair. The mechanism o ...

. Members of this genus are considered to be among the most venomous snakes in the world based on their

murine The Old World rats and mice, part of the subfamily Murinae in the family Muridae, comprise at least 519 species. Members of this subfamily are called murines. In terms of species richness, this subfamily is larger than all mammal families ex ...

, an indicator of the toxicity on

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

. The inland taipan is considered to be the most venomous snake in the world and the coastal taipan, which is arguably the largest Australian venomous snake, is the third-most venomous snake in the world. The Central Ranges taipan has been less researched than other species of this genus, so the exact toxicity of its venom is still not clear, but it may be even more venomous than the other taipan species. Apart from venom toxicity, quantities of venom delivered should also be taken into account for the danger posed. The coastal taipan is capable of injecting a large quantity of venom due to its large size. In 1950,

Kevin Budden Kevin Clifford Budden (1930 – July 28, 1950) was an amateur Australian herpetologist and snake hunter. Budden was the first person to capture a live taipan for research and died from a snakebite in the process of doing so. His work was instrumen ...

, an amateur

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

, was one of the first people to capture a taipan alive, although he was bitten in the process and died the next day. The snake, which ended up dying a few weeks later, was the first known taipan to have been milked for venom: Melbourne zoologist

David Fleay David Howells Fleay (; 6 January 1907 – 7 August 1993) was an Australian scientist and biologist who pioneered the captive breeding of endangered species, and was the first person to breed the platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus'') i ...

and Dr. F. C. Morgan performed the milking, and the venom was used to develop an

antivenom Antivenom, also known as antivenin, venom antiserum, and antivenom immunoglobulin, is a specific treatment for envenomation. It is composed of antibodies and used to treat certain venomous bites and stings. Antivenoms are recommended only if th ...

, which became available in 1955. The original preserved specimen is currently stored in the facilities of

Museums Victoria Museums Victoria is an organisation which operates three major state-owned museums in Melbourne, Victoria: the Melbourne Museum, the Immigration Museum and Scienceworks Museum. It also manages the Royal Exhibition Building and a storage faci ...

. Two antivenoms are available: CSL polyvalent antivenom and CSL taipan antivenom, both from

CSL Limited CSL Limited is an Australian multinational specialty biotechnology company that researches, develops, manufactures, and markets products to treat and prevent serious human medical conditions. CSL's product areas include blood plasma derivative ...

in Australia. In his book ''Venom'', which explores the development of a taipan antivenom in Australia in the 1940s and 1950s, author Brendan James Murray states that only one person is known to have survived an ''Oxyuranus'' bite without antivenom: George Rosendale, a Guugu Yimithirr person 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 actively defends itself.

References

External links