Inland Taipan
The inland taipan, also commonly known as the western taipan, the small-scaled snake or the fierce snake, is a species of extremely venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species 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 to the scientific community; no further specimens were found, and virtually nothing was added to the knowledge of this species until its rediscovery in 1972.
The inland taipan inhabits the black soil plains in the semi-arid regions where Queensland and South Australia borders converge.
In Queensland, the snake has been observed in Channel Country region (e.g., Diamantina National Park, Durrie Station, Morney Plains Station and Astrebla Downs National Park ) and in South Australia.
The inland 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 chevronsof variable length that are inclined backward and downward.
