Taipan snake, the world´s most poisonous terrestrial snake

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The second most deadly snake is the Taipan, or also known as fierce snake, since it has the most potent toxin of all known terrestrial snakes. (There are some more poisonous sea snakes though!).

In just one bite it could kill up to 100 people or 250,000 adult mice. It is also capable of killing an adult in 30 or 45 minutes. Their venom is 200-400 times more toxic than rattlesnakes and 50 times more toxic than the cobra’s venom. When poisoning, on average, they inject 44 mg, although the greatest record recorded is of 110 mg. To have an idea of how deadly it can be, it usually kills 80% of its victims with only 0.025 mg. To kill an 80 kg human it would take only 0.8 mg. Their venom is a mixture of proteins and polypeptides that contain toxins. Since they have a neurotoxic, coagulating or hemolytic effect, their venom is capable of acting in different body systems.

When it attacks, it can interfere in the nerve transmission impulses both for animals and human beings, which lead to respiratory or cardiac paralysis. At the same time, the poison also acts destructively through the blood and into muscles. The first symptoms after suffering a bite are headaches, stomach pains, vomiting and even going into a deep coma. A few seconds after the poison is injected, it begins to devour muscle tissues, causing urinary incontinence. Furthermore, since it also has an anticoagulant effect, it causes an intense internal bleeding, especially in the brain, causing lethal seizures or death.

Even if it looks like a really dangerous snake, they still have not reported any human casualties since it is not an aggressive snake and is not in contact with human beings in nature. Nonetheless, antidotes for this poison have been developed.

There are three subspecies: The inland Taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus), coastal (Oxyuranus scutellatus) and the Papuan (Oxyuranus scutellatus canni). The inland are located in the center of Australia, Northern Australia and Southern New Guinea. Their colors tend to vary between olive green and dark brown. They change their skin during different seasons, being lighter in summer and with darker colours in winter. This allows them to absorb more light, which can be converted into heat in the colder months. An adult individual may reach 3 meters in length. They often live in holes, channels and dry rivers. They eat rodents and birds, which they can kill almost instantly thanks to their poison. Regarding reproduction, females can set between one and twelve eggs, which will be hatched two months later.