This article is about the Australian snake. See Tai-Pan (disambiguation) for other meanings. Meanings of Tai-Pan: In the Chinese language, Tai-Pan was a term for foreign businessmen doing business in China or Hong Kong in the 19th century. ...

Taipans are large (up to 3 metres in length), fast, highly venomous Australian snakes, one of which, the Fierce Snake, has the most toxic venom of any land species worldwide. There exist two species: the Common Taipan, and the less common Fierce Snake (also known as Inland Taipan and Small-Scaled Snake) (Oxyuranus microlepidotus). The Common Taipan is broken up into two subspecies, the mainland Coastal Taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus scutellatus) and the Papuan Taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus canni) which is native to the southern coast of Papua New Guinea. Their diet consists primarily of small rodents, especially rats. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Placozoa (trichoplax) Subregnum Bilateria (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (parasitic to flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders See text. ... Suborders Amphisbaenia - Worm lizards Sauria- Lizards Serpentes - Snakes Squamata (scaled reptiles) is the largest recent order of reptiles, including lizards and snakes. ... Genera Acanthophis - death adder Aspidelaps - shieldnose cobra Aspidomorphus - collared adder Austrelaps Boulengerina - water cobra Bungarus - Indian krait Cacophis - dwarf crowned snake Calliophis - Oriental coral snake Demansia - venomous whip snake Dendroaspis - mamba Denisonia - ornamental snake Drysdalia - Australian crown snake Echiopsis - bardick snake Elapognathus - little brown snake Elapsoidea - venomous garter snake Furina... It has been suggested that Snake poison be merged into this article or section. ... Superfamilies and Families Henophidia Aniliidae Anomochilidae Boidae Bolyeriidae Cylindrophiidae Loxocemidae Pythonidae Tropidophiidae Uropeltidae Xenoplplplpeltidae Typhlopoidea Anomalepididae Leptotyphlopidae Typhlopidae Xenophidia Acrochordidae Atractaspididae Colubridae Elapidae Hydrophiidae Viperidae Snakes are cold blooded legless reptiles closely related to lizards, which share the order Squamata. ... The fierce snake, or Inland Taipan, has the scientific name Oxyuranus microlepidotus. ...

The Coastal Taipan is usually pale to dark brown in colour, fading to a lateral cream, although juveniles are lighter in colour. The Papuan Taipan is black or purplish-gray, with a copper-coloured stripe on its back.

Venom and toxicity

The Fierce Snake is by far the most venomous land snake on Earth. With an LD50 of 0.01 mg/kg, it is about 10 times as venomous as a Mojave Rattlesnake and 500 times as venomous as a Common Cobra. The venom yield of a single bite is high enough to kill about 250,000 mice, or 100 men. It generally lives in remote and sparsely inhabited areas, and is quite docile. An LD50 test being administered In toxicology, the LD50 or colloquially semilethal dose of a particular substance is a measure of how much constitutes a lethal dose. ...

The Coastal Taipan is the third most venomous snake on Earth and the second largest venomous snake in Australia (the first being the Mulga, or King Brownsnake, Pseudechis australis). The danger posed by the Coastal Taipan was brought to Australian public awareness in 1950, when young herpetologist Kevin Budden was fatally bitten in capturing the first specimen available for antivenin research. 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of reptiles and amphibians including their classification, ecology, behavior, physiology, anatomy, and paleontology. ... Antivenom (or antivenin, or antivenene) is a biological product used in the treatment of venomous bites. ...

There also exists an Australian snake called a "Keelback" or "Freshwater Snake" that is, externally, almost identical to the Taipan; however, it is completely devoid of venom, and not dangerous to humans. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

External links

• The death of Kevin Budden