Inland taipan

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The inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus), also commonly known as the western taipan, small-scaled snake, or fierce snake, is a species of extremely venomous snake in the family Elapidae. It is endemic to semiarid regions of central‑eastern Australia. Aboriginal Australians living in areas where Karnic languages are spoken refer to this species as dandarabilla. The species was formally described by Frederick McCoy in 1879 and William John Macleay in 1882, but for almost 90 years, it remained poorly known to science; no additional specimens were collected and virtually nothing was added to knowledge of its biology until the species was rediscovered in 1972. Based on the median lethal dose (LD50) of its venom in laboratory mice, the inland taipan is widely regarded as the most venomous snake in the world; its venom is substantially more toxic, drop-for-drop, than that of any tested sea snake. It is also considered to possess the most toxic venom of any reptile when tested on human heart...

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