Fun Inland Taipan Facts For Kids

Snakes may not be your favorite animals in the world, but they sure are interesting creatures. One of them is the inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) and this inland taipan is the most venomous snake in the world. They are native to Southeastern Australia and they are known by many other names. Such as the western taipan, the fierce snake,  or the small-scaled snake. This land snake is so deadly that one single bite from it can kill a person in just 30-45 minutes, but no one in its native country has died from its venom as it's a rather shy species of snake. Its diet includes rats, mice, and other small mammals, they kill their prey by biting them several times in a single attack. They have brown and black scales all over their body and the females lay about 12-20 eggs. The other kind of taipan native to Australia is the coastal taipan, which is a bit less venomous than the inland taipans.

Read on to know more fascinating facts about this snake and if you like this article, then check out the savannah monitor and the giant tortoise.

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What type of animal is an inland taipan?

Inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) is a kind of venomous snake.

What class of animal does an inland taipan belong to?

Inland taipan belongs to the class Reptilia, genus Oxyuranus, species Oxyuranus microlepidotus of animals.

How many inland taipans are there in the world?

Fierce snake species are found in abundance within their habitat, but not many surveys or reports have been done in the area on its population. Their number also fluctuates depending on the availability of prey in its habitat, which makes it a problem to conduct a proper survey. Hence, the exact number of the population of this species is not yet known.

Where does an inland taipan live?

These snakes are native to Southeastern Australia. They can mainly be seen on the border of South Australia and Queensland. In South Australia, they can be seen in Marree-Innamincka NRM District. To be more specific, in places like Coongie Lakes, Goyder Lagoon Tirari Desert, Oodnadatta, and more. In Queensland, they can be seen in the Channel Country region. More specifically, in Astrebla Downs National Park, Durrie Station, Diamantina National Park, and more. A few can also be seen around Coober Pedy and Cooper Creek. Other than these, they can also be seen in many zoos around the globe.

What is an inland taipan's habitat?

The species of fierce snake is known to live around wetlands and semi-arid areas in the islands of Southeastern Australia. More specifically the inland taipan habitat includes floodplains and black soils of overflowed rivers. They can also be seen in desert pavements, rocky outcrops, or dunes. The habitat of this species also moves in accordance with the availability of prey in a certain area. In the summers, to escape the heat, they sometimes hide in abandoned animal burrows, sinkholes, and rock crevices.

Who do inland taipans live with?

Inland taipans usually live solitary lives. They only come together with another among their species when the breeding season arrives. These snakes usually live on their own hunting for prey mainly during the day.

How long does an inland taipan live?

These snakes are known to live as long as 10-15 years. One inland taipan lived for 20 long years at an Australian zoo.

How do they reproduce?

The breeding season of these snakes has been observed to be in the spring season. In captivity, the males of the species are known to reach sexual maturity at the age of 16 months and the females are known to reach sexual maturity at the age of 28 months. They are rather solitary animals, other than the mating season when they come together. The males fight between themselves and the one who wins can is able to start the courtship ritual with the female. One female is known to mate with more than a single male in one breeding season. The courtship ritual involves the male rubbing his chin up and down the body of the female. The gestation period is about two months and at the end of it, the female lays 12-20 eggs. After laying the eggs, the females then leave the nest site. Then the eggs hatch after about two months.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of the inland taipan or fierce snake is Least Concern according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Not much is known about the exact threats to the species. Not much research has been done on the subject but it is assumed that the unavailability of a food source or losing a big part of their food or prey to other animals might be an issue.

What do inland taipans look like?

The inland taipan is a kind of land snake just like the coastal taipan. There are few differences in looks between the inland taipan and the coastal taipan of Australia. One of them is the head and neck of the inland taipan. Not much can be distinguished between the neck and head of the taipan. The color of the scales of these snakes varies among many shades, starting from light brown, rich olive-brown to black. The color can change in accordance with the seasons. During the winter, their color changes to darker ones, which helps them cope up with the harsh weather. Many among the species have dark heads and some among them have darker scales towards the tails. Their eyes are usually deep dark brown colored.

How cute are they?

To many snake enthusiasts around the world, these snakes can seem cute. They are extremely venomous and their appearance also doesn't help with their cuteness but they are also shy and reclusive in nature. If they cross paths with someone, their first response is to run away from them. Hence, they might not be cute in a conventional manner, but these are surely interesting animals.

How do they communicate?

These snakes like all the others communicate biologically. The snakes release a chemical substance that lets the other snakes know of their availability. As they can hear very little to no amount of sound, they mostly rely on the vibrations around them. At the time of breeding, the females are known to reciprocate to the visual signals done by a male.

How big is an inland taipan?

On average, an inland taipan size is about 6.5-8.8 ft (2-2.7 m) in length. One of the longest snakes in the world is the reticulated python, whose length can reach up to 20.3-32.8 ft (6.2-10 m) long. It's pretty evident that the inland taipans are not that long in size compared to the reticulated pythons.

How fast can an inland taipan move?

Even though the exact speed of the movement of this small-scaled snake is unaccounted for, it is known that the inland taipan can move pretty fast. They not only can move fast from one place to another, but they can also catch their prey rapidly. They can bite many times within a very short time frame.

How much does an inland taipan weigh?

The inland taipan can weigh about 2.2-4.4 lb (1-2 kg).

What are their male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names for the males or the females of the species.

What would you call a baby inland taipan?

The baby of a snake is called a snakelet. A newborn baby of a snake is called a neonate and a baby who just hatched from an egg is called a hatchling.

What do they eat?

The inland taipans are majorly diurnal animals but they adapt in accordance with the climate. They are usually most active during the early morning, but can also be seen hunting during late afternoons in the colder weather, and during the hot weather, they become nocturnal. The inland taipans only eat small mammals, so they mainly hunt for plague rats or long-haired rats. They go into burrows or deep fissures in the soil where the rats live and bite them many times within a short span of time. The inland taipan venom acts so quickly that the rats don't get the time to react at all. The snakes also adapt in accordance with the availability of prey in terms of places as the number of prey fluctuates. When this happens, they change their diet to other small mammals in their native space, like the introduced house mouse or the kultarr.

Are they aggressive?

These snakes might be deadly, but they are surely not aggressive. They are rather shy. Their first response would be retreating if they are confronted, but it's better not to confront them, because they might just feel threatened and choose to attack, which will be fatal for any human being as they are considered the most venomous snake in the world.

Would they make a good pet?

It is advisable to not keep these snakes in the household as a pet. These snakes are wild in nature. Even though many of them stay in many zoos around the world, it would not be possible to recreate the exact habitat they need in a household. It is legal to keep them as pets in Australia though. The only thing that you would need is a license that you have permission to house the highest class venomous reptile.

Did you know...

When it comes to Inland taipan vs black mamba, the inland taipan is definitely more dangerous. Its venom is the deadliest in the world.

The venom glands of an inland taipan have myotoxin, pre and post-synaptic neurotoxin, and procoagulants.

Inland taipan bite symptoms are nausea, headache, vomiting, sweating, weakness, breathing issues, and more. If not treated immediately, the victim may go into paralysis as the venom affects the nervous system. People can live after getting bitten, but the antivenom needs to be injected into their body within the time frame.

How many times can an inland taipan bite in a single attack?

One of the most distinctive features of the Australian inland taipan is that it is very fast. They can move very quickly from one place to another, but the inland taipan bites many times in just one single attack too. It is known that they can bite up to eight times in a quick manner in one attack.

How quickly would an inland taipan bite kill you if you don't get the antivenin?

If you are bitten by an inland taipan and you don't get the antivenin, chances are the toxic venom of the inland taipan from a single bite will kill you in the next 30 to 45 minutes. Their venom is not only the deadliest, but it acts very fast too. The sheer quantity of the venom they inject in one go also makes the process quicker. As the matter of fact, their venom can even kill an elephant within a few hours. Even though there is no record of these snakes killing any person in Australia, it's still better to be cautious if you see one in person.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other reptiles including the gopher snake and the reticulated python.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one of our inland taipan coloring pages.

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