intramuscular vs intravenous vs intraperitoneal). In there, all the toxicity testing results were lumped in together, regardless of the mode of testing (e.g. Bryan Grieg Fry, a prominent venom expert, has clarified the error: "The hook-nosed myth was due to a fundamental error in a book called Snakes in Question. Intravenous, intraperitoneal and intramuscular LD50 for the inland taipan venom have not been tested.īelcher's sea snake ( Hydrophis belcheri ), which many times is mistakenly called the hook-nosed sea snake ( Enhydrina schistosa ), has been erroneously popularized as the most venomous snake in the world, due to Ernst and Zug's published book Snakes in Question: The Smithsonian Answer Book from 1996. One bite's worth of venom is enough to kill 100 fully grown men. Compared to the beaked sea snake ( Enhydrina schistosa ) 0.164 mg/kg, Indian cobra 0.565 mg/kg, North American eastern diamondback rattlesnake 11.4 mg/kg, etc., the inland taipan has a smaller venom yield than its cousin the coastal taipan yet its venom is almost four times as toxic. The median lethal dose (LD50), subcutaneous (the most applicable to actual bites) for mice is 0.025 mg/kg (0.01 mg/kg subcutaneous, in bovine serum albumin). The average quantity of venom delivered by this species is 44 mg and the maximum dose recorded is 110 mg, compared to the Indian cobra ( Naja naja ) 169 mg/max 610 mg, and the North American eastern diamondback rattlesnake ( Crotalus adamanteus ) 410 mg/max 848 mg etc. The word "fierce" from its alternative name describes its venom, not its temperament. Because it lives in such remote locations, the inland taipan seldom comes in contact with people therefore it is not considered the deadliest snake in the world overall, especially in terms of disposition and human deaths per year. However, it will defend itself and strike if provoked, mishandled, or prevented from escaping. It is an extremely fast and agile snake that can strike instantly with extreme accuracy, often striking multiple times in the same attack, and it envenomates in almost every case.Īlthough the most venomous and a capable striker, in contrast to the coastal taipan which many experts cite as an extremely dangerous snake due to its behavior when it encounters humans, the inland taipan is usually a quite shy and reclusive snake, with a placid disposition, and prefers to escape from trouble. It is estimated that one bite possesses enough lethality to kill at least 100 fully grown humans. The inland taipan is a specialist hunter of mammals, so its venom is specially adapted to kill warm-blooded species. 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.īased on the median lethal dose value in mice, the venom of the inland taipan is by far the most toxic of any snake – much more so than even that of sea snakes – and it has the most toxic venom of any reptile when tested on human heart cell culture. Aboriginal Australians living in those regions named the snake dandarabilla. The species is endemic to semi-arid regions of central east Australia. The inland taipan ( Oxyuranus microlepidotus ), 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.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |