Australia's largest venomous snake and one of the world's most dangerous elapids, with a coffin-shaped head and lightning-fast strike.
Description
The coastal taipan is a long, slim brown to dark olive elapid with a distinct angular pale face and a slightly cream belly. Adults are usually 2 to 2.5 m but record specimens exceed 3 m. The body is whip-thin in proportion to the length, giving great agility.
Behavior
A diurnal active hunter, the coastal taipan stalks small mammals across open ground and delivers a series of rapid bites to subdue prey before it can struggle. Its highly toxic venom acts on the blood and nervous system; before antivenom in 1955, bites were nearly always fatal.
Range
Native to the wet tropical coastal belt of northern and northeastern Australia, plus southern New Guinea. The mainland subspecies is the one most often encountered; the Papuan form is sometimes treated as a separate subspecies.