Coastal Taipan
Oxyuranus scutellatus

Length:

to 2.9m

Identification:

back usually unmarked light olive to dark russet brown (rarely dark grey to black); head usually lighter coloured, especially front of face (rostral region) and lips, belly cream, usually with pink or orange flecking; eye reddish under angular brow.

Scale Counts:

midbody scale rows 21 or 23; ventrals 220-250; anal single; subcaudals divided 57-75.

Habitat:

open forests, dry closed forests, coastal heaths, grassy beach dunes and cultivated areas such as cane fields.

Distribution:

north-western WA, northern NT, Normanton across Cape York Peninsula and coastally through eastern Qld to Grafton (NSW); well known in sugar-growing areas; in southern Qld, common near Beaudesert, Esk, Gympie; recent records close to Ipswich (Brisbane-Toowoomba bypass), and to Brisbane (Cedar Creek, and Camp Mountain); on Fraser Is, but not on the other sand islands of southeastern Qld.

Status:

common in some areas

Habits:

active during day, also in early evening in hot weather.

Breeding:

egg-layer (7-20); 64-68 day incubation period; average snout - vent length of hatchlings 31cm.

Main Prey:

exclusively mammals; small rodents (Melomys spp., Rattus spp., Mus musculus), bandicoots (Isoodon macrourus, Perameles nasuta) and quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus)

Venom:

strongly neurotoxic; the third most toxic terrestrial snake venom known.

Notes:

potentially dangerous; apply first aid and seek urgent medical attention for all suspected bites; responsible for many human deaths. two subspecies - O. scutellatus scutellatus from Australia, O. scutellatus canni from New Guinea.

Similar Species:

Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis), which has a shorter, more rounded head and different scale counts; Mulga Snake (Pseudechis australis), which has a broader head, different scale counts and lacks orange/pink belly blotches.