Fierce Snake
Encyclopedia : F : FI : FIE : Fierce Snake
The Fierce Snake, also known as the Small Scaled Snake and Inland Taipan is a highly venomous snake of Australia, notorious for having the most potent venom of any land species of snake in the world, becoming the world's most venomous snake. [link]The Fierce Snake or Inland Taipan is a species of Taipan belonging to the Elapidae family.
Venom
A single bite from the Fierce Snake contains enough venom to kill as many as 100 human adults, or 250,000 mice. The fierce snake's average venom yield is 44 mg, with a 110 mg record yield. It is 50 times more poisonous than the Indian Cobra, as said by Steve Irwin. The Fierce Snake delivers its extremely neurotoxic venom, through a pair of proteroglyphous or hollow fangs that pivot and rest on the buccal floor in the top of the mouth when not in use.Appearance
The Fierce Snake is brown in colour, ranging from a rich, dark hue to a brownish olive-green (depending on season). It has twenty-three rows of mid-body scales, between fifty-five and seventy divided subcaudal scales, and one anal scale. The fierce snake averages approximately two metres in length, although fierce snakes may grow in excess of this. The colour changes seasonally.Seasonal Adaptation
Fierce Snakes (Inland Taipans) adapt to their environment by changing the colour of the skin during seasonal changes. During the summer period, Fierce Snakes tend to have a more lighter colour as opposed to having a darker colour during winter. The reason behind this seasonal colour change is to absorb more heat efficiently during the winter, as darker colours absorb heat faster.Range
The Fierce Snake is native to the arid regions of central Australia, extending from the south-east part of the Northern Territory, and into west Queensland. The Fierce Snake can also be found north of Lake Eyre and to the west of the split of the Murray River, Darling River and Murrumbidgee River.Behaviour
Fierce Snakes are known to live in holes, and feed on small rodents such as mice and rats. Despite it's name, Fierce Snakes are not known to be particularly aggressive but docile, though will strike - injecting their incomparably toxic venom - if provoked.Reproduction
Fierce snakes produce clutches of between one and two dozen eggs (12-24). The eggs hatch approximately two months after laying.Trivia
- Although known as the most venomous snake in the world, there have been no human fatalities from the Fierce Snake (Inland Taipan). All known bites have been treated using anti-venom. [link]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.