Believe it or not, this snake is perhaps one of the most venomous known snake species. Its two closest relatives, the inland taipan and the coastal taipan, are ranked first and third most venomous snakes in the world, respectively. The discovery of the new species highlights how little is known of even relatively large animals in harsh, poorly collected habitats. And it also emphasizes the need for accurate taxonomy of venomous species for proper treatment of bites.
But before the legendary Ram Chandra helped develop the first Taipan Antivenom in 1956, a taipan bite was almost certainly fatal. One of the first lives saved, was Ram Chandra’s own when he was bitten while demonstrating taipan handling.
Taipans are only found in Australia and New Guinea and this is the first new species to be described in more than 125 years. Australia has the world’s most deadly snakes of which the taipans are the most charismatic ones. We must say that he discovery of the central ranges taipan was completely unexpected. The other two species of taipan do not occur in the sandy desert habitat typical of the central ranges of Australia – the nearest record is 800 km away.
Biodiversity surveys to the Australia are critically needed – the central deserts and ranges are among the most unknown regions of this continent. If a large, active snake such as the central ranges taipan has not been discovered until now, who knows what the next survey might uncover.
Some species discovered made it onto the list due to their modern monikers: an ornate sleeper ray from the east coast of South Africa that was named after the Electrolux brand due to the animal’s ability to suck up prey in the water. Pretty cool, huh?.
While scientists discover thousands of species each year, with an estimated 16,969 species considered new to science in 2006, plenty of plants and animals are waiting to be found. Scientists estimate 10 million or so species exist on Earth.
