Coastal Taipan

The coastal taipan is the second-longest venomous snake in Australia after the king brown snake (Pseudechis australis). Adult specimens of this species typically attain sexual maturity around 1.2 m (3.9 ft) in total length (including tail). More mature specimens can grow to between 1.5 and 2.0 m (4.9 and 6.6 ft). Other taipans, including the inland taipan, attain broadly similar sizes, although they tend to be slightly smaller in average size. A specimen of an average 2.0 m (6.6 ft) total length weighs around 3.0 kg (6.6 lb). According to the Queensland Museum, the longest recorded total length for the coastal taipan was a specimen that was 2.9 m (9.5 ft) and weighed 6.5 kg (14 lb). Though exceptionally rare, much larger specimens are widely believed to exist, including specimens of as much as 3.3 m (11 ft). O. scutellatus has a long and narrow head with an angular brow and is lighter-coloured on the face. The body is slender and colouration can vary. It is often uniformly light olive or reddish-brown in colour, but some specimens may be dark gray to black. The colouration is lighter on the sides of the body, and the ventral side (the belly) is usually a creamy-white to a pale light yellow in colour, and is often marked with orange or pink flecks. Individuals undergo a seasonal change in colour, becoming darker in winter and fading in summer. …

Considered to be a least-concern species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the coastal taipan occurs in northern Australia and southern New Guinea. Its range extends from north-western Western Australia, the Northern Territory, across Cape York Peninsula, and south in eastern Queensland into northern New South Wales (as far south as Grafton). The coastal taipan, though, is not found in regions where the maximum winter temperature is below 20 °C (68 °F). The second subspecies (O. s. canni ) is found throughout the island of New Guinea, with higher concentrations of the snake being found in the nation of Papua New Guinea. The coastal taipan can be found in a variety of different habitats, in warm, wetter, temperate to tropical coastal regions, monsoon forests, wet and dry sclerophyll forests and woodlands, and natural and artificial grassy areas, including grazing paddocks and disused rubbish tips. It appears to have become more common since the 1935 introduction of the cane toad. Whether this is because of reduced competition, as other large venomous snakes have declined after being poisoned by toads, or due to increased food supply of rodents is unclear. It has adapted well to sugarcane fields, where it thrives on the rodent population in the fields. In Far North Queensland in the Cape York Peninsula, it is usually found in open woodland areas. …

The coastal taipan is primarily diurnal, being mostly active in the early to midmorning period, although it may become nocturnal in hot weather conditions. The consensus of snake handlers is that the coastal taipan tends to avoid confrontation, but becomes highly defensive if provoked.

Reproduction and lifespan. Breeding season takes place between August and December. The coastal taipan is oviparous, laying a clutch of 7 to 20 eggs. The eggs take 60 to 80 days to hatch, with the newly hatched snakes ranging from 30 to 34 cm (12 to 13 in) in length. The young grow quickly, averaging 6.7 cm (2.6 in) a month, and reaching a length of 1.0 m (3.3 ft) in a year. Male coastal taipans reach sexual maturity when they reach 80 cm in length, which they reach around 16 months of age, while females are able to breed when they are around 100 cm long, around 28 months old.

Diet. The coastal taipan's diet consists predominantly of rats, mice, and bandicoots, with various species of birds taken opportunistically. In 2010, a dead coastal taipan was found to have ingested a cane toad. …