Discovery
Dr. Mark Hutchinson, reptile and amphibian curator at the South Australian Museum, caught the immature female taipan while it was crossing a dirt track on a sunny afternoon. The reptile was about one metre long but, because taipan species are among the most venomous snakes in the world, Hutchinson did not inspect the creature on site. He bagged the snake and sent it, along with others captured from the trip, to the Western Australian Museum in Perth for closer inspection.
It was not until two weeks later that the new species was studied. At first, it was tentatively identified as a western brown snake because of the similar size and colouring. However, several weeks later, Western Australia Museum reptile collection manager Brad Maryan noticed the now preserved snake had a large, pale head similar to the coastal taipan.
The holotype, nicknamed "Scully" after the X-Files TV character, is an immature snake about a metre long, which means that scientists do not know the true adult size of the species, though some taipans can reach lengths of about three meters.
This is the first new taipan species to be discovered in 125 years.
Read more about this topic: Oxyuranus Temporalis
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