[8][9] It was formally described by Frederick McCoy in 1879 and then by William John Macleay in 1882, but for the next 90 years, it was a mystery to the scientific community; no further specimens were found, and virtually nothing was added to the knowledge of this species until its rediscovery in 1972.

[14][15][16] The inland taipan is a specialist hunter of mammals, so its venom is specially adapted to kill warm-blooded species.

[29] Because it lives in such remote locations, the inland taipan seldom comes in contact with people;[30] therefore it is not considered the deadliest snake in the world overall, especially in terms of disposition and human deaths per year.

In 1882, a third specimen was found near Bourke, New South Wales, and William John Macleay described the same snake under the name Diemenia ferox (thinking it was a different species[33]).

[5] In 1956, relying only on published descriptions and notes,[33] James Roy Kinghorn regarded ferox as a synonym for microlepidotus and proposed the genus Parademansia.

[5] In September 1972, after receiving an unclassified snake head sample from a grazier from one of the Channel Country stations west of Windorah of the far southwest Queensland, herpetologists Jeanette Covacevich (then working for the Queensland Museum) and Charles Tanner travelled to the site and found 13 living specimens, and rediscovered the lost snake Parademansia microlepidotus.

[5] Covacevich, McDowell, Tanner & Mengden (1981) successfully argued, by comparing anatomical features, chromosomes, and behaviours of the two species then known as Oxyuranus scutellatus (taipan) and Parademansia microlepidota, that they belonged in a single genus.

[10] The inland taipan inhabits the black soil plains in the semiarid regions where the Queensland and South Australia borders converge.

[7][38] In Queensland, the snake has been observed in Channel Country region[39] (e.g., Diamantina National Park, Durrie Station, Morney Plains Station[40] and Astrebla Downs National Park[41]) and in South Australia it has been observed in the Marree-Innamincka NRM District[42][43] (e.g., Goyder Lagoon[44] Tirari Desert, Sturt Stony Desert, Coongie Lakes, Innamincka Regional Reserve and Oodnadatta[45]).

[2][3][46] Two old records exist for localities further south-east, i.e., the junction of the Murray and Darling Rivers in northwestern Victoria (1879) and Bourke, New South Wales (1882), but the species has not been observed in either state since then.

[70] In New South Wales, private ownership of an inland taipan is legal only with the highest class of venomous reptile licence.

These dark-marked scales occur in diagonal rows so that the marks align to form broken chevrons of variable length that are inclined backward and downward.

This seasonal colour change facilitates thermoregulation, allowing the snake to absorb more radiant heat in the colder months.

[7] Inland taipans are rarely encountered in the wild by the average person because of their remoteness and brief above-ground appearance during the day.

So long as a person is not creating much vibration and noise, the inland taipan may not feel alarmed or bothered by a human presence.

[21] Clinical toxicologist, venom researcher, herpetologist, and family physician Scott A. Weinstein[83] et al. have stated in Toxicon journal (October 2017) "There have been 11 previously well-documented envenomings by O. microlepidotus, but only 2 were inflicted by wild snakes.

Rapid application of pressure-bandage immobilization and efficient retrieval of victims envenomed in remote locales, preferably by medically well-equipped aircraft, probably improves the likelihood of a positive outcome.

The teenager's rapid self-application of a compression bandage above the wound[87] and the availability and administration of a polyvalent (broad-spectrum) antivenom in the local hospital saved his life.

[88][89] In December 2013, reptile handler Scott Grant (age 40+), who was conducting a demonstration in front of 300 people at the annual building union's picnic in Portland, Victoria, had just finished showing the crowd an inland taipan and was trying to put it into a bag when it struck him.

Only a tiny amount of venom from the inland taipan had entered his body, and the adverse reaction he felt shortly after was an allergic one, presumably due to his past snake bites.

[90][91][92][93] In October 2017, Weinstein et al. published a case report in Toxicon, writing, "The victim was seeking to observe members of an isolated population of this species and was envenomed while attempting to photograph an approximately 1.5 m specimen.

He reported feeling “drowsiness” and blurred vision that progressed to ptosis; he later developed dysphagia and dysarthria.

A more recent victim was his friend John Robinson, bitten while cleaning an inland taipan's cage at his reptile display on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.

No recorded incidents have been fatal since the advent of monovalent (specific) antivenom therapy,[6][30][95] though weeks are needed to recover from such a severe bite.

[37] The mortality rate is high in untreated cases:[108] Clinically, envenomation may represent a complex scenario of multiple organ-system poisoning, with neurotoxic symptoms typically dominating.

[82] The first local and general symptoms of a bite are local pain and variable nonspecific effects, which may include headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, dizziness, collapse, or convulsions leading to major organ effects - neurotoxicity, coagulopathy, rhabdomyolysis or kidney failure/damage, and finally death.

[110][96] The development of general or respiratory paralysis is of paramount concern in that these are often difficult to reverse once established, even with large amounts of antivenom.

Early diagnosis of neurotoxic symptoms and prompt and adequate dosages of antivenom are critical to avoid these complications.

This causes defibrination, with nonclottable blood, putting victims at risk of major bleeding from the bite site and can lead to more serious, sometimes fatal, internal haemorrhaging, especially in the brain.

[37] Taipan antivenom is produced and manufactured by the Australian Reptile Park and the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories in Melbourne.