Inland taipan

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/inland-taipan

1. What is the scientific name?
2. What is the conservation status?
3. Why is the Inland Taipan called the world's most venomous snake?
4. How does the Inland Taipan hunt and why does it usually stay away from people?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Oxyuranus microlepidotus
2. What is the conservation status?Least Concern
3. Why is the Inland Taipan called the world's most venomous snake?Its venom is the most toxic of any terrestrial snake. In tests with mice, it is more dangerous than all other land snakes.
4. How does the Inland Taipan hunt and why does it usually stay away from people?It hunts by being very fast and accurate, striking quickly to stop its prey. It is shy and prefers to run away, so it rarely bites people.

Elapidae: A family of venomous snakes characterized by fixed front fangs, including cobras, mambas, and taipans.
LD50 (Median Lethal Dose): A measure of toxicity, representing the dose of a substance required to kill 50% of a test population, typically mice.
Diurnal: Active during the day, as opposed to nocturnal (active at night).