Record #00422Nature archive
The inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) has extremely potent venom. In mouse subcutaneous testing, saline-diluted venom has an LD50 of about 0.025 mg/kg; it is among the most toxic terrestrial snakes on record.
Current Record
0.025mg/kg
Current record value
The inland taipan inhabits cracked-clay floodplains in arid and semi-arid central Australia and primarily preys on small mammals. High venom potency does not imply a high annual human death toll, since the snake occupies remote habitats.
The WHO-linked INTOX monograph and a 1997 Toxicon pharmacological study cite Broad and colleagues: mouse subcutaneous LD50 was 0.025 mg/kg with saline dilution but 0.010 mg/kg with 0.1% bovine serum albumin dilution. These are different diluents, not intravenous versus subcutaneous measurements.
The record conclusion has sufficient verification support.
Basis: comparison of consistent primary data
The WHO-associated INTOX monograph and a 1997 Toxicon pharmacology article cite Broad et al.'s mouse subcutaneous test: 0.025 mg/kg with saline dilution and 0.010 mg/kg with 0.1% bovine serum albumin. These values are from the same route but distinct diluents and do not estimate human fatality.
LD50 varies with test species, injection route and diluent; rank is specific to mouse subcutaneous experiments. The precise original measurement date was not independently confirmed.
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