The Specific Assay of Prothrombin Using Taipan Snake Venom

Taipans are large, fast moving, highly venomous snakes with long fangs. They produce very large amounts of venom, which prior to the introduction of antivenom (1955), was was said to be fatal in more than 90% of taipan envenomations. Two distinct species are described in Australia; the coastal taipan (O. scutellatus scutellatus), and the western/inland taipan (O. microlepidotus), which is also known as the fierce snake and the small scaled snake. A related species, O. scutellatus canni, is found in Papua New Guinea