Identification
Urban reptiles
Snakes of the Greater Brisbane Area
This identification page is constantly under construction, not all snakes are pictured in this page and many are wildly variable. NEVER attempt to identify a snake, the consequences are potentially fatal!
Pythons
[Pahy-thon]
Pythonidae is family of constrictor snakes, contains animals such as the reticulated python found in South East Asia.
They have no fangs but rather many re-curved teeth. Only 2 pythons are found in SEQ, one is quite uncommon. However, carpet pythons are one of the most successful urban reptiles. Semi arboreal animals, that contain no venom. They pose very little threat to humans. They keep the noise/ messy possum, rat and bat populations in check.
Common Name: Coastal Carpet snake
Scientific Name: Morelia spilota mcdoweli
Description: Large bodied snakes, highly variable colours from orange/ yellow to green/browns. Often has “camo” like patterns but some rarer cases can have minimal patters.
Common Name: Spotted Python
Scientific Name: Antaresia maculosa
Description: Smaller pythons with dark brown colours and darker spots throughout the body. They typically live around rocky outcrops
Colubrid
[Kol-uh-brid]
Colubridae is a large family of snake which have rear fangs.
A total of 3 colubrids live in SEQ and are mostly not venomous with one exception. The brown tree snake is venomous but is considered ‘mildly venomous’. These snakes can be vibrant and tend to be more arboreal (tree dwelling). Beautiful looking snakes to have around the backyard.
Common Name: Common Tree Snake
Scientific Name: Dendrelaphis punctulatus
Description: Variable colouration, narrow and slender body, often yellow or white under chin.
Common Name: Brown Tree Snake
Scientific Name: Boiga irregularus
Description: brown and banded pattern, larger head and narrower neck.
Common Name: Freshwater Keelback
Scientific Name:Tropidonophis mairii
Description: Keeled scales (ridged), variable patterning, looks to have a smirk.
Elapids
[el-uh-pid]
Elapidae is a family of venomous, front fanged snakes. This is the most diverse family of snakes found in Brisbane/ Ipswich.
Such a diverse range of elapids can be found in and around Brisbane and Ipswich. Some, like the eastern brown snake, seem to flourish in the urban environment but others like stephens banded snakes are rarely found. Fill a variety of niches in the environment and are essential to maintaining a healthy ecosystem in Australia.
Common Name: Red-bellied Black Snake
Scientific Name: Pseudechis porphyriacus
Description: Glossy black scales on the back, dark red scales along the lower flanks. Usually cream or light red belly. Often has a brown nose in SEQ.
Common Name: Golden Crown Snake
Scientific Name: Cacophis squamulosus
Description: Dark brown or black/grey. Yellow streak around face that does not meet at the back of head. Often has red or orange scaled on the belly.
Common Name: White-crowned Snake
Scientific Name: Cacophis harriettae
Description: Dark grey to black colour with a broad white ring around the head.
Common Name: Dwarf Crown Snake
Scientific Name: Cacophis Krefftii
Description: Dark brown to black/grey. They are the smallest of the crown snakes with a fine yellow or orange tinged ring around the head
Common Name: Death Adder
Scientific Name: Acanthophis antarcticus
Description: Colour can be quite varied in browns, greys, oranges and reds. The distincting wide head and lightly coloured caudal lure (tail) as well as their stocky build set these apart as unique elapids.
Common Name: Stephens’ Banded SNake
Scientific Name: Hoplocephalus stephensii
Description: Individuals can vary, usually contain dark brown/balck bands between orange and lighter browns. Faces blotched or barred on sides.
Common Name: Common Bandy Bandy
Scientific Name: Vermicella annulata
Description: Black and white bands along body with a pointed nose. When threatened they make loops in the air with the body to ward off predators.
Common Name: Yellow Faced Whip snake
Scientific Name: Demansia psmmophis
Description: Light grey/ green/Brown with yellow comma like shape around the eye. 2 light red bars located either side of the spine in the top half of the animal.
Common Name: Eastern Brown Snake
Scientific Name: Psudenaja textilis
Description: variable in colour, can be patterned or pattern-less, can be browns to reds or greens.
Common Name: Rough-scaled Snake
Scientific Name: Tropidechis carinatus
Description: Brown to green in colour, often with dark banding that usually fades toward the back of the animal. Often mistaken for a keelback due to the rough appearance of the scales.
Common Name: Eastern Small-eyed snake
Scientific Name: Cryptophis nigrescens
Description: Often a grey to black colour showing a cream to red underbelly, it is therefore often mistaken with a red belly black snake but unlike the black snake it doesn’t have red flanks, just the underbelly.
Common Name: Marsh snake
Scientific Name: Hemiaspis signata
Description: Usually dark in colour with 2 distinct lines on the face which is lighter in colour.
