Most common snakes in eastern and southern Australia
Can you accurately identify some of the most common snakes found across eastern and southern Australia?
We spoke to expert Chris Hay, the director of the Australian Reptile Academy, to find out the most distinguishing features of 10 of the most common snakes living among us.
What am I?
Heavily built, these snakes can grow up to 1.8 metres with a large, distinct head, often with bulbous "cheeks" and large body scales.
Eyes have a dark iris, but the pupil is still discernible.
Colouration is highly variable, ranging from black, brown, grey, and olive with either no pattern or orange, yellow or grey bands on the body.
Ventral surfaces are mottled with grey.
Common tiger snake - dangerously venomous
The common tiger snake (Notechis scutatus) is found across eastern and southern Australia from southern Queensland (where it is restricted to high-altitude wet environments and rainforests), eastern New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Tasmania, southern South Australia and south- western Western Australia.
Common tiger snakes are dangerously venomous.
What am I?
Adults are large, up to two metres in total length with a small, indistinct head and large eyes with a gold-coloured iris.
Colouration is highly variable ranging from black, brown, grey, orange to yellow with either no pattern or random black flecking or broad body bands.
Ventral surfaces are grey in colour.
Juveniles have conspicuous black markings on the head and neck.
Dugite - dangerously venomous
The dugite (Pseudonaja affinis) is found across southern Western Australia and south-western South Australia.
Dugites are dangerously venomous.
What am I?
Adults are large, up to two metres in total length with a small, indistinct head and dark-coloured irises that make the eyes appear superficially black in colour.
Colouration is distinct appearing glossy black from above with lower flanks in red, orange, pink or white. The snout may be brown in colour.
Ventral surfaces are cream with thin black banding.
Red-bellied black snake - dangerously venomous
The red-bellied black snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) is found across eastern Australia including Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and in South Australia along the Murray River drainage.
Red-bellied black snakes are dangerously venomous.
What am I?
Adults are very large with a heavy build and a maximum length of around three metres.
A large head, distinct from the neck, small and numerous body scales.
Colouration and pattern are distinctive.
Body colour ranges from brown to varying shades of grey, marked with darker-edged light blotches, bands or lines.
The diamond variant (found in mid and southern regions of New South Wales) is darker, almost black with numerous white or yellow spots (one per scale, periodically forming larger clusters).
All juveniles are a reddish brown colour with faint markings.
Carpet python - harmless
The carpet python (Morelia spilota spp.) is distributed across northern Australia, the majority of Queensland and New South Wales, northern Victoria, southern South Australia and Western Australia.
Carpet pythons are harmless.
What am I?
Adults reach a maximum length around of around two metres with a long and thin build, a long tail and a broad head distinct from a thin neck.
Very large yellow-coloured eyes and large body scales.
Colouration ranges from a dirty orange brown to bright orange, often with faint darker banding.
Ventral surfaces are pale orange.
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