Snakes of the Cairns region
There is great variation in appearance between individual snakes of the same species and the descriptions below are based on general characteristics. Therefore it may be difficult to positively identify some snakes. Never approach snakes and never assume that they are non-venomous.
Front-fanged venomous snakes (Family Elapidae)
This family includes front-fanged, venomous land snakes. Although this encompasses the highly venomous snakes of Australia, the venom of most species is harmless to humans. The venom injected by these snakes is used to immobilise or kill prey — sometimes a combination of toxic venom and constriction is used. These snakes are known to feed on small mammals, birds, reptiles (including other snakes) and amphibians.
Black whip snake Demansia vestigiata
Black whip snake. Copyright: EPA
This is a slender, fast-moving snake. It is light to dark olive-brown or black above, lighter on the sides with a yellowish-grey to greenish-grey belly. Black whip snakes are active during the day in eucalypt woodland. They feed mainly on lizards.
Average length: 1m
WARNING:
VENOMOUS/LARGE SPECIMENS ARE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS
Common death adder Acanthophis antarcticus and northern death adder Acanthophis praelongus
Common death adder. Copyright: Queensland Museum
Northern death adder. Copyright: Queensland Museum
These two species of death adder are among Australia’s most dangerous snakes. The death adder is a short, stout snake with a series of dark and lighter alternating cross-bands on its back, coloured to match the surrounding leaf litter and soil. Its shape and colouration mean that it could initially be mistaken for a blue-tongued lizard or one of the larger ground-dwelling skinks (and vice-versa). During the day they can be found buried in sand, soil or leaves, often at the base of a tree. Camouflaged in this way a death adder will then lure prey by wiggling the light-coloured, worm-like tip of its tail. When disturbed, they remain where they are and rely on their camouflage for protection, resorting to a lightning fast strike when the threat becomes too great.
Length: Up to 1m
WARNING: HIGHLY VENOMOUS/DANGEROUS
Dwarf crowned snake Cacophis krefftii
Dwarf crowned snake. Copyright: Queensland Museum
This is a small dark-brown snake, almost black above with a narrow cream band running across the nape towards the snout. Its scales are edged with dark grey and its belly is cream coloured. It preys mostly on small skinks and has weak venom. It is reluctant to bite when disturbed.
Length: Up to 35cm
WARNING: MILDLY VENOMOUS/NOT DANGEROUS
Download
a Queensland Museum fact sheet on crowned snakes.(pdf, 173kB)
Eastern brown snake Pseudonaja textilis
Eastern brown snake. Copyright: EPA
The eastern brown snake varies widely in colour from light tan to almost black. The belly ranges from cream to orange with darker orange blotches. To add confusion, hatchlings may have a darker head and neck band or can have dark cross-bands along their entire length. These patterns gradually disappear with age. The eastern brown snake occurs in a variety of habitats ranging from grassland through to wet eucalypt forests. It is distributed throughout all but the western parts of Queensland. Active during the day, the eastern brown snake feeds on frogs, birds, mammals and reptiles. If provoked, the snake will rear up and adopt an S-shape strike posture, and will bite if cornered or provoked.
Average length: 1.5m
WARNING: HIGHLY VENOMOUS/DANGEROUS
Black-bellied swamp snake or marsh snake Hemiaspis signata
Black-bellied swamp snake. Copyright: Queensland Museum
The marsh snake is olive to grey above with a grey to black belly. It has two narrow pale lines on each side of the face running through the upper lip and from the eye onto the neck. This snake preys on frogs and skinks and bears up to 20 live young.
Length: Up to 50cm
WARNING:
VENOMOUS/TREAT BITES FROM LARGE SPECIMENS WITH CAUTION
Northern crowned snake Cacophis churchilli
Northern crowned snake. Copyright: Queensland Museum
This small snake is metallic brown above with a narrow, yellow band on the back of its head. It has weak venom and is reluctant to bite when disturbed, preying mainly on skinks. It is confined to the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area between Cape Tribulation and Townsville.
Average length: 30cm
WARNING: MILDLY VENOMOUS/NOT DANGEROUS
Download
a Queensland Museum fact sheet on crowned snakes.(pdf, 173kB)
Orange-naped snake Furina ornata
Orange naped snake. Copyright: Queensland Museum
This snake is light or dark orange or red-brown above with a cream belly. It has a distinct brownish to black head with a reddish band across the nape. It mainly lives in open forest where it usually feeds on skinks using weak venom.
Length: Up to 40cm
WARNING: MILDLY VENOMOUS/NOT DANGEROUS
Pale-headed snake Hoplocephalus bitorquatus
The pale-headed snake has a broad head distinct from its narrow neck. It is grey above with a paler band across the rear of the head bordered by black spots sometimes forming a band. The belly is creamy-grey. This snake preys mostly on frogs and lizards. Little is known about its venom composition.
Length: Up to 80cm
WARNING: VENOMOUS/ POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS
Red-bellied black snake Pseudechis porphyriacus
Red-bellied black snake. Copyright: Queensland Museum
The red-bellied black snake is shiny black above with a red belly (sometimes pinkish or white). These snakes occur in a variety of habitats near water but are more frequently encountered in wetter vegetation communities. They are active during the day and are often found basking in sunny patches in grass. Red-bellied blacks feed primarily on frogs but also eat small mammals and reptiles. They bear live young.
Length: Up to 2m
WARNING: VENOMOUS/DANGEROUS
Rough-scaled snake Tropidechis carinatus
Rough-scaled snake. Copyright: Queensland Museum
This snake is olive to greyish above with black flecks forming irregular bands or blotches and a greenish grey belly. The head is clearly distinct from its neck. Rough-scaled snakes get their name from raised lines or keels on the scales covering their backs and sides. This snake can be confused with the keelback (freshwater snake), which also has strongly keeled scales, and both can occur near water. It occurs across a range of wetter habitats and feeds on small mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs.
Length: Up to 1m
WARNING: VENOMOUS/POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS
Small-eyed snake Rhinoplocephalus nigrescens
Small-eyed snake. Copyright: EPA
This is a shy, nocturnal snake, shiny black to grey-black above and cream to pink and sometimes red below. Superficially similar to the red-bellied black snake it can be distinguished by its small size, bead-like eyes and squared-off snout. It lives in open forest, rainforest, pasture and agricultural land. The small-eyed snake feeds mainly on skinks and geckos. It gives birth to up to eight young.
Length: Up to 1m
VENOMOUS/POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS
Taipan Oxyuranus scutellatus
Taipan. Copyright: EPA
The taipan, also known as the coastal taipan, is light to pale brown above and paler on the sides. The side of the head or whole head is paler than the rest of the body, usually cream in colour. The head is rectangular (‘coffin-shaped’) with a distinct neck. The upper body colour is variable, from pale brown to black. The underside is cream to yellow, usually with irregular orange spots or flecks. Taipans are mostly active during the day, feeding on small mammals in eucalypt woodland, grassland, grassy beach dunes, pastures and cane fields. Taipans will defend themselves aggressively if provoked.
Length: Up to 2.6m
WARNING: HIGHLY VENOMOUS/DANGEROUS
White-crowned snake Cacophis harriettae
White-crowned snake. Copyright: Queensland Museum
The white-crowned snake is gun-metal grey in colour with a cream stripe around the snout and neck area. It is found mainly in open forest. It has weak venom suited for preying on skinks. Although it will strike if disturbed, it rarely bites. This snake usually lays a clutch of 10 eggs.
Length: Up to 50cm
WARNING: MILDLY VENOMOUS/NOT DANGEROUS
Download
a Queensland Museum fact sheet on crowned snakes.(pdf, 173kB)
Yellow-faced whip snake Demansia psammophis
Yellow-faced whip snake. Copyright: EPA
The yellow-faced whip snake has a dark yellow-edged bar around the front of the nose and a dark comma-shaped streak from the eye to the mouth. Whip snakes are slender with whip-like tails. They are active during the day, very agile and usually escape quickly when disturbed.
Average length: 80cm
WARNING: VENOMOUS/LARGE SPECIMENS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS
Yellow-naped snake Furina barnardi
Yellow-naped snake. Copyright: Queensland Museum
This snake is brown above with a light tan band across the nape, dark brown snout and whitish belly. Found mainly in open forest it preys mostly on skinks. It is among the least known of Australian front-fanged (elapid) snakes. Its venom is unknown but the snake is not thought to be dangerous.
Length: Up to 50cm
WARNING:
MILDLY VENOMOUS/NOT BELIEVED TO BE DANGEROUS
Pythons: non-venomous constrictors (Family Boidae)
Most pythons are large snakes well equipped for detecting, immobilising and consuming large prey. Pythons are mostly nocturnal, but are known to bask in the sun during the cooler months. They are non-venomous, with backward curving solid-teeth (no fangs). Pythons kill by coiling around their prey and squeezing until suffocation occurs — a technique known as constriction. Pythons feed largely on mammals, reptiles and birds. Most have heat-sensing pits along the lower jaw to locate warm-blooded prey. These pits can detect temperature changes of less than one-thirtieth of a degree.
Amethystine python Morelia kinghorni
Amethystine python. Copyright: EPA
This is Australia’s largest snake. It is iridescent greenish, grey or brown, usually with dark lines and streaks above often giving off an amethyst sheen. It has large scales arranged symmetrically on the top of the head. This snake lives in rainforest and open forest. It feeds mainly on mammals and birds and is capable of taking animals as large as a wallaby.
Length: Up to 5m (largest recorded 8.5m)
Non-venomous
Carpet python Morelia spilota
Carpet python. Copyright: EPA
The carpet python has many colour variations ranging from pale to dark brown, with blackish (sometimes paler-centred) blotches enclosing yellow spots and markings. It can also be distinguished from other pythons by the very small bead-like scales on the top of its head. This nocturnal python usually lives in trees but can live in burrows made by other animals. It is often encountered on the road on warm spring and summer nights in all habitat types within their range. Carpet pythons feed on a variety of animals.
Average length: 2m, maximum length 4m
Non-venomous
Spotted python Antaresia maculosa
Spotted python. Copyright: EPA
The spotted python is usually light brown with a series of darker brown blotches along the back giving the impression of irregular cross-bands. It is found in a variety of habitats ranging from eucalypt woodland through to rainforest and is usually seen at night. It feeds on reptiles, birds and small mammals.
Average length: 75cm
Non-venomous
Water python Liasis fuscus
Water python. Copyright: Lyall Naylor
This snake is uniform iridescent dark brown to black above, usually with a bright- to dull-yellow belly. Water pythons, like most other python species in Queensland, use heat-sensing pits situated on the lower jaw to locate their prey. It is mainly active at night in the vicinity of water in eucalypt woodland where they feed mainly on birds, predominately waterfowl, and small mammals.
Average length 2m, maximum 3m
Non-venomous
File snakes (Family Acrochordidae)
Little file snake Acrochordus granulatus
This is an aquatic marine and estuarine snake. They are grey, brown or almost black in colour with narrow whitish to fawn-coloured cross-bands that fade on the belly. The skin is loose and covered in fine, pointed scales giving it the appearance and texture of a file. It feeds mainly on small crabs and fish.
Average length: 60cm, maximum 1.2m
Non-venomous
Non-venomous and rear-fanged venomous snakes (Family Colubridae)
This family includes a small group of snakes with a range of specialised characteristics and habits. Some of these species are arboreal while others favour semi-aquatic habitats. These snakes are either solid-toothed and non-venomous or rear-fanged and weakly venomous. They eat small prey including frogs, lizards, birds and rodents.
Brown tree snake Boiga irregularis
Brown tree snake. Copyright: EPA
This species is sometimes known as the ‘doll’s eye’ or ‘night tiger’ — names referring to its large yellow eyes and banded body. It is usually brown to reddish-brown with irregular darker cross-bands. The brown tree snake is mainly found in eucalypt woodland but also occurs in rainforest. It is nocturnal and occurs in trees but also forages on the ground. The snake eats mainly birds and their eggs, but will also prey upon small mammals, frogs and reptiles. The species is rear-fanged with weak venom.
Length: Up to 2m
WARNING:
VENOMOUS (REAR-FANGED). BITES FROM LARGE INDIVIDUALS SHOULD BE MONITORED CAREFULLY.
Common or green tree snake Dendrelaphis punctulata
Common tree snake. Copyright: Queensland Museum
This species is highly variable in colour and is also known as yellow-bellied or blue-bellied black snake. The body is extremely slender and can be either grey, olive-green, various shades of brown, black, even blue and turquoise. When disturbed it can inflate its body to show patches of bright blue skin between the body scales. The underside is usually cream or yellow or light blue in some individuals. Common tree snakes are found in a variety of habitat types, but are usually seen in eucalypt woodland or rainforest areas. They are active during the day in trees and on the ground, feeding mostly on frogs and birds.
Average length: 1.5m
Non-venomous
Keelback Tropidonophis mairii (also known as freshwater snake)
Keelback. Copyright: EPA
The keelback’s head and neck are grey-green or brown with the body grey-green to brown typically with cross-bands of darker flecks. Upper body scales are strongly keeled or ridged. A loreal scale is present (a scale situated between the nasal scale and scales directly in front of eye), distinguishing it from the venomous rough-scaled snake. As its other common name implies, the keelback is found in and around creeks, rivers and marshlands. It feeds largely on frogs (including cane toads) that it actively pursues during the day or night. Caution: this snake closely resembles the venomous and dangerous rough-scaled snake.
Average length: 0.5m, maximum length approximately 1m
Non-venomous
Macleay’s water snake Enhydris polylepis
Macleays water snake. Copyright: Queensland Museum.
This is an aquatic snake living in and near clear freshwater streams. It is olive-brown to almost black in colour, with light, sometimes speckled sides, a pale belly and a dark line down the middle of the tail. It has weak venom to subdue its prey and feeds mostly on fish and frogs.
Length: Up to 80cm.
Mildly venomous/not dangerous
Northern tree snake Dendrelaphis calligastra
Northern tree snake. Copyright: Queensland Museum
This snake is extremely slender and is green or brownish grey above with a cream or yellow belly below and a dark streak through the eye. It lives in rainforest, open forest and urban and farmed areas where it feeds on frogs and reptiles.
Length: Up to 1.2m
Non-venomous
Slaty-grey snake Stegonotus cucullatus
Slaty grey snake. Copyright: Queensland Museum
The slaty-grey snake is uniform brown to leaden-grey or black above with a white or cream belly. It is a nocturnal snake that lives around human habitations and usually forages on the ground for frogs. When disturbed it releases a strong odour from its anal gland.
Length: Up to 1.3m
Non-venomous
Blind snakes (Family Typhlopidae)
Ramphotyphlops spp.
A blind snake. Copyright: Queensland Museum
The blind snake is a small, smooth, worm-like burrower with glossy, close fitting scales and their tails are bluntly rounded, ending in a short spur. It has small, dark spots for eyes which probably only sense light and dark. The snake feed on termites and the eggs, larvae and pupae of ants and is often encountered foraging on the surface at night following rain. The blind snake is non-venomous and the structure of their mouths makes them incapable of biting humans. However it does have well developed anal glands that secrete a strong smell when disturbed.
Legless lizards (Family Pygopodidae)
A legless lizard. Copyright: Queensland Museum
Some backyard reptile encounters may involve a small snake-like creature that could be a legless lizard. Unlike snakes, legless lizards have external ear openings, broad fleshy tongues and belly scales that are the same size as those on their upper body. Remnants of hind limbs (flaps) can be seen. Legless lizards are non-venomous burrowers that live in moist, dark areas. They feed on insects and small reptiles, and are usually found in or near compost bins and vegetable gardens or under leaf litter.
Some skinks (family Scincidae) that live in leaf litter or burrow in the ground also have reduced or absent limbs. These skinks share many of the characteristics of legless lizards.
Last updated: 23 May 2008
