Yellow-faced Whip Snake
The Yellow-faced Whip Snake (Demansia psammophis) is a slender, fast-moving elapid native to Australia and a member of the genus Demansia. It is one of the more common small to medium-sized daytime snakes in eastern and southern Australia and is named for the distinctive pale yellow stripe behind th...
Yellow-bellied Sea Snake
The Yellow-bellied Sea Snake (Hydrophis platurus, formerly Pelamis platurus) is a medium-sized, highly venomous sea snake of the family Elapidae and one of the most widely distributed snake species in the world. It is fully marine, spending virtually its entire life in the open ocean and coastal wat...
Western Brown Snake
The Western Brown Snake (Pseudonaja nuchalis, in the broad sense) is a medium-sized, highly venomous elapid native to inland and western Australia. Closely related to the Eastern Brown Snake, it is one of the most medically important snakes in arid and semi-arid regions, where it is widespread aroun...
Tiger Snake
The Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus) is a large, highly venomous elapid native to southern Australia, including Tasmania and many coastal islands. It is well known for its often striking banded pattern—dark and light crossbands reminiscent of a tiger’s stripes—although colour and pattern can vary...
Small-eyed Snake
The Small-eyed Snake (Cryptophis nigrescens) is a medium-sized, highly secretive elapid snake endemic to eastern Australia. As its name suggests, it is characterised by relatively small eyes compared with head size, and a predominantly dark body. The species is strongly nocturnal and commonly shelte...
Rough-scaled Snake
The Rough-scaled Snake (Tropidechis carinatus) is a medium-sized, highly venomous elapid endemic to eastern Australia. It is the sole species in the genus Tropidechis and is named for its strongly keeled, rough-feeling scales. This snake is closely associated with moist forests, rainforest margins a...
Red-bellied Black Snake
The Red-bellied Black Snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) is one of the most familiar large venomous snakes in eastern and south-eastern Australia. A member of the family Elapidae and the genus Pseudechis (the black snakes), it is instantly recognisable by its glossy black upper body and vivid red or cr...
Pale-headed Snake
The Pale-headed Snake (Hoplocephalus bitorquatus) is a medium-sized, highly venomous elapid endemic to eastern Australia. It is one of three arboreal species in the genus Hoplocephalus, along with the Broad-headed Snake and Stephens’s Banded Snake, and is regarded as one of the most tree-dwelling o...
Mulga Snake / King Brown Snake
The Mulga Snake (Pseudechis australis), widely known as the King Brown Snake, is one of Australia’s largest terrestrial venomous snakes. It belongs to the family Elapidae and the genus Pseudechis, the black snakes. Despite the common name “brown,” it is more closely related to black snakes than t...
Inland Taipan
The Inland Taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) is a highly venomous elapid snake endemic to the semi-arid interior of eastern Australia. Belonging to the family Elapidae and the genus Oxyuranus, it is widely regarded as the most toxic terrestrial snake in the world on the basis of laboratory LD50 test...
Golden-crowned Snake
The Golden-crowned Snake (Cacophis squamulosus) is a small, secretive elapid snake native to eastern Australia. Belonging to the family Elapidae and the genus Cacophis, it is best known for the distinctive golden or pale yellow crown-shaped marking on the top of its head, which gives the species its...
Eastern Brown Snake
The Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis) is one of Australia’s most notorious and medically significant venomous snakes. A slender elapid of medium to moderately large size, it is widespread across eastern and parts of southern Australia, where it frequently occurs in farmland, grasslands and...
Dugite
The Dugite (Pseudonaja affinis) is a slender, highly venomous elapid snake native to south-western Western Australia. It is one of the best-known “brown snakes” in the region and a significant contributor to snakebite incidents around Perth and nearby agricultural areas. At the same time, Dugites...
Copperhead Snake
The Australian Copperhead (Austrelaps superbus), often simply called the Copperhead Snake in its native range, is a medium-sized, highly venomous elapid adapted to the cool, temperate climates of south-eastern Australia. Unlike many other Australian snakes that thrive in hot, arid regions, this spec...
Common Death Adder
The Common Death Adder (Acanthophis antarcticus) is a short, stocky and highly venomous elapid, famous for its excellent camouflage and lightning-fast strike. Native to parts of eastern and southern Australia and Papua, it is among the most venomous land snakes in the world. Unlike most Australian e...
Colletts Snake
Collett's Snake (Pseudechis colletti) is a medium to large, highly venomous elapid and one of the most strikingly coloured members of the Australian black snake genus Pseudechis. Endemic to the inland plains of central-western Queensland, this species is relatively uncommon in the wild but well...
Coastal Taipan
The Coastal Taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus) is a large, fast-moving and highly venomous elapid snake native to coastal and near-coastal regions of northern and eastern Australia and parts of New Guinea. It is one of the most feared snakes in its range, historically associated with a very high fatalit...
Broad-headed Snake
The Broad-headed Snake (Hoplocephalus bungaroides) is a small to medium-sized, highly distinctive venomous snake in the family Elapidae, and is one of Australia’s most range-restricted and threatened reptiles. Endemic to the sandstone landscapes of the Sydney Basin in New South Wales, this species...
Blue-bellied Black Snake
The Blue-bellied Black Snake (Pseudechis guttatus), also commonly known as the Spotted Black Snake, is a medium to large, highly venomous elapid snake endemic to inland eastern Australia. It is named for its glossy dark body and the bluish-grey to dark grey underside that gives a subtle “blue-belli...
Sea Snakes (Group Overview)
Sea snakes are marine elapids comprising two main groups: the true sea snakes (Hydrophiinae, mostlyfully marine and viviparous) and the sea kraits (Laticaudinae, typically oviparous and coming ashore to nest).Both possess neurotoxic venom, yet most species are non‑aggressive in natural encounters...