Photo: george_vaughan · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Yellow-naped Snake
Furina barnardi
A little-known Queensland snake with a brown body and pale neck band.
Venomous
Australian field guide
Australian snakes
Browse researched snake profiles, or use the identifier to narrow down possible matches from visible clues.
Browse snake profiles
Search the common name, scientific name or other names.
Showing all 216 profiles.
Spotted Sea Snake (Hydrophis ocellatus) stranded on a beach; condition not documented.
Photo: Vicki Kelly · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Spotted Sea Snake
Hydrophis ocellatus
A venomous sea snake with spotted sides and oval or bar-like markings across its back, often fading with age.
Venomous
Elapidae
Spotted Mulga Snake
Pseudechis butleri
A dark-backed mulga snake from arid midwestern Western Australia, with pale-yellow scale centres and irregular darker patches.
Venomous
Spectacled Sea Snake (Hydrophis kingii) preserved museum specimen in a jar, labelled Disteira kingii.
Photo: A. C. Tatarinov · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Spectacled Sea Snake
Hydrophis kingii
A marine snake with a dark head, pale rings around the eyes and grey bars across a yellowish body.
Venomous.
Photo: Ruth Clark · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
South-Western Blind Snake
Anilios australis
A small burrowing blind snake of south-western Western Australia; broader state records remain under review.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Small-headed Blind Snake
Anilios affinis
A small blind snake recorded in Queensland and New South Wales.
Non-venomous
Preserved short-nosed sea snake specimen SAMA R68142 from Ashmore Reef. Preserved colours do not represent a living snake reliably.
Photo: Kate L. Sanders, Tina Schroeder, Michael L. Guinea, and Arne R. Rasmussen · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Short-nosed Sea Snake
Aipysurus apraefrontalis
A rare sea snake recorded in north-western Australian waters. Coastal and offshore populations vary in size and colour; an older museum account describes a cream form with bluish-brown bars.
Highly venomous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Rosen’s Snake
Suta fasciata
A thick-bodied Western Australian snake with reddish-brown markings across a pale buff back.
Venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
Robust Blind Snake
Anilios ligatus
The Robust Blind Snake is a widespread Australian blind snake with a moderately stout body. Specialist descriptions separate it from similar forms using the rounded snout and head scales.
Non-venomous
Photo: Ursina Gringer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Reticulated Whip Snake
Demansia reticulata
A Western Australian whipsnake with dark scale edges that can produce a net-like appearance.
Venomous
Port Darwin Sea Snake (Hydrelaps darwiniensis) deceased beach specimen.
Photo: Rod Lowther · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Port Darwin Sea Snake
Hydrelaps darwiniensis
Port Darwin Sea Snake is a small mangrove and coastal sea snake with a light grey or yellowish body and many dark bands.
Venomous
Typhlopidae
Pilbara Blind Snake
Anilios pilbarensis
A blind snake described from the Pilbara in Western Australia, with a prominent beaked snout.
Non-venomous
Elapidae
Ord Curl Snake
Suta ordensis
A venomous snake recorded from northeastern Western Australia and the adjacent Northern Territory.
Venomous
Photo: Third Silence · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Orange-naped Snake
Furina ornata
A small northern Australian snake recognised by a red nape blotch not completely enclosed by black.
Venomous
Photo: Richard Ling · CC BY-SA 2.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Olive Sea Snake
Aipysurus laevis
A robust marine snake whose colour changes with age. Adults may be creamy-yellow or golden-brown; younger animals can have pale bands on a dark body.
Highly venomous
Typhlopidae
Northern Hook-snouted Blind Snake
Anilios hamatus
A relatively stout, beak-snouted blind snake recorded in Western Australia.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Mornington Blind Snake
Anilios vagurima
A little-known, non-venomous blind snake described from Mornington Sanctuary in the Kimberley, Western Australia.
Non-venomous
Elapidae
Mitchell’s Short-tailed Snake
Suta nigriceps
A stout southern Australian snake with a dark head and a variable dark stripe along the back.
Venomous
Elapidae
Mangrove Sea Snake
Ephalophis greyae
A small, banded sea snake recorded in mangrove creeks along the Western Australian coast.
Probably dangerously venomous
Photo: Donna Belder · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Little Spotted Snake
Suta punctata
A pale snake with darker scale markings, recorded in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.
Venomous
Photo: Connor Margetts · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Lake Cronin Snake
Paroplocephalus atriceps
A venomous Western Australian snake known from the Lake Cronin and nearby south-western localities.
Venomous; AROD rates it potentially dangerous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Jan’s Banded Snake
Simoselaps bertholdi
A small venomous burrowing snake with records in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
Venomous
Fine-spined Sea Snake (Hydrophis czeblukovi) preserved museum specimen in a jar, labelled Leioselasma czeblukovi.
Photo: A. C. Tatarinov · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Fine-spined Sea Snake
Hydrophis czeblukovi
A sea snake recorded offshore from Dampier, with a narrow neck and distinctive geometric flank markings.
Dangerously venomous
Photo: David Thompson · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
Fat Blind Snake
Anilios pinguis
The Fat Blind Snake is a stout blind snake recorded from South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia in the current Reptile Database account. AROD uses the older common name Rotund Blind Snake.
Non-venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Dwyer’s Snake
Suta dwyeri
A small snake associated with rocky shelter in parts of eastern Australia.
Venomous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
Desert Blind Snake
Anilios endoterus
A small inland blind snake recorded across five mainland states.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Darwin Blind Snake
Anilios tovelli
A small blind snake described from the Darwin area in the Northern Territory.
Non-venomous
Collett’s Snake (Pseudechis colletti) at Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary (captive).
Photo: RatioTile · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Collett's Snake
Pseudechis colletti
A robust, boldly patterned snake of central Queensland’s black-soil plains.
Dangerously venomous
Cogger’s Sea Snake (Hydrophis coggeri) preserved museum specimen in a jar, labelled Leioselasma coggeri.
Photo: A. C. Tatarinov · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Cogger's Sea Snake
Hydrophis coggeri
Cogger's Sea Snake is a banded marine snake recorded from northern Australian waters and the wider western Pacific.
Dangerously venomous
Typhlopidae
Centralian Blind Snake
Anilios centralis
A slender blind snake described from the Alice Springs area in Central Australia.
Non-venomous
Photo: Noah Kirkland · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Carpentaria Snake
Cryptophis boschmai
The Carpentaria Snake is a small Queensland snake that can be tan, brown or dark brown, sometimes with a faint dark line down the back. It occurs in dry forest and woodland.
Venomous
Photographed on light cloth.
Photo: Robert Browne-Cooper · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
Buff-snouted Blind Snake
Anilios margaretae
A very slender blind snake described from Lake Throssell in Western Australia.
Non-venomous
Elapidae
Brown-lined Sea Snake
Aipysurus tenuis
A slender sea snake described with a light-brown body, darker lengthwise markings and bars along the sides. Records place it in waters off north-western Australia.
Dangerously venomous
Typhlopidae
Beaked Blind Snake
Anilios waitii
A very slender blind snake with a pronounced beak-like snout, recorded in Western Australia.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Barrow Island Blind Snake
Anilios longissimus
A highly elongated, almost unpigmented blind snake known only from Barrow Island.
Non-venomous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Speckled Brown Snake
Pseudonaja guttata
Speckled Brown Snake is a variable brown snake of arid grasslands and black-soil plains in the Northern Territory, Queensland and north-eastern South Australia.
Dangerously venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Ringed Brown Snake
Pseudonaja modesta
Ringed Brown Snake is a small inland brown snake with a black head and nape band and narrow body bands that may fade with age.
Venomous
Photo: prossington · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Broad-headed Snake
Hoplocephalus bungaroides
A venomous, threatened sandstone snake of the Sydney Basin and surrounding New South Wales.
Venomous
Elapidae
Western Turtle-headed Sea Snake
Emydocephalus orarius
A large coastal Western Australian sea snake with 19–21 body bands. The current diagnosis records a maximum total length of 116 cm, with records from Shark Bay through the Pilbara to the Kimberley.
Unknown
Photo: Ben Keen · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Eastern Turtle-headed Sea Snake
Emydocephalus annulatus
An egg-eating marine snake with banded and dark colour forms.
Venom apparatus is greatly reduced; this does not mean the species is safe to handle.
Photo: Lachlan Copeland · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Pythonidae
Amethystine Python
Simalia kinghorni
A large, slender python of north-eastern Queensland and the Torres Strait.
Non-venomous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Pythonidae
Water Python
Liasis fuscus
A large non-venomous python associated with northern waterways.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Fassifern Blind Snake
Anilios insperatus
The Fassifern Blind Snake is a tiny, poorly known blind snake from south-east Queensland. The Reptile Database says it is known only from the type specimen.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Roberts' Blind Snake
Anilios robertsi
A little-known blind snake described from the Shipton’s Flat area of north-eastern Queensland.
Non-venomous
Photo: Valentin Moser · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Dugite
Pseudonaja affinis
A dangerously venomous brown-snake relative of Western and South Australia.
Dangerously venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Western Pygmy Mulga Snake
Pseudechis weigeli
A venomous black-snake relative recorded in the Kimberley and the Northern Territory.
Dangerously venomous
Photographed in the Great Central Road area, Western Australia.
Photo: Chris Hay · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Western Desert Taipan
Oxyuranus temporalis
A very slender desert taipan with tan-brown to chocolate-brown upperparts, a paler head and sometimes faint herringbone lines. Confirmed material includes Western Australia; an older Central Ranges record near the NT region remains tentative.
Highly venomous
Photo: Connor Margetts · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Pythonidae
South-western Carpet Python
Morelia imbricata
A non-venomous python of southern Western Australia and parts of South Australia.
Non-venomous
Photo: Edward Bell · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Pythonidae
Green Python
Morelia viridis
A non-venomous tree-dwelling python of north-eastern Cape York; adults are green and young snakes are yellow.
Non-venomous
Photo: Brendan Costello · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Pythonidae
Olive Python
Liasis olivaceus
A very large olive python of drier northern Australia. The Pilbara subspecies occurs in Western Australia, while the species-level range also includes the Northern Territory and Queensland.
Non-venomous
Photo: Greg Tasney · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
White-crowned Snake
Cacophis harriettae
The White-crowned Snake is a small dark snake of moist eastern Australian habitats. It has a broad white collar across the nape and a dark head.
Venomous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Bardick
Echiopsis curta
A short, stout snake with a broad head and generally plain olive-brown, brown or reddish-brown upperparts. Its separated populations include south-western NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
Venomous
Photo: Stewart Macdonald · CC BY 2.5 (Licence)
Elapidae
Ornamental Snake
Denisonia maculata
A stout brown-to-black snake of central-eastern Queensland. The flanks are lighter and may have dark streaks; it is associated with wet areas and feeds mainly on frogs.
Venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Northern Small-eyed Snake
Cryptophis pallidiceps
The Northern Small-eyed Snake is a secretive venomous snake of northern Australia. It can be brown, grey or black above, with paler yellow-orange flanks and a white belly.
Venomous
Deceased Barkly death adder photographed on a road at Marrakai, Northern Territory. Body posture is not representative of a living snake.
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Barkly Death Adder
Acanthophis hawkei
Barkly Death Adder is a stout-bodied death adder associated with the black-soil plains of the Barkly Tableland and fragmented populations in western Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Highly venomous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Pilbara Death Adder
Acanthophis wellsi
Pilbara Death Adder is a banded death adder recorded from stony soils in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Dangerously venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Desert Death Adder
Acanthophis pyrrhus
A banded death adder of sandy and stony deserts across inland Australia. Its red or orange colouring blends with many desert soils.
Dangerously venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Top End Death Adder
Acanthophis rugosus
A stocky death adder of the Top End and north-western Queensland, usually marked with alternating pale and dark cross-bands. Some individuals have faint banding, so a brown or grey snake cannot be ruled out by colour alone.
Highly venomous
Kimberley Death Adder (Acanthophis cryptamydros), holotype WAM R174083 photographed in life by R. J. Ellis.
Photo: R. J. Ellis, in Maddock et al. (2015), Zootaxa 4007(3):301–326, Figure 5 · CC BY 3.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Kimberley Death Adder
Acanthophis cryptamydros
A stout Kimberley death adder of north-western Australia, usually orange-brown, tan-brown or grey with darker cross-bands. Its dangerous venom means a distant comparison is the only safe use of this page.
Highly venomous
Blackish Blind Snake (Anilios nigrescens), photographed dead on a road.
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
Blackish Blind Snake
Anilios nigrescens
A glossy, worm-like burrowing snake from eastern Australia. It has a nearly uniform body thickness, tiny eyes and a very short tail. Recognising a blind snake is usually easier than telling which blind-snake species it is.
Non-venomous
Photo: evaladyman · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Gould’s Hooded Snake
Suta gouldii
A slender hooded snake found in Western Australia and across the Nullarbor into South Australia.
Venomous
Photo: Lachlan Copeland · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Western Brown Snake
Pseudonaja mengdeni
A slender inland brown snake with yellow, orange or brown body forms and variable dark markings.
Venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Strap-snouted Brown Snake
Pseudonaja aspidorhyncha
A slender brown snake of inland southern Australia, with variable body banding.
Venomous
Photo: Euan Kettle · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Black-striped Burrowing Snake
Neelaps calonotos
A very small burrowing snake of south-western Western Australia, usually with a dark stripe along its pinkish to orange-red body.
Venomous
Photo: Lawrence Hylton · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Brown-headed Snake
Furina tristis
A dark northern Queensland snake with a paler collar and light scale edges along its sides.
Venomous
Photo: Siddarth Machado · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
Flowerpot Snake
Indotyphlops braminus
A tiny introduced blind snake, usually shiny silver-grey, charcoal-grey or purple with a blunt head and tail. Australian records began around Darwin, the Torres Strait and Townsville, with the account describing continued spread.
Non-venomous
Photo: Connor Margetts · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
Northern Long-beaked Blind Snake
Anilios grypus
The Northern Long-beaked Blind Snake is a very slender blind snake from northern Australia, recognised in specialist descriptions by its beaked snout and dark tail.
Non-venomous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
Prong-snouted Blind Snake
Anilios bituberculatus
A widespread Australian blind snake with a slender body and a long snout. Specialist descriptions refer to a three-lobed snout outline when viewed from above.
Non-venomous
Head and forebody on exposed soil.
Photo: Eric Vanderduys · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
No-spined Blind Snake
Anilios aspina
The No-spined Blind Snake is a poorly known Queensland blind snake. One documented feature is the absence of a tail spine, although this is not a feature to check by handling a live snake.
Non-venomous
Photo: Lachlan Copeland · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Stephens’ Banded Snake
Hoplocephalus stephensii
A nocturnal snake of forests and rocky country from southern Queensland to the NSW Central Coast.
Venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Pale-headed Snake
Hoplocephalus bitorquatus
A slender, potentially dangerous, partly arboreal snake recorded from New South Wales and Queensland.
Venomous — potentially dangerous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Golden-crowned Snake
Cacophis squamulosus
A dark snake with a yellowish streak along each side of the neck and onto the head. The checked range runs from the Goulburn region of New South Wales north to Proserpine in Queensland.
Weakly venomous
Photo: george_vaughan · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
White-lipped Snake
Drysdalia coronoides
White-lipped Snake is recorded across south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania and New South Wales. It varies from olive-brown and grey to reddish brown or dark grey, with a white stripe on the upper lip and no pale or dark nape band.
Venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Spotted Black Snake
Pseudechis guttatus
A large dangerous black snake with variable dark, pale and broken-crossbanded forms, recorded from New South Wales and Queensland.
Dangerous; the species is venomous
Photo: Bethlea Bell · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Colubridae
Brown Tree Snake
Boiga irregularis
A slender tree snake with a large head, bulbous eyes and vertical pupils. Colour and banding vary across its northern and eastern Australian range, so appearance alone is not a safe approach cue.
Weakly venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 (Licence)
Colubridae
Common Keelback
Tropidonophis mairii
A small non-venomous snake often found around freshwater in northern and eastern Australia. Its grey or olive-brown body commonly carries broken dark bands. It closely resembles the venomous rough-scaled snake, so neither the waterside setting nor rough-looking scales proves an identification.
Non-venomous
Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Colubridae
Green Tree Snake
Dendrelaphis punctulatus
A very slender, agile snake with a long tail, often seen moving through gardens or low branches. Despite the name it may be olive, brown, black or even blue. Green colour is only one possible appearance of this non-venomous species.
Non-venomous
Photo: elawrey · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Spine-bellied Sea Snake
Hydrophis curtus
A marine snake with a greenish or yellowish back crossed by dark bands.
Venomous.
Photo: coenobita · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Acrochordidae
Little File Snake
Acrochordus granulatus
A non-venomous coastal and waterway snake of northern Australia and south-east Asia.
Non-venomous
Photo: garywwilson · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Acrochordidae
Arafura File Snake
Acrochordus arafurae
The Arafura File Snake is an aquatic northern Australian snake with loose skin and a dark, mesh-like pattern. It lives mainly in freshwater streams and billabongs but also enters estuaries and the sea.
Non-venomous in the consulted field-guide source.
Photo: portioid · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Yellow-lipped Sea Krait
Laticauda colubrina
A banded sea krait that occasionally reaches Australia, with a yellow upper lip and a mainly black head.
Venomous
Photo: Rosario Douglas · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Stokes’ Sea Snake
Hydrophis stokesii
A stout sea snake with variable brown to cream colouring; some individuals have dark bands and spots.
Venomous
Photo: george_vaughan · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Elegant Sea Snake
Hydrophis elegans
A banded marine snake recorded around northern Australia, with qualified New South Wales records.
Dangerously venomous
Photo: Tim Robertson · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Yellow-bellied Sea Snake
Hydrophis platurus
Yellow-bellied Sea Snake is a pelagic marine snake recorded across tropical Australian waters and the wider Indian and Pacific oceans. It has a dark upper body, a yellow lower body and a patterned paddle tail.
Venomous
Head and forebody on a rock face; the rear of the snake extends beyond the photograph.
Photo: Caitlin Henderson · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Pythonidae
Oenpelli Python
Nyctophilopython oenpelliensis
A large non-venomous python restricted to western Arnhem Land and the sandstone country around Oenpelli.
Non-venomous
Rough-scaled Python (Morelia carinata) on a branch at Prague Zoo (captive).
Photo: Petr Hamerník / Zoo Praha · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Pythonidae
Rough-scaled Python
Morelia carinata
A large, keeled python of the northern Kimberley, with brown upperparts and paler reticulation in monsoon forest around gorges.
Non-venomous
Photo: Christopher Watson · CC BY-SA 3.0 (Licence)
Pythonidae
Centralian Carpet Python
Morelia bredli
A large non-venomous python of central Australia's rocky ranges and woodlands.
Non-venomous
Photo: Andrew Mercer (www.baldwhiteguy.co.nz) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Pythonidae
Carpet Python
Morelia spilota
A patterned python that can live in woodland, gardens and buildings as well as less disturbed habitats. Brown and cream blotches are common, but some forms have much darker bodies with pale spots. The diamond python is included within this variable species.
Non-venomous
Photo: Connor Margetts · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Pythonidae
Pygmy Python
Antaresia perthensis
The Pygmy Python is a very small Western Australian python with reddish-brown colouring and irregular darker spots. It is associated with rocky scrub and termite mounds in the Pilbara region.
Non-venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Pythonidae
Spotted Python
Antaresia maculosa
A patterned python with ragged-edged blotches and heat pits on the lower labial scales. This species-level record covers the east-coast nominotypical form and the Cape York subspecies Antaresia maculosa peninsularis.
Non-venomous
Photo: Hugo Innes · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Pythonidae
Children’s Python
Antaresia childreni
A non-venomous python whose accepted species concept includes northern and inland Australian forms.
Non-venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Pythonidae
Black-headed Python
Aspidites melanocephalus
A large northern python marked by its sharply contrasting black head.
Non-venomous
Photo: Connor Margetts · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Pythonidae
Woma
Aspidites ramsayi
A large python with a pale yellow- to reddish-brown background and numerous dark bands. Juveniles may show a dark eye patch that often fades with age; the species occupies arid and semi-arid inland Australia.
Non-venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Lowlands Copperhead
Austrelaps superbus
A variable venomous copperhead of lowland south-eastern Australia.
Dangerously venomous
Photo: Ged Tranter · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Rough-scaled Snake
Tropidechis carinatus
A dangerously venomous, strongly keeled snake of wetter habitats in eastern Australia.
Dangerously venomous
Photo: Greg Tasney · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Small-eyed Snake
Cryptophis nigrescens
A glossy black snake of eastern Australia. Its pale to pinkish-red belly can resemble markings on other dark snakes, so colour alone is unreliable.
Highly venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Mulga Snake
Pseudechis australis
A large, variable snake widespread across most of Australia.
Dangerously venomous
Photo: Greg Tasney · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Common Death Adder
Acanthophis antarcticus
A short, heavy-bodied snake with a broad head and a fine tail. Death adders often remain concealed in leaf litter instead of moving away early. Their camouflage and habit of waiting for prey make the shape of the whole animal particularly useful to notice.
Highly venomous
Photo: Danny S. · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Coastal Taipan
Oxyuranus scutellatus
A large snake of northern and north-eastern Australia, often with a pale face and a noticeably narrower neck. Its body may be reddish-brown, dark brown or almost black. Colour alone can easily lead to confusion with brown snakes or mulga snakes.
Highly venomous
Photo: Photo by XLerate · CC BY-SA 3.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Inland Taipan
Oxyuranus microlepidotus
A large brown snake of the remote Channel Country, strongly associated with cracking clay soils. The head is generally darker than the body, which can change noticeably with the season. It is unlikely to be the snake seen in an ordinary coastal backyard.
Highly venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Tiger Snake
Notechis scutatus
Tiger snakes may be banded, faintly marked or completely plain. They are robust snakes associated with many southern wetlands, but also occur in drier habitats. A black snake in Tasmania, or one without stripes, can still be a tiger snake.
Highly venomous
Photo: The original uploader was Figaro at English Wikipedia. · Public domain (Licence)
Elapidae
Red-bellied Black Snake
Pseudechis porphyriacus
A glossy black snake often seen around creeks, wetlands and farm dams in eastern Australia. Red or pink along the lower sides is a useful clue, but it can be hidden by the snake's position and is much paler in some northern animals.
Venomous
Photo: Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark · CC BY 2.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Eastern Brown Snake
Pseudonaja textilis
An Eastern Brown Snake is not always brown. Adults can be tan, orange-brown or nearly black, while young snakes may have striking dark bands. A relatively small head and slender body are more useful clues than the name alone.
Highly venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Marsh Snake
Hemiaspis signata
Marsh Snake is a small east-coast snake with an olive to grey back, dark belly and paired pale facial lines.
Venomous
Photo: Bryce Watts-Parker · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Highlands Copperhead
Austrelaps ramsayi
A venomous snake of moist upland areas in south-eastern Australia. Its back ranges from dark grey to reddish brown, and the lips have contrasting bars.
Dangerously venomous
Photo: Edward Bell · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Homalopsidae
Macleay’s Water Snake
Pseudoferania polylepis
A weakly venomous northern Australian water snake that feeds on fish, frogs and crustaceans.
Weakly venomous; large specimens should be treated with caution
Preserved leaf-scaled sea snake specimen WAM R150365 from Barrow Island. Preserved colours do not represent a living snake reliably.
Photo: Kate L. Sanders, Tina Schroeder, Michael L. Guinea, and Arne R. Rasmussen · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Leaf-scaled Sea Snake
Aipysurus foliosquama
The Leaf-scaled Sea Snake is a rare marine snake recorded from offshore reefs in the Timor Sea and from Shark Bay on the Western Australian coast. A 2025 study describes it as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List and Critically Endangered under Australia's EPBC Act.
Venomous; AROD describes it as dangerously venomous.
Horned Sea Snake (Hydrophis peronii) recorded by a remotely operated vehicle at Ashmore Reef in 2021. The inset shows a closer view of the head. Underwater lighting affects the apparent colour.
Photo: Speed et al. (2022), Frontiers in Marine Science 9:921542, Figure 3H · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Horned Sea Snake
Hydrophis peronii
An Indo-Pacific sea snake with Australian records in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia. It has blunt projections on certain head shields and may be cream to pale brown with bands that fade in older adults.
Venomous
Photo: rcrofts · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Dubois’ Sea Snake
Aipysurus duboisii
Dubois’ Sea Snake, also called the Reef Shallows Sea Snake, is a venomous marine snake recorded from northern Australian waters and nearby Indo-Pacific seas.
Dangerously venomous
Photo: Lawrence Hylton · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Mallee Black-headed Snake
Suta spectabilis
A brown to beige hooded snake of South Australia and adjoining western parts of Victoria and New South Wales.
Venomous
Photo: Lawrence Hylton · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Monk Snake
Suta monachus
A slender hooded snake of inland Western Australia, South Australia and the south-western Northern Territory.
Venomous
Photo: Tyler Anthony · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Pilbara Hooded Snake
Suta gaikhorstorum
A moderately robust venomous snake of the Pilbara, with a reddish body and dark head hood.
Venomous
Photo: Em Lamond · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Short-nosed Snake
Elapognathus minor
A small Western Australian snake with a dark-grey, patternless body and pale neck bars.
Venomous
Photo: Connor Margetts · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Australian Coral Snake
Brachyurophis australis
The Australian Coral Snake is a small shovel-nosed snake with reddish colouring, a dark head and nape and narrow pale bands. It occurs across parts of eastern and southern mainland Australia.
Venomous
Elapidae
Dwarf Sea Snake
Hydrophis caerulescens
A small sea snake confirmed in the Gulf of Carpentaria, with bluish-grey upperparts, a pale underside and broad bands that can fade in older adults.
Highly venomous
Photo: John Barkla · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Blue-banded Sea Krait
Laticauda laticaudata
A blue-grey and black-banded sea krait known from occasional Australian records, with no verified Australian breeding population.
Venomous
Photographed in leaf litter near Mission River, Queensland.
Photo: Lauren Dibben · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Cape-York Shovel-nosed Snake
Brachyurophis campbelli
A small Queensland snake with dark bands across a reddish to orange-brown body.
Venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Grey Snake
Hemiaspis damelii
A plain grey to olive-grey snake associated with floodplains and temporary wetlands in NSW and Queensland. Young snakes have a dark head marking that reduces with age.
Venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Red-naped Snake
Furina diadema
A slender red-brown snake with a black head and nape, pale belly and a red or orange nape patch enclosed by black. Its checked range spans NSW, Queensland, SA, Victoria and the ACT.
Venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Pygmy Copperhead
Austrelaps labialis
Pygmy Copperhead is recorded from Kangaroo Island and adjacent mainland South Australia. It is usually brown to grey, sometimes with a dark dorsal stripe and nape bar, with heavily barred lips.
Dangerously venomous.
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Peninsula Brown Snake
Pseudonaja inframacula
A dangerously venomous snake recorded from South Australia’s Eyre and Yorke peninsulas, nearby islands and the Nullarbor coast.
Dangerously venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
Brown-snouted Blind Snake
Anilios wiedii
A small blind snake recorded in Queensland and New South Wales, with a prominent rounded snout.
Non-venomous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
West Coast Banded Snake
Simoselaps littoralis
A small burrowing snake of coastal Western Australia with contrasting dark body bands.
Venomous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Desert Banded Snake
Simoselaps anomalus
A small burrowing banded snake of the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia.
Venomous
Photo: Rosario Douglas · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Black-headed Sea Snake
Hydrophis atriceps
A dangerously venomous marine snake confirmed in Australian waters around Darwin.
Dangerously venomous.
McDowell’s Sea Snake (Hydrophis macdowelli) preserved museum specimen in a labelled jar.
Photo: A. C. Tatarinov · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
McDowell’s Sea Snake
Hydrophis macdowelli
An Australian sea snake with a small head, compressed rear body and a banded pattern accompanied by rows of spots, recorded in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia.
Highly venomous
Elapidae
Olive Whip Snake
Demansia olivacea
A very slender whipsnake of the Top End and northern Kimberley, with reported facial markings.
Venomous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Southern Shovel-nosed Snake
Brachyurophis semifasciatus
A variable shovel-nosed snake with reddish-brown to orange colouration, a barred head and regular dark bands along the body. AROD mentions Queensland, but the current Reptile Database lists only southern Western Australia and South Australia, so the mapped range is partial.
Venomous
Photographed in the Mount Isa area, Queensland.
Photo: Chris Hay · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Sombre Whip Snake
Demansia quaesitor
The Sombre Whip Snake is a small venomous snake of northern Australia with brown to black colouring, a paler head and a dark nape collar. It occurs in tropical and semi-arid woodland.
Venomous
Photographed in the Mount Isa area, Queensland.
Photo: J.D. Scanlon · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Eastern Pygmy Mulga Snake
Pseudechis pailsei
A dangerously venomous pygmy mulga snake from north-western Queensland, with a head-and-neck pattern and a largely plain body.
Dangerously venomous
Elapidae
Cape York Bandy-bandy
Vermicella parscauda
A venomous bandy-bandy known from the Weipa region of Cape York.
Venomous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
Dark-spined Blind Snake
Anilios bicolor
A relatively stout blind snake recorded across southern Australia.
Non-venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Desert Whip Snake
Demansia cyanochasma
Desert Whip Snake is a venomous central Australian species ranging from southeastern inland Western Australia through South Australia and central/southern Northern Territory to south-western Queensland. It is bluish-grey to brown, with a cream-edged dark line across the snout.
Venomous
Elapidae
Arnhem Shovel-nosed Snake
Brachyurophis morrisi
The Arnhem Shovel-nosed Snake is a small Northern Territory snake from northern Arnhem Land. It has an orange-brown body, a dark nape band and little or no dark cross-banding on the body and tail.
Venomous
Photo: Noah Kirkland · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Plain-nosed Burrowing Snake
Antaioserpens albiceps
Plain-nosed Burrowing Snake is recorded in north-eastern Queensland. It is orange to brown with a dark nape band, head flecks and a reticulated appearance from dark-edged scales.
Venomous
Typhlopidae
Woodland Blind Snake
Anilios proximus
A relatively large blind snake of eastern and southern mainland Australia.
Non-venomous
Collected at Wickham Point, Northern Territory. Black-and-white journal photograph; whether the specimen was live or preserved when photographed is not stated. This image cannot show its living colour.
Photo: T. Parkin · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Arafura Smooth Sea Snake
Parahydrophis mertoni
A little-known venomous sea snake recorded in northern Australian coastal waters, including mangrove estuaries around Darwin.
Venomous
Photo: James K. Douch · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Yellow-faced Whip Snake
Demansia psammophis
Yellow-faced Whip Snake is an eastern Australian species recorded in NSW, QLD, VIC, SA and ACT. It is variable in grey, olive, yellow and brown tones, with a dark facial line and dark-edged scales that can give a reticulated appearance.
Venomous
Elapidae
Australian Beaked Sea Snake
Hydrophis zweifeli
A venomous sea snake recorded from the Gulf of Carpentaria and adjacent northern Australian waters.
Venomous
Photo: Joshua S. Martin · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Masters’ Snake
Drysdalia mastersii
A small venomous snake recorded from South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.
Venomous
Photo: Rod Lowther · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Little Whip Snake
Suta flagellum
A small venomous southern Australian snake also known as the Whip Hooded Snake.
Venomous
Photo: Lawrence Hylton · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Curl Snake
Suta suta
A live-bearing Australian snake with brown to reddish-brown colouring, variable dark-edged scales and a darker head and nape.
Venomous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Northern Death Adder
Acanthophis praelongus
The Northern Death Adder is a short, banded death adder recorded from Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. AROD describes grey, brown or reddish colouring with lighter bands across the body.
Highly venomous; AROD describes long fangs and very toxic venom.
Photo: Alan Bell · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Ingram’s Brown Snake
Pseudonaja ingrami
A large dangerously venomous brown-snake relative of western Queensland and the Barkly.
Dangerously venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Northern Brown Snake
Pseudonaja nuchalis
A dangerously venomous brown snake of tropical northern Australia.
Dangerously venomous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Common Bandy-bandy
Vermicella annulata
A snake with bold black-and-white rings around its body, found across much of eastern and central Australia.
Venomous
Photo: Lachlan Copeland · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Homalopsidae
White-bellied Mangrove Snake
Fordonia leucobalia
A coastal northern Australian water snake with glossy dark upperparts, pale underside and irregular spots.
Probably weakly venomous (rear-fanged)
Elapidae
Intermediate Bandy-bandy
Vermicella intermedia
A black-and-white banded burrowing snake recorded in the Kimberley and northern Northern Territory.
Venomous
Photo: Donna Belder · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Centralian Bandy-bandy
Vermicella vermiformis
Centralian Bandy Bandy is a black-and-white banded burrowing snake recorded in the Northern Territory, including the MacDonnell Ranges west of Alice Springs.
Venomous
Photo: Donna Belder · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Western Crowned Snake
Elapognathus coronatus
A small live-bearing snake of coastal southern and south-western Western Australia.
Venomous
Preserved holotype of Anilios fossor, NTM R14324 (field tag JCR30). Preserved colours do not reliably represent a living snake.
Photo: Glenn M. Shea (2015), Figure 1, Zootaxa 4033(1):103–116; CC BY 3.0. · CC BY 3.0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
Ruby Gap Blind Snake
Anilios fossor
A rarely documented blind snake known from a single Ruby Gap Nature Park specimen. Its rounded snout and terminal tail spine are technical characters for specialists, not cues to inspect a live snake.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Cooloola Blind Snake
Anilios silvia
Cooloola Blind Snake is recorded in south-east Queensland, including Cooloola National Park and K’gari (Fraser Island) records. It is a small striped or black-and-white blind snake.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Yirrkala Blind Snake
Anilios yirrikalae
A blind snake documented from Yirrkala in north-eastern Arnhem Land. Published information is limited and does not establish its full range.
Non-venomous
Photo: Wairambar Rainforest · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
North-eastern Blind Snake
Anilios torresianus
A burrowing blind snake recorded in Queensland. Published size accounts differ: a recent study measured an individual to 64 cm excluding its tail.
Non-venomous
Photo: Ian Dugdale · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Colubridae
Common Wolf Snake
Lycodon capucinus
Common Wolf Snake is an introduced snake recorded on Christmas Island, an Australian external territory. It is dark with scattered pale scales and is often found around buildings.
Non-venomous
Elapidae
Warrego Burrowing Snake
Antaioserpens warro
The Warrego Burrowing Snake is a small Queensland snake with a weakly shovel-shaped snout, dark head markings and a speckled brown body. It is a poorly encountered burrowing species.
Venomous
Photo: Em Lamond · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Shark Bay Sea Snake
Aipysurus pooleorum
The Shark Bay Sea Snake is a marine species centred on Shark Bay and the mid-western Western Australian coast. AROD also records occasional strays as far south as Perth.
Venomous; AROD describes it as dangerously venomous.
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Narrow-banded Shovel-nosed Snake
Brachyurophis fasciolatus
A small burrowing snake with narrow dark bands across a pale body. Red and black flecks occur between the bands.
Venomous
Elapidae
Dunmall's Snake
Furina dunmalli
A dark grey-brown snake of Brigalow and other woodlands in south-eastern Queensland.
Venomous
Typhlopidae
Cape York Blind Snake
Anilios leucoproctus
A small Queensland blind snake with a rounded, projecting snout.
Non-venomous
Elapidae
Mosaic Sea Snake
Aipysurus mosaicus
Mosaic Sea Snake is a northern Australian marine snake with irregular staggered cross-bands, recorded from offshore waters, estuaries and tidal rivers.
Venomous
Typhlopidae
Blunt-snouted Blind Snake
Anilios obtusifrons
A slender blind snake known from the coast between Kalbarri and Gregory in Western Australia.
Non-venomous
Elapidae
Pacific Sea Snake
Hydrophis pacificus
A venomous marine snake recorded from northern Australian waters, with uncertainty surrounding some historical identifications.
Venomous
Photo: Kai Squires · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Colubridae
Northern Tree Snake
Dendrelaphis calligaster
A slender, daytime-active tree snake recorded in Cape York and Torres Strait.
Non-venomous
Elapidae
Dampierland Burrowing Snake
Simoselaps minimus
A Western Australian burrowing snake with a pale-brown back, separate dark head and neck patches, and a cream underside.
Venomous
Typhlopidae
Christmas Island Blind Snake
Ramphotyphlops exocoeti
A non-venomous blind snake found only on Christmas Island, whose surviving wild population remains uncertain.
Non-venomous
Elapidae
Northern Bandy-bandy
Vermicella multifasciata
A slender banded snake of the Northern Territory and Western Australia with more than 75 black bands on the body and tail.
Venomous
Photo: jakeschneider00 · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Colubridae
Slaty-grey Snake
Stegonotus australis
A muscular, nocturnal snake recorded from the Northern Territory and Queensland.
Non-venomous
Elapidae
Pilbara Bandy-bandy
Vermicella snelli
A slender bandy-bandy from parts of northern Western Australia, including the Pilbara.
Venomous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Square-nosed Snake
Rhinoplocephalus bicolor
A small live-bearing snake from south-western Western Australia, often associated with shelter near swamps.
Venomous
Elapidae
Papuan Black Snake
Pseudechis papuanus
A stout, dark snake with Australian records on Boigu and Saibai Islands in the Torres Strait.
Highly venomous
Homalopsidae
Roebuck Bay Mangrove Snake
Myron resetari
A small mangrove snake known from the Broome type locality, with a potentially wider range.
Venom status is not established in the checked species sources.
Elapidae
Black-naped Burrowing Snake
Narophis bimaculatus
A very slender burrowing snake of Western Australia and South Australia.
Venomous
Photo: Jiro Iguchi · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Olive-headed Sea Snake
Hydrophis major
A large, relatively heavy-bodied sea snake of northern Australian waters.
Venomous
Homalopsidae
Richardson’s Mangrove Snake
Myron richardsonii
A small grey-brown mangrove snake with pale flecking, found in coastal and tidal waters of northern Australia and New Guinea. Its Australian range remains unresolved between the checked sources.
Weakly venomous
Elapidae
Donald’s Sea Snake
Hydrophis donaldi
A yellowish-brown sea snake from near Weipa, with numerous brownish bands that narrow toward the sides. The account suggests it may be more widespread than the currently known Queensland locality.
Venomous
Belcher’s Sea Snake (Hydrophis belcheri) photographed reference specimen from Marine Reptiles (2011); specimen condition not documented.
Photo: Rasmussen AR, Murphy JC, Ompi M, Gibbons JW, Uetz P (2011) · CC BY 2.5 (Licence)
Elapidae
Belcher’s Sea Snake
Hydrophis belcheri
A marine snake reported from the Arafura Sea in a 2014 account of Australian sea snakes.
Venomous
Photo: Roman Soroka · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Mustard-bellied Snake
Drysdalia rhodogaster
A small south-eastern snake with a dark head and yellow-orange nape band.
Venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
De Vis’ Banded Snake
Denisonia devisi
A heavily built, banded inland snake with a patchy eastern Australian range.
Venomous
Elapidae
Grey Whip Snake
Demansia simplex
A relatively robust Kimberley whipsnake that is often lightly patterned.
Venomous
Elapidae
Shine’s Whip Snake
Demansia shinei
A venomous whipsnake of northern central Australia.
Venomous.
Elapidae
Narrow-headed Whip Snake
Demansia angusticeps
A small tropical whipsnake of the southern Kimberley and Victoria River region.
Venomous
Elapidae
Pink Snake
Cryptophis incredibilis
A small, slender pink snake currently known from Prince of Wales Island.
Venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Dwarf Crowned Snake
Cacophis krefftii
A tiny crowned snake of eastern Australia with a narrow yellowish collar.
Weakly venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Northern Shovel-nosed Snake
Brachyurophis roperi
A small banded snake recorded across the Kimberley and Top End, with a qualified north-west Queensland record.
Venomous
Photo: Noah Kirkland · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Collared Whip Snake
Demansia torquata
A grey-brown whipsnake with a darker head and a pale-edged band across the neck. The checked range follows eastern Queensland from Cape York to the central coast.
Venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Blacksoil Whip Snake
Demansia rimicola
A brown-grey whipsnake with fine pale and dark lines along its sides. It inhabits cracking-clay country across parts of northern and inland eastern Australia.
Venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Greater Black Whip Snake
Demansia papuensis
A large, slender whipsnake that is dark grey, brown or black above and often becomes redder toward the rear. Its tropical northern range runs from the Kimberley to Cape York and inland Queensland.
Venomous
Photo: Belinda Forbes · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Black-necked Whip Snake
Demansia calodera
A small olive-brown to brown whipsnake with a pale-edged dark collar and obscure spots. The current diagnosis supports Western Australia; AROD also lists NT without a precise locality, so the range remains partial.
Venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Lesser Black Whip Snake
Demansia vestigiata
Lesser Black Whip Snake is recorded from eastern Queensland to the eastern Kimberley in Western Australia, with Northern Territory records. It is dark grey to brown or black above and may become redder toward the rear; the head is often tan.
Venomous
Elapidae
Rufous Whip Snake
Demansia rufescens
Rufous Whip Snake is a Western Australian species of the Pilbara and nearby islands. It is reddish to coppery brown above, with a grey head and neck and no dark nape band.
Venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Black-striped Snake
Cryptophis nigrostriatus
Black-striped Snake is recorded in north-eastern Queensland from Rockhampton to the Torres Strait; southern New Guinea is a separate foreign occurrence. It is slender, reddish-brown to pink above with a dark stripe along the body.
Venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Homalopsidae
Bockadam
Cerberus australis
Bockadam is a northern Australian water snake recorded from coastal Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Revised accounts describe variable grey to red colouration, with plain or partly patterned forms and a possible stripe behind the eye.
Weakly venomous (rear-fanged)
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Northern Dwarf Crowned Snake
Cacophis churchilli
Northern Dwarf Crowned Snake is a Queensland snake of rainforest and adjacent dry forest from Mt Elliot and Magnetic Island to just south of Cooktown. It is dark grey to brown above with a narrow yellow nape band.
Weakly venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Unbanded Shovel-nosed Snake
Brachyurophis incinctus
Unbanded Shovel-nosed Snake is recorded from central Australia north to the Gulf of Carpentaria and across western Queensland. It is orange, pink or brown above, with dark-edged scales and local head and nape bands.
Venomous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
North-western Shovel-nosed Snake
Brachyurophis approximans
North-western Shovel-nosed Snake is recorded in north-western Western Australia, from Port Hedland through the Pilbara and Gascoyne to south of Shark Bay. It has a reddish-brown body with broad dark bands.
Venomous
Typhlopidae
Western Kimberley Blind Snake
Anilios zonula
A small blind snake recorded from Storr and Augustus islands in Western Australia. It has a slender body, blunt snout and no tail spine.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Murchison Blind Snake
Anilios leptosoma
A slender Murchison blind snake from mid-western Western Australia, with an angular snout in profile, a weakly trilobed snout from above and a terminal tail spine.
Non-venomous
Pythonidae
Papuan Spotted Python
Antaresia papuensis
Papuan Spotted Python is recorded from Badu Island and the Torres Strait, Queensland, with nearby New Guinea and West Papua records. It has subdued blotches and small scattered spots.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Sandamara Blind Snake
Anilios troglodytes
Sandamara Blind Snake is recorded in northern Western Australia, including Tunnel Cave in the Napier Range. It is a very slender blind snake with a flat head and white snout.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Small-eyed Blind Snake
Anilios micromma
Small-eyed Blind Snake is recorded in Western Australia, including the Leopold Downs type locality. It is a slender, short-snouted blind snake with very small eyes.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
How’s Blind Snake
Anilios howi
How’s Blind Snake is recorded in Western Australia, including the Walsh Point type locality. It is a dark, moderately slender blind snake with a rounded snout.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Gane’s Blind Snake
Anilios ganei
Gane’s Blind Snake is recorded in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, including Cathedral Gorge near Newman. It is an elongate, moderately stout blind snake with a bluntly rounded snout.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Cape York Striped Blind Snake
Anilios chamodracaena
Cape York Striped Blind Snake is recorded from Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, including records near Aurukun and Weipa. It is a small striped blind snake.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Pilbara Blind Snake
Anilios ammodytes
Pilbara Blind Snake is recorded in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, including the Montebello Islands type locality. It is a small, pale, slender blind snake with a rounded snout.
Non-venomous
Elapidae
Long-tailed Whip Snake
Demansia flagellatio
The Long-tailed Whip Snake is a very slender venomous snake of north-western Queensland. Its bold black-and-yellow head pattern and long tail are described in current specialist accounts.
Venomous
Typhlopidae
Slender Blind Snake
Anilios nema
A slender blind snake known from the Darwin area, with a rounded snout and limited field pattern.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Kimberley Blind Snake
Anilios kimberleyensis
A slender blind snake of the Kimberley and adjacent Northern Territory, with a flat head and rounded snout.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Black-tailed Blind Snake
Anilios guentheri
A slender blind snake with a dark tail, recorded in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Faint-striped Blind Snake
Anilios broomi
A very small blind snake from north-east Queensland, with a possible additional South Australian record needing reconciliation.
Non-venomous
Elapidae
Dusky Sea Snake
Aipysurus fuscus
A dark sea snake associated with a small group of reefs and shoals off north-western Australia. Some previously occupied reefs have had no recent detections in the cited assessment.
Dangerously venomous
Typhlopidae
Yampi Blind Snake
Anilios yampiensis
The Yampi Blind Snake is a tiny, poorly known Western Australian blind snake known from Koolan Island in the north-west Kimberley.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Claw-snouted Blind Snake
Anilios unguirostris
The Claw-snouted Blind Snake is a moderately slender blind snake recorded across northern and central parts of Australia. Its specialist diagnosis refers to a cutting edge at the tip of the snout.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Sharp-snouted Blind Snake
Anilios systenos
The Sharp-snouted Blind Snake is a slender, pale blind snake known from Western Australia around the Geraldton region and Mullewa.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Groote Eylandt Dwarf Blind Snake
Anilios minimus
The Groote Eylandt Dwarf Blind Snake is a small, poorly known blind snake recorded from Groote Eylandt and nearby Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Northern Blind Snake
Anilios diversus
The Northern Blind Snake is a small, pale blind snake recorded from northern Australia, including the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia.
Non-venomous
Browse snake groups
Compare profiles by genus, habitat or other recorded features, then check each snake’s range and identification notes.
- Brown snakes — profiles in Pseudonaja, not every brown-coloured snake.
- Black snakes — profiles in Pseudechis, including mulga snakes.
- Snakes found near water — profiles with recorded creek or wetland habitat.
- Snakes in Australian backyards — profiles with recorded garden habitat.
- Venomous snakes of Australia — profiles recorded as venomous; check individual medical-significance notes.
- Small Australian snakes — ten browsing examples with individual size sources and measurement caveats.