State guide
Use the identifier with a location clue, then compare the profiles below.
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
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: David Thompson · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
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
Suta dwyeri
A small snake associated with rocky shelter in parts of eastern Australia.
Venomous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
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
Blackish Blind Snake (Anilios nigrescens), photographed dead on a road.
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
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: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Pseudonaja aspidorhyncha
A slender brown snake of inland southern Australia, with variable body banding.
Venomous
Photo: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
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
Photo: george_vaughan · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
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: Tim Robertson · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
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
Photo: Andrew Mercer (www.baldwhiteguy.co.nz) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Pythonidae
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: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Austrelaps superbus
A variable venomous copperhead of lowland south-eastern Australia.
Dangerously venomous
Photo: Greg Tasney · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
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: Greg Tasney · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
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: Max Tibby · CC0 (Licence)
Elapidae
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
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
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: Bryce Watts-Parker · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
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: Lawrence Hylton · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Suta spectabilis
A brown to beige hooded snake of South Australia and adjoining western parts of Victoria and New South Wales.
Venomous
Photo: Connor Margetts · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
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
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
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: dhfischer · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Typhlopidae
Anilios bicolor
A relatively stout blind snake recorded across southern Australia.
Non-venomous
Typhlopidae
Anilios proximus
A relatively large blind snake of eastern and southern mainland Australia.
Non-venomous
Photo: James K. Douch · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
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
Photo: Joshua S. Martin · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Drysdalia mastersii
A small venomous snake recorded from South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.
Venomous
Photo: Rod Lowther · CC BY 4.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
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
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
Vermicella annulata
A snake with bold black-and-white rings around its body, found across much of eastern and central Australia.
Venomous
Photo: Max Tibby · CC0 1.0 (Licence)
Elapidae
Denisonia devisi
A heavily built, banded inland snake with a patchy eastern Australian range.
Venomous
