THE SNAKE JOURNAL
Compare visible clues, understand look-alikes and learn what a photograph or shed skin can tell you.
Photo by XLerate / CC BY-SA 3.0 / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fierce_Snake-Oxyuranus_microlepidotus.jpg; resized and converted to WebP.
Identification
No. The rule “round pupils mean harmless, slit pupils mean venomous” fails for Australian snakes. Pupil shape is a feature used in descriptions of…
Read the guide : Can pupil shape tell you whether a snake is venomous?
Edward Bell / CC BY 4.0 / https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/35774069; resized and converted to WebP.
Identification
Some young snakes change colour or lose conspicuous markings as they grow. An adult photograph may therefore be a poor match for a juvenile…
Read the guide : Why young snakes can look different from adults
Original diagram: Snake Identifier. Concept checklist, not an identification key. Do not approach to inspect these features.
Identification
A long reptile without obvious legs is not necessarily a snake. Australia has legless lizards, including the flap-footed lizards described by Queensland Museum. Some…
Read the guide : Snake or legless lizard? Clues and their limits
Andrew Mercer (www.baldwhiteguy.co.nz) / CC BY-SA 4.0 / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carpet_Python_-_AndrewMercer_IMG22422.jpg; resized and converted to WebP.
Identification
A shed skin can sometimes be identified, but a casual photograph or its colour may not be enough. Specialists can use preserved scale arrangements…
Read the guide : Can you identify a snake from its shed skin?
Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark / CC BY 2.0 / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pseudonaja_textilis_(6310020307).jpg; resized and converted to WebP.
Identification
A clear photograph can help identify an Australian snake, but it may only support a shortlist. Send the location with the image and keep…
Read the guide : How to use a photo to identify an Australian snake
Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark / CC BY 2.0 / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pseudonaja_textilis_(6310020307).jpg; resized and converted to WebP.
Identification
A black snake is not automatically a red-bellied black snake. Several Australian snakes can appear dark or almost black. A visible red flank may…
Andrew Mercer (www.baldwhiteguy.co.nz) / CC BY-SA 4.0 / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carpet_Python_-_AndrewMercer_IMG22422.jpg; resized and converted to WebP.
Identification
A brown-coloured snake is not necessarily an eastern brown snake, and an eastern brown snake is not always brown. Start with the location, then…
Read the guide : Is it an eastern brown snake? Useful clues and lookalikes
