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
State guide
Snakes recorded in QLD
Use the identifier with a location clue, then compare the profiles below.
Profiles for this area
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
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.
Typhlopidae
Small-headed Blind Snake
Anilios affinis
A small blind snake recorded in Queensland and New South Wales.
Non-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
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
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
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: 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
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
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
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: 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: 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: 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
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: 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
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: 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: 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: 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: 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
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: 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: 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: 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
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: 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
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)
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
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
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: 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
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
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: 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)
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
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
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: 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
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
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
Papuan Black Snake
Pseudechis papuanus
A stout, dark snake with Australian records on Boigu and Saibai Islands in the Torres Strait.
Highly 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: 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
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: 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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