Olive Whip Snake

Identification and appearance

A very slender northern whipsnake, usually grey-brown to brown with little body pattern. Dark facial streaks and a comma-like mark from the eye toward the mouth are reported, but should never be inspected at close range.

Other names

Marble-headed Whip Snake

Typical length

Shea and Scanlon (2007) measured 101 specimens: mean snout–vent length 359.6 mm, maximum 643 mm. These exclude the tail and are not a typical adult total-length range.

Body build

slender

Head appearance

Dark facial streaks and comma-like eye-to-mouth mark

Key identification features

• Very slender grey-brown to brown body
• Dark facial streaks
• Comma-like mark from the eye towards the mouth

Where it is found

The Top End of the Northern Territory and the northern Kimberley of Western Australia.

Reproduction

Egg-laying

Medical significance

The sources checked document venom but do not establish species-specific effects in people. Treat any possible bite as an emergency and call 000.

What to do if you encounter one

Keep your distance and leave the snake a clear route away. Do not handle it, chase it for a photograph or attempt to inspect its mouth. If it is inside a building, keep people and pets clear and contact a qualified local snake catcher.

Taxonomy notes

The 2007 revision restricted this species to the northern Kimberley and the Top End. Older accounts used a broader species concept; their size and clutch figures may combine species now treated separately. The Reptile Database still lists western Queensland, which is not included in the restricted range of the revising paper; that discrepancy remains unresolved here.