Snakes

The following snakes familes are found in Australia.

Typhlopidae - (Blind Snakes) are small, cylindrical, smooth-scaled, wormlike, burrowing snakes, with blunt heads and short, blunt tails. Australia has around 30 species. Due to their burrowing life style their eyes are vestigial. In addition, they lack enlarged ventral scales as other snakes. Many are specialized on ant or termite pupae, larvae, eggs, and occasionally adults.

 
Ramphotyphlops australis

Bredli python		 Boidae - (Pythons) are non-venomous snakes which kill prey by coiling around it and suffocating it. Australia has 15 species.

 

Colubridae - (Rear-Fanged snakes) may have fangs at the backs of their mouths. Some are non-venomous, some venomous. Australia has 11 species.
Eastern Brown Tree Snake, Boiga irregularis

Red-Bellied Black Snake		 Elapidae - (Front Fanged venomous snakes) inject venom efficiently through fangs at the front of the mouth. Australia has around 75 species, about 20 of which are potentially harmful to humans, though today fatalities are rare.

Acrochordidae - (File Snakes) have rasp-like skin covered with keeled scales and are non-venomous fish-eaters. There are two northern species in Australia.



Yellow-bellied or pelagic sea snake
(Pelamis platurus) 		Hydrophiidae - (Sea Snakes) live in coastal waters. They are paddle-tailed snakes which have venom glands and fangs like those of front-fanged snakes. The tail and part of the body compressed vertically into a large, oarlike swimming device. Most are potentially harmful to humans. Over 30 species frequent Australian waters.

Laticaudidae - (Sea Kraits) are banded, venomous, marine snakes which emerge on land to bask or rest, but feed at sea. Two species may occur near Australia.


Sea krait (Laticauda sp.)

 

 

Monaro Amphibian & Reptile Keepers (MARK)
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