Identify this snake?

[aza9999]

This was found in the NT outside of darwin. Some said it was a keelback, others a brown. Can anyone confirm for me please?

 

[monitordude]

keelback

 

[aza9999]

thanks, thats what i believed, as we have had a few in the area recently all from the same clutch, but had a couple people who were sure it was a brown

 

[fauce]

shape of head says keelback.

 

[snakeluvver]

Looks nothing a brown, wrong area for a roughie so definately a keelback.

 

[Jazzz]

keelbacks have a smile =] thats how i tell if your not sure if its a brown or keelback

 

[aza9999]

just had a reply from John Woodland from whatsnakeisthat.com.au saying that he believes it is a juvenile brown tree snake.

Looking on wikipedia it showed a picture of one in a "classic s-pose"

This was the posture the snake was assuming when we found it, and it was striking aggressively, so could that be correct?

 

[Boidae]

I love how its always a Keelback

 

[souldoubt]

Those big bulging eyes make it look much like a colubrid, a more reliable feature to distinguish between colubrids and elapids is the presence of a loreal scale in colubrids. Judging by that photo I think Keelback or Brown tree snake but I couldn't say which one with 100% certainty.
It's also important to understand that most snakes, especially young ones will give a threatening pose when they feel that a threat is present - so the defensive pose wont give you a definitive species ID

 

[Echiopsis]

Anyone who thinks thats a Boiga was either born legally blind or was dropped on their head as a child. Like wise for any that think its a brown of any description.....

 

[Khagan]

"Mate, that's definitely a keelback."

 

[souldoubt]

"Mate, that's definitely a keelback."

I believe that was said about a coastal taipan wasn't it?
What ever highly venomous species it was that was "definitely a keelback" made me laugh (due to the dramatic difference in venom yield/toxicity, of course) good times

 

[Bluetongue1]

The head is very much wider and clearly distinct from the neck. Therefore it is not a Brown Snake.

As best I can tell, given the limitations of the photo: 1) The rounded posterior edge of the parietals plus the regular, size and shape of the mid-dorsal post-parietals are more characteristic of the Keelback, compared to the straight and angular posterior edge of the parietals in the BTS and their enlarged and often irregular mid-dorsal post-parietal scales. 2) The unknown snake does not seem to have elliptical pupils – a diagnostic difference with BTS.

The body is rounded in cross-section whereas the body of the BTS is laterally compressed. BTS are very light brown to cream or white base colour with dark red bands. It is not a BTS.

It has shape, body proportions, dorsal scale types and scale shapes plus the dorsal colouration of a keelback. I am not aware of a similar taxon occurring in the Darwin region.

Blue

 

[aza9999]

This pic shows the head and eyes a little better. I wasn't able to get real good shots of this one as it was being a lot more aggressive than the previous ones.

 

[snakeluvver]

This pic shows the head and eyes a little better. I wasn't able to get real good shots of this one as it was being a lot more aggressive than the previous ones.

That is DEFINATELY a keelback. Brown trees have broader heads.

 

[souldoubt]

As Blue said earlier ( he must have amazing eye sight to see it in the first pic) that snake does not have elliptical pupils so it's not a Brown tree snake. As most others said Keelback it is.

 

[fauce]

it worries me that a website where the main function is identifying snakes can get a simple ID so wrong. how can you call your website whatsnakeisthat.com.au if you dont know the difference between a keelback and a BTS.