# Aussie Elapids



## moloch05 (Jan 4, 2010)

A guy on another forum made these disparaging remarks about our elapids. 

His comment was:


> Just the other day I told a visiting Australian what a pity it is that most of the snakes in Oz, while certainly very interesting, are also quite drab-colored and (dare I say it?) boring to look at.




I decided to reply and thought that some of you would enjoy these pics as well. I am sure that you will agree that we have plenty of brilliantly coloured snakes that are various shades of olive, brown and grey. Actually, we do have a few beauties but I suppose that most of our elapids tend to be more subtly coloured and more refined than their ostentatious cousins in the New World.


Northern Death Adder (_Acanthophis praelongus_): Cooktown, QLD. These are interesting little snakes that will flatten themselves when alarmed. They normally hide within leaf litter and then use their brightly coloured tail tips as a lure to try and attract small animals.















Desert Death Adder (_Acanthophis pyrrhus_): Great Sandy Desert, WA.










Pilbara Death Adder (_Acanthophis wellsi_): North West Cape, WA. A recently described species with a tiny range in the Pilbara and also at North West Cape, WA.











Highland Copperhead (_Austrelaps ramsayi_): I found this in the southern highlands near Wollongong. They have a great display and will elevate the head and flatten their necks when alarmed.











Australian Coral Snake (_Brachyurophis australis_): Windorah, Qld and Fowler's Gap, NSW. Reptile egg specialist.


















Northwestern Shovel-nosed Snake (_Brachyurophis approximans_): North West Cape. Reptile egg specialist.











Unbanded Shovel-nosed Snake (_Brachyurophis incinctus_): Windorah, QLD. Reptile egg specialist.










Southern Shovel-nosed Snake (_Brachyurophis semifasciatus_): Kalbarri, WA and Kimba, SA. Reptile egg specialist.

















Golden-crowned Snake (_Cacophis squamulosus_): Wollongong, NSW. These are one of my favourites due to their ferocious bluffs. I sometimes see them in my yard here in the suburbs but they are more common on warm humid nights up in the hills.





















White-crowned Snake (_Cacophis harriettae_): Mt. Glorious, QLD.

















Northern Dwarf Crowned Snake (_Cacophis churchilli_): Bartle Frere, QLD. This one was quite amusing. It lifted and would strike ... but usually the wrong direction away from me. 











Eastern Small-eyed Snake (_Cryptophis nigrescens_): Wollongong, NSW, Mt. Glorious, QLD. These snakes usually seem placid by day but are much more active and defensive at night. They tend to move with quick bursts of speed and can change position in an instant.

























Carpentaria Snake (_Cryptophis boschmai_): Chillagoe, QLD.










Yellow-faced Whipsnake (_Demansia psammophis_): Dharawal and Nowra, NSW.

















Collared Whipsnake (_Demansia torquata_): Jourama Falls, QLD.










De Vis' Banded Snake (_Denisonia devisi_): Brigalow, QLD and Brewarrina, NSW.










White-lipped Snake (_Drysdalia coronoides_): Mt. Wellington and Mt. Field, TAS.

















Mustard-bellied Snake (_Drysdalia rhodogaster_): Wollongong, NSW.


















Bardick (_Echiopsis curta_): southwestern WA.


















Western Crowned Snake (_Elapognathus coronatus_): southwestern WA.










Brown-headed Snake (_Furina tristis_): Iron Range, QLD. One of the largest members of _Furina_. It initially thrashed about on the road and was difficult to approach for photos.










Red-naped Snake (_Furina diadema_): NSW and QLD. I like the display of these snakes. They slowly elevate the head and neck while slowing flicking their tongues.

















Orange-naped Snake (_Furina ornata_): North West Cape, WA. These are similar to the Red-naped Snakes but are larger and found in the northern half of Australia.









Marsh Snake (_Hemiaspis signata_): NSW and QLD.

















Stephen's Banded Snake (Hoplocephalus stephensii): Mt. Glorious, QLD. Although not brightly coloured, they have an interesting pattern and great display. 

















Broad-headed Snake (_Hoplocephalus bungaroides_): I unfortunately did not see this snake. The photo was taken by a friend while a group of us were backpacking in mountains on the south coast of NSW. The snake was sliding down a boulder during a cool, autumn day.










Tiger Snake (_Notechis scutatus_): Wollongong, NSW. Final shot was of an snake from Margaret River, WA.
























Fierce Snake (_Oxyuranus microlepidotus_): Windorah, Qld. This would still be one of the highlights from all of my herping trips. It is a special species and lives in such a harsh, bleak habitat.










Dwyer's Snake (_Parasuta dwyeri_): Qld and NSW.










Ringed Brown Snake (_Pseudonaja modesta_): Shark Bay, WA and Gundabooka, NSW.










Speckled Brown Snake (_Pseudonaja guttata_): Windorah, QLD. Quite a different threat display to Eastern Brown Snakes. These flattened their necks and slowly swayed from side to side.










Eastern Brown Snake (_Pseudonaja textilis_): Dharawal and Royal NP, NSW.










Gwardar (_Pseudonaja nuchalis_): Geraldton and Goldfields, WA. Both are DOR. I have seen live animals on the road at night but they are fast and highly defensive snakes that are difficult to safely photograph.











Mulga Snake (_Pseudechis australis_): Cape York, Windorah, WLD and Karijini, WA.

















Red-bellied Blacksnake (_Pseudechis porphyriacus_): All of these photos are of snakes from NSW.

















Spotted Blacksnake (_Pseudechis guttatus_): Warrumbungles, NSW.










Square-nosed Snake (_Rhinoplocephalus bicolor_): southwestern WA.










Jan's Banded Snake (_Simoselaps bertholdi_): Kimba, SA.

















West Coast Banded Snake (_Simoselaps littoralis_): Shark Bay, WA.










Desert Banded Snake (_Simoselaps anomalus_): Great Sandy Desert, WA.










Rosen's Snake (_Suta fasciata_): Karijini and Goldfields, WA.










Curl Snake (_Suta suta_): NSW and QLD.

















Rough-scaled Snake (_Tropidechis carinatus_): Mt. Glorious and Atherton Tablelands (final pic), QLD.

















Bandy Bandy (_Vermicella annulata_): NSW and QLD. These snakes have one of the most amazing displays. They will form stiff coils and then drop to the ground and crawl quickly before again forming the coils.




















Regards,
David


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## chickensnake (Jan 4, 2010)

Man those are some brilliant coloured elapids, they are awesome!!!


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## dtulip10 (Jan 4, 2010)

cracken pics and good come back to oversea mutant lover


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## KRONYK94 (Jan 4, 2010)

they are some beautiful snakes man great pics


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## Sdaji (Jan 4, 2010)

Spectacular post, wow. I love the WA Bardick! I have never seen one in the flesh and they look very different from ours from the east.

You simply can't deny though, that one the whole, the snakes from over there, including the typical wild specimens, tend to be much more brilliantly coloured than ours. The very first snake I ever found in the northern hemisphere (in Florida) was bright blood red, jet black and pure white, in bands (imagine adding vivid blood red bands to a Bandy Bandy). I wasn't targetting that species, I just hired a car, asked a local where I might see some snakes, was pointed towards a wet area, went for a drive, and that's the first thing I happened to find. The next thing I found was a bright orange Corn Snake marked in black and yellow. We have some spectacular snakes as you've shown, but when it comes to colour, we are the underdogs overall.


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## Elapidae1 (Jan 4, 2010)

Awesome pics thanks a heap. Excuse my ignorance but what does DOR mean.


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## slither (Jan 4, 2010)

awesome pics man thanks for sharing our snakes truely are amazing


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## Snake Catcher Victoria (Jan 4, 2010)

steve1 said:


> Awesome pics thanks a heap. Excuse my ignorance but what does DOR mean.


DOR = dead on road
I like the subtle colours of our snakes.
Those fancy bright ones from abroad are of course going to get the most attention.
Fantastic set of pics david, thanks.


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## Elapidae1 (Jan 4, 2010)

Is the Western Crowned snake Elapognathus Coronatus the same as the Crowned snake Drysdalia Coronata.


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## serpenttongue (Jan 4, 2010)

Moloch, no Colletts Snake?


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## Asharee133 (Jan 4, 2010)

oh my god!! that desert banded snake is so cute!!!!!! though if thats against asphalt its tiny


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## Duke (Jan 4, 2010)

You have to admit, if you scroll down this page quickly, all you see is brown 
I do agree that our elapids are quite dull, and probably even more boring to look at while in captivity.


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## Sock Puppet (Jan 4, 2010)

Great pics Moloch, love the Broad Headed, one of my holy grails to find for sure.
Those banded snakes are fantastic too!


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## waruikazi (Jan 4, 2010)

I think elapids in general are pretty dull, drab and patternless. Vipers is where the colour and pattern is at.


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## cement (Jan 4, 2010)

Nothing wrong with the simoselaps species when it comes to colour.
They (New worldies), may have the colour but we have the venom! Lol!


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## moloch05 (Jan 4, 2010)

Thanks, all.

Sdaji,
The Bardicks were common in the southwest corner of WA. I saw 8 one cool, windy evening along a road through heathland. Conditions did not seem good but the snakes were still active. 


Steve,
_Drysdalia coronoides_ is different. In the guides that I use, _Drysdalia coronoides_ is known as White-lipped Snake (included in my pics).


serpenttongue,
Colletts is a difficult one. I visited its habitat earlier this year but I think that there would be a better chance of seeing one now during the wet.


Asharee,
The Desert Banded Snake was beautiful and small. It also would not stop moving. This was one of my first snake photos and I had lots to learn about the camera and the subjects. I photographed this one on the road since it could vanish in an instant when it reached the sand.

Thanks, chickensnake, dtulip, kronky, slither, Baz, Duke, Tonsky, waruikazi and cement.


I tend to think of our drab elapids as more interesting than the brightly coloured Corals. There is no need for wussy warning colours here in Australia. Also, no need for the "deceitful" species that claim they are something that they aren't. ;-)

Seriously, though, I do admire the vivid colour and pattern of _Micrurus_ and hope to see and photograph some of these (and pit vipers, waruikazi) a little later this summer.


Regards,
David


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## Elapidae1 (Jan 4, 2010)

my guide has the crowned snake ( not western crowned snake) listed as belonging to the Genus Drysdalia i can not find a western crowned snake in my guides is it possible that it has been moved from one genus to the next, your picture of the western crowned snake looks near identical to the picture in my guide including the white lip. It amazes me the similarities between some of our snakes and although not the most colourful i think they are far from drab. Your pics are awesome


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## Mr.James (Jan 4, 2010)

Great elapid photos! Love the golden-crowneds. Anyone keeping/breeding these pm me. 

Cheers
Jimmy


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## waruikazi (Jan 4, 2010)

steve1 said:


> my guide has the crowned snake ( not western crowned snake) listed as belonging to the Genus Drysdalia i can not find a western crowned snake in my guides is it possible that it has been moved from one genus to the next, your picture of the western crowned snake looks near identical to the picture in my guide including the white lip. It amazes me the similarities between some of our snakes and although not the most colourful i think they are far from drab. Your pics are awesome



I'd say your feild guide is out of date. Which one do you use? A copy of the latest Wilson and Swan is pretty handy and comprehensive.


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## Mr.James (Jan 4, 2010)

Which elapids are mostly day active?


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## moloch05 (Jan 4, 2010)

Hello Steve,

I just looked at one of my old books, "Snakes and Lizards of Australia" by Gow and Swanson. In there, they do include a Western Crowned Snake and list it as Drysdalia coronata. I guess that someone must have split these at a latter date. I a surprised that they were ever combined since the head shape is quite different. The head of the Western Crowned Snake is very flat and I assume that it must be a burrower.

Sdaji,
I enjoyed your recent Bardick post. Those in the west live in different habitat to where you see them in Vic. I found them to be the most common in this coastal heath:






... but also saw one in dry heathland:






Regards,
David


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## Omgitschris (Jan 4, 2010)

amazing variety of aussie eplapids, love the last bandy bandy shot, australia does have some bland elapids, but we have a few colourful ones with unique displays that adds up for that stuff. and ours are deadlier than any of theirs


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## moloch05 (Jan 4, 2010)

Hello Jimmy,

"Which elapids are mostly day active?"

Red-bellied Black Snakes, the various Brown Snakes, Mulga, Marsh Snakes, White-lipped Snake, Tiger Snake, Copperheads, Whipsnakes and Taipans are all diurnal. Some of these will shift to nocturnal activity during hot weather.


Regards,
David


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## sarah_m (Jan 4, 2010)

Did you get any replies to your post in America?


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## Sdaji (Jan 4, 2010)

How would you describe the differences between eastern and western Bardick habitat? I have never seen them in coastal areas, but is the coastal heath where you found them to be common much different from dry/inland heath, other than being near the ocean?

I'm glad you enjoyed my Bardick thread, but wow, you have made countless posts which put any of my field threads to shame! I am in awe of how much field herping you manage to get done, and that you put so much of it into enjoyable threads. Wow!


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## Elapidae1 (Jan 4, 2010)

Thanks for your time moloch05. So they are a seperate species ?


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## eipper (Jan 4, 2010)

Steve,

They are not only separate species but also in separate genera

Cheers,
Scott


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## Elapidae1 (Jan 4, 2010)

eipper said:


> Steve,
> 
> They are not only separate species but also in separate genera
> 
> ...



Thanks


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## kensai (Jan 4, 2010)

Death Adders can be a lot more colourful than that specimen, also a good Colletts is a stunning animal.
I dont think a comment like they are colourless and boring could escape without a suitable reply, the originator doesn't know ******* from clay


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## Poggle (Jan 4, 2010)

Great pictures, not many have pics of the white lipped whip snake... one of my fav snakes


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## Sdaji (Jan 4, 2010)

Poggle said:


> Great pictures, not many have pics of the white lipped whip snake... one of my fav snakes



Everyone from Tasmania has about a million pictures of them  Those of us from the mainland see less of them though. I have only seen about five. They're one of my favourite snakes too


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## redbellybite (Jan 4, 2010)

YOUR PICS ARE FANTASTIC ...loved this thread  glad ya stuck it to them ....


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## moloch05 (Jan 5, 2010)

Thanks, everyone.

Jordan, Stewart and Henry all kindly added many more pics to my post on FieldHerpForum. We collectively have photos of a pretty good chunk of the elapids. To see this, click on the following link: 
FieldHerpForum &bull; View topic - Aussie Elapids (many more pics added)


Sdaji,
I always thought that Bardicks in Victoria lived in mallee/spinifex country. Your comment about heath makes me think that I had it wrong.


kesai,
I would love to see a colourful Colletts in the wild. I think that they must be hard to see due to their distant (to me) habitat and their secretive behaviour. I cannot recall seeing anyone's photos of wild animals. I wonder if any of the forum participants have encountered these?


Regards,
David


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## Sock Puppet (Jan 5, 2010)

Thanks for that last link David (he says while adding to "Favourites" list). You can almost feel the envy from those o/s posters. Excellent pics added to original thread.


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## Sdaji (Jan 5, 2010)

David,

right, I see what you're getting at now. Yes, you get them in mallee/spinifex country in Victoria, but also n heathland. Most of the ones I have seen have been from mallee communities, and most often not too far from spinifex. Maybe they are a bit more generalised in habitat preference over here because we have a lower elapid diversity, leaving more open niches for them to utilise. Interesting observation.


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## Serpentes (Jan 5, 2010)

Fantastic, Moloch!


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## ozzieimages (Jan 5, 2010)

Awesome photos there David, you have been a buisy boy..

Baz


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## borntobnude (Jan 7, 2010)

i guess that the americans are looking for some nice blue snakes with purple stripes . they are just jeleaous that they dont have the platypus


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## varanid_mike (Jan 7, 2010)

The bardicks I have found in vic and other states in the past have been in spinifex, interesting point though sadji
love the pics Steve


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## ShnakeyGirl (Jan 7, 2010)

Amazing photos, I much prefer our subtle elapids than those of overseas. It was lovely to see some Inland Taipan pictures, I've always had a soft spot for them


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## moloch05 (Jan 12, 2010)

Thanks for the reply and the info, everyone.

ShnakeyGirl,
Here are a few more pics of the Fierce Snake and its habitat. I had a close call with it while I was taking these photos. The snake was basking on the shoulder of the road one morning. When I stopped the car, it reared, turned and began to race off towards the cracking clay. I jumped out and ran in front of it to a better position with better light and then took a few photos. 







It soon found a crack and began to plunge in. Notice the shrub between me and the snake. It turned out to be very important to me.






I thought that the snake would disappear so moved closer to take a final shot of the tail as it dropped into the crack:






What I did not realize was that the crack was not deep or was blocked. The snake had made a U-turn and it suddenly exploded out of the ground. I suppose that it was frightened and annoyed by my presence. It flung itself up onto the shrub and very nearly reached my legs before I could react and jump out of the way. After that, it turned and crawled on to another crack where it stopped, whirled around to see where I was and then finally vanished from view.











This is the incredibly bleak and hostile habitat where it lived in the southwest corner of Queensland:






Regards,
David


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## Costa (Jan 12, 2010)

love that redbelly


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## SnakeyTroy (Apr 8, 2010)

Nice snakes man. you have found alot of snakes. Keep up the good work.


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## thals (Apr 8, 2010)

Amazing pics of some amazing snakes there Dave! Inland tais & bandy bandys sure do put on some great displays.


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## blakehose (Apr 8, 2010)

That Bardick is a stunner!


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## AUSHERP (Jun 4, 2010)

wicked collection of pics man! the corals are nice, the red nape looks alot like a ringed brown i encountered (without the rings) would love to tee up a photo trip somewhere.... we have plenty of awesomely coloured snakes, you just need to know which rock to turn and where!


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## jamesn48 (Jun 30, 2010)

Although the americans have more brightly coloured snakes, they are all colubrids with similar ecology, while in australia our elapids have diversified to fill various niches usually filled by colubrids. Also Demansia flagellatio must be among the most colourful snakes in the world.


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## daniel1234 (Jun 30, 2010)

Awsome pics, dull or not I am still loving them. Really if all you look at is colour then you may as well buy a rubber one.


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## Sigourd (Jul 1, 2010)

Aussie elapids are among the deadliest in the world, and this twit said they were boring because of their colour????? What are we flower arrangers :shock:


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## moloch05 (Jul 1, 2010)

I do really love our Aussie elapids. It is interesting to see how they have taken on the roles assumed by colubrids elsewhere in the world.

I suppose, though, that we don't have many species with bright colours like the following. I found this gorgeous creature (DOR) in the mountains of Malaysia not far from Kuala Lumpur. I will post more photos in a separate thread.

Malay Blue Coral Snake






Regards,
David


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## Sigourd (Jul 12, 2010)

That is pretty!


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## voodoo (Jul 12, 2010)

Absaloutly Awesome!!!


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## Jackson (Aug 25, 2010)

Lets not forget the Colletts


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## SnakeyTroy (Nov 13, 2010)

The thing is at first glance looking at many Aussie Elapids you will see mostly brown but that is as I said only at first glance. If you take a moment to look deeper you will see diferent shades of brown, brick red, orange, yellow, black, green, blue and many other colours. It's just a matter of taking the time to appreciate the variety and diversity in all our magnificent and spectacular Elapids. not only colours but when youbegin to look you can appreciate the diferences in scalation between snake species. such as that of the Highlands Copperhead (Austrelaps ramsayi) with their rather large scales and the Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis) with the cool flecks of light colouration between their scales. You simply can't deny their beauty once you have taken the time to look.


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## AllThingsReptile (Nov 13, 2010)

serpenttongue said:


> Moloch, no Colletts Snake?


 +1
also no: Mengdens Brown Snake and personally i think coastal taipans have good colouring aswell


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## AllThingsReptile (Nov 13, 2010)

moloch05 said:


> I do really love our Aussie elapids. It is interesting to see how they have taken on the roles assumed by colubrids elsewhere in the world.
> 
> I suppose, though, that we don't have many species with bright colours like the following. I found this gorgeous creature (DOR) in the mountains of Malaysia not far from Kuala Lumpur. I will post more photos in a separate thread.
> 
> ...


:shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock: *jaw drops*


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## Gusbus (Nov 13, 2010)

very interesting stuff mate


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## Nephrurus (Nov 17, 2010)

_Simoselaps bertholdi_





_Neelaps calonotus_





_Brachyurophis semifasciatus_





_Parasuta monarchus_





_Parasuta gouldi_





_Demansia (psammophis) reticulata_





Bardick _Echiopis curta_





Dugite _Pseudonaja affinis_


All from WA in the last couple of months. 

-H


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## Wild~Touch (Nov 17, 2010)

Just love your work, thank you for sharing
Cheers
Sandee


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## Stefan (Nov 17, 2010)

WOW! Henry, I really love the Demansia and Echiopsis!!!


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## spiderdan (Nov 17, 2010)

Grate pics mate and well done with the Fierce Snake they too can have an awesome colour to them. Would love to see one in the wild and get some pics like that well done again.


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## spiderdan (Nov 17, 2010)

Some pics of the westerns I have reloacted. You cann't say there isn't nice colours there.


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## bally (Nov 17, 2010)

gorgeous westerns


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## moloch05 (Nov 19, 2010)

Lovely shots, Henry and Spiderdan. Someday, I would like to try for the little Neelaps calonotus.

Regards,
David


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## 1issie (Nov 30, 2010)

Hi david,nice shots of those elapids!!!


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## Jackson (Sep 9, 2011)

A recent capture of Western Brown within camp & release away from residents. The photos are a bit blurry as they were taken by the German chef & I think he was a bit nervy? His first Aussie snake and he nearly step on it! LOL
View attachment 217088
View attachment 217089


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## fantapants (Mar 31, 2012)

WOW, few years of work right there i would imagine, the inland tiapan is one impressive snake, not to many people see them in the wild! that said i have a soft spot for our red bellies my favourite for sure


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## reptalica (Apr 1, 2012)

SnakeyTroy said:


> The thing is at first glance looking at many Aussie Elapids you will see mostly brown but that is as I said only at first glance. If you take a moment to look deeper you will see diferent shades of brown, brick red, orange, yellow, black, green, blue and many other colours. It's just a matter of taking the time to appreciate the variety and diversity in all our magnificent and spectacular Elapids. not only colours but when youbegin to look you can appreciate the diferences in scalation between snake species. such as that of the Highlands Copperhead (Austrelaps ramsayi) with their rather large scales and the Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis) with the cool flecks of light colouration between their scales. You simply can't deny their beauty once you have taken the time to look.



Or if u get *close enough to look. *

Having just read the entire thread what a brilliant education exercise for some of us who are less able to identify different types and species of snakes to others, in particular these elapids. 

Who needs to go out and buy books and the like when u have this forum.

If I can ask how close would you have got to these to take the snaps or was it merely a case of every one on their merits??


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