# ID this snake please



## silent36 (Feb 15, 2013)

Found this little fella around my garden hose so i took some pictures and am pretty keen to find out what he/she is cheers

The underbelly seems to be greenish from what i can make out though im not touching it incase

UPDATE : Here are some better photos for ID


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## AusReptiles88 (Feb 15, 2013)

not sure, but might be a juv green tree snake, still, id wait for proffessional advice


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## lochie (Feb 15, 2013)

I'm sure you would get better results if this was in the forum section for this exact purpose.
maybe close and make a new thread or get this one move (Y)


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## reb01 (Feb 15, 2013)

Looks like a green tree snake.but with crappy photos its hard to correctly ID


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## thomasssss (Feb 15, 2013)

id go with the others and say tree snake , i base this on the head shape , but please do not take this as anything even remotely close to a positive id as i am pretty new to elapids and colubrids and it could very well be something else ( so treat it as a dangerous elapid )but the big eyes and head shape makes me think tree snake


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## Tiliqua (Feb 15, 2013)

Green Tree Snake, _Dendrelaphis punctulata_


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## Mitella (Feb 15, 2013)

either a common tree snake or a northern tree snake(judging by the stripe below the loreal in 2nd pic)


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## GeckoJosh (Feb 15, 2013)

It is a _Dendrelaphis _without a doubt, the head shape, large eyes, bright yellow underside of the head/throat area and very long, skinny body are all tell tale signs.
I cannot tell whether it is _calligastra or __ punctulata _as I do not know how to tell them apart with what I can see in the photo, if anyone could explain the differences (if any are visible) I would really appreciate it. Also if the Op could state the location it was found?

On a side not, if it had been a dangerous elapid species I wouldnt have trusted rubber gloves to stop the fangs, even with small snake.

Cheers Josh


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## phatty (Feb 15, 2013)

GeckoJosh said:


> .
> On a side not, if it had been a dangerous elapid species I wouldnt have trusted rubber gloves to stop the fangs, even with small snake.


agree if in doubt dont touch


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## lizardjasper (Feb 15, 2013)

definitely a juvie common tree snake.


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## -Peter (Feb 15, 2013)

calligastra has a dark streak running from the eye along the neck. I cant see from the pic if its there or not.


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## GeckoJosh (Feb 15, 2013)

-Peter said:


> calligastra has a dark streak running from the eye along the neck. I cant see from the pic if its there or not.



Yeah thanks for that, I was aware of that distinguishing feature but also I could not make out if it was there or not. I was kinda hoping there was another way to tell


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## Barrett (Feb 16, 2013)

That is one cute little common tree snake.


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## Bluetongue1 (Feb 18, 2013)

The distance between the snout and the anterior edge of the snout is about twice the diameter of the eye in _D. puncutlata_. D. _calligastra_ has a relatively larger eye than _D. punctulata_ and the same distance is much less than twice the diameter of the eye. 

The sharp demarcation between the upper labials and lower neck and the colour of the upper head and neck, is more characteristic of _D. calligastra_, even though the dark colouration and photos do not allow a dark streak from snout through eye to body to be clearly discerned i.e. it could well be there.

The snake looks to around 25 cm in length and very thin. So it is a young snake with proportionately larger eyes. Taking this into account I would say it is 90% + likely to be _D. calligastra_. The location should therefore be somewhere from Townsville north. 

Blue


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## GeckoJosh (Feb 18, 2013)

Thanks for that Blue, I am grateful to have a way to tell them apart other than the facial markings


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## Bluetongue1 (Feb 28, 2013)

I checked with the OP and the snake was from the Hervey Bay area. Which clearly indicates it is _D. punctulata_ and my ID is wrong.

I checked the measurements I made of eye diameter and anterior edge of eye to snout distance and they were correct. I also discovered, with appropriate magnification, I could superimpose the head of the captured snake on the head of a _D. calligastra_ photographed at the same angle and they were effectively identical – eye size, the lot. 

At around 25 cm in length, the snake was obviously not long out of the egg, which would also account for the very thin body. The eyes of young animals do not grow as much as most other body organs. Look at the relative eye size of Common Brown Snake hatchlings in comparison to those of a 2 m adult. 

Bottom line: The criteria I used for distinguishing between the two Dendrelaphis only safely applies to full grown specimens. Sorry about that *GeckoJosh*.

Blue


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## andynic07 (Feb 28, 2013)

Bluetongue1 said:


> I checked with the OP and the snake was from the Hervey Bay area. Which clearly indicates it is _D. punctulata_ and my ID is wrong.
> 
> I checked the measurements I made of eye diameter and anterior edge of eye to snout distance and they were correct. I also discovered, with appropriate magnification, I could superimpose the head of the captured snake on the head of a _D. calligastra_ photographed at the same angle and they were effectively identical – eye size, the lot.
> 
> ...


I really like the way you are so thorough and still humble enough to correct your own mistakes. I real asset to the site.


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## NicG (Feb 28, 2013)

Hi Blue,

Your post implies that you have access to photos of juvenile D.calligastra. If so, could you please post them here ...

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-snakes-37/wanted-juvenile-northern-tree-snake-200881/

Thanks,
Nic


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## Bluetongue1 (Feb 28, 2013)

Thank you *Andynic07*. We are all learning and we are all fallible – that is nothing to be ashamed of. 

Blue

*Nic*,
Unfortunately not. NTS have the larger eye. I only needed to compare a juvenile CTS with an adult NTS. The relatively larger eye of the juvenile CTS obeyed the proportion rule for an adult NTS and that is where I came unstuck.

Blue


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