# Snake id



## brian76 (Dec 4, 2013)

Killed by dogs in Lithgow nsw. 

Sent from my HTC One XL using Tapatalk


----------



## saximus (Dec 4, 2013)

Copperhead (Austrelaps ramsayi). The best identifying feature is the white tipping on the scales on the upper jaw (supralabials? - I don't know my scale names very well)


----------



## Bluetongue1 (Dec 5, 2013)

Totally agree. Apart from the head scales the bottom row of lateral scales are coloured pink-orange-red, with the rest being black, a defining feature of this species.

Blue


----------



## brian76 (Dec 5, 2013)

Thanks guys......thought it was but my mate was sure it was a brown. Always like hearing how experienced guys come up with ids. 

Sent from my HTC One XL using Tapatalk


----------



## Bushman (Dec 5, 2013)

You were right Brian. It's definitely a Highland Copperhead (_Austrelaps ramsayi_).
It looks like it was in pre-slough (milky pupils and reduced lateral colouration for this species), making it more vulnerable to predation. 
Another distinctive feature of this species worth mentioning is the dark edges of the ventrals forms a dark ventro-lateral stripe, which can be seen in the first pic.
Sax nailed it with the distinctive white 'sails' on the supralabials being the most characteristic feature of this species.


----------

