check your bin

[jaih]

Nice looking snake.

 

[FNQ_Snake]

Ha ha haaaa. Go the MIGHTY BOMBERS!!!

 

[ryanharvey1993]

nice snake, thats the good thing about up north, snakes are always active unlike down here. when we were at darwin a few years back my mum nearly trod on a western brown snake. pseudonaja species never seem to be happy either, just look at the cranky:x look hes giving us:lol:

thanks for sharing

 

[moosenoose]

To be honest I had NO idea what sort of snake it was (only that it had a big "don't muck with me" look about it :lol

And boy...weren't you guys wrong about the Collywobbles!! They sucked to perfection today :lol: :lol: :lol: GO SAINTS! :twisted:

 

[Ducky]

The saints arent too flash at the moment either!!! Moosenoose.

 

[moosenoose]

The saints arent too flash at the moment either!!! Moosenoose.

Don't you worry about the Saints. We're playing games with the West Coke Needles We're gonna "Hawk" that bunch in the end :twisted:

 

[i_LoVe_AnImAlS]

Essendon is the worst team ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go the pies and tigers wooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[RedEyeGirl]

love the cute little snake come on u should have given him a hug LOL!!!!

 

[moosenoose]

OMG the Saints lost ......................:cry:

 

[Jonno from ERD]

They do look similar both species. They both are similarly coloured on the top of the head and both have creamy colouration under their chins.

It is hard to distinguish but yes. A Western Brown - Pseudonaja nuchalis would be the correct ID.

G'day mate,

Western Browns are highly variable...probably one of thoe most variable elapids in Australia, up there with Tiger Snakes. Attached is a couple of photos of ones that aren't all that uncommon in the wild...and these are just the ones that I have photographed. There's over 35 recorded distinct colouration/patterns involved with Western Browns, and the last I heard, research had discovered that there were at least 5 different species within the complex.

Photo 1 - Wild caught Alice Springs "blackheaded morph"small adult (75cm)
Photo 2 - Wild caught Mildura large adult (1.6m)
Photo 3 - Wild caught Eyre Peninsula large adult (1.4m)
Photo 4 - Wild caught Katherine "regular morph" small adult (1.1m)
Photo 5 - Wild caught from between Innamincka and Birdsville near Cordillo Downs small adult (1.2m)

I'm sure some others like moloch05, jamgo, Nephrurus etc will have some shorts of some of the other morphs of Western.

Cheers

 

[junglepython2]

Anyone done any work on the genetics of those morphs Jonno?

 

[Jonno from ERD]

Hey mate,

Scott Keogh was doing some research into Pseudonaja as a whole, but I am unsure what has actually been published. No doubt some morphs aren't found in certain areas but I do know that there can be an incredible variance of colourations and patterns within a single locality, and often within a single clutch of juveniles. For instance, the two most common colourations (possibly the only...?) of Western Brown in Alice Springs are the Black Headed morph and the "pale brown with thin band/speckling on the nape" morph like the one from Katherine that I posted a photo of.

 

[Jonno from ERD]

Another interesting point is that nearly all Western Browns have some sort of marking on the back of their neck, or "nape", hence their specific name of "nuchalis". Some have a distinct thick black band, others have a small bit of speckling like in the photo of the one from Mildura, and some have a black head the extends down to their neck, but nearly all will have that marking. In fact I don't think I have ever seen one without some sort of marking, but I'm hesitant to say they they will definitely have the marking as my experience with wild Western Browns is only from half a dozen or so distinct localities and they are one of the most widespread elapids in Australia, occuring in every mainland state and territory apart from the ACT.

 

[jamgo]

some westerns the first 4 are from the nt and 1 qld

 

[saratoga]

Have a good look at the head......the rostral scale on the nose end of the head...it's like a shield that curves over the top of the snout......pretty typical for Western Browns.

Its nice to see some photos of all the different colour morphs. I would agree with Johno in that all the Western Browns I have seen have some type of black marking on the nape....even if it is just a single scale. The inside of their mouths are also black if you care to look that closely!

 

[Beano05]

Thanks guys for the extra info and those pics. what a variety!
This did have two small balck scales on the nape and I wasn't going to check its gums!:lol:

 

[waruikazi]

Thanks guys for the extra info and those pics. what a variety!
This did have two small balck scales on the nape and I wasn't going to check its gums!:lol:

If you annoy them long enough they usually open their mouths for you... Not sure if it is a good or bad thing though

 

[Beano05]

I'd rather not, if someone did that to me they get knocked out.