snake ID Darwin

[TheReptileben]

my friend sent me this what could it be sorry for bad photos.

 

[Bushman]

Where was it found?
The long head suggests a tree snake i.e Dendrelaphis sp.
Unfortunately, the photo is not good enough for a positive ID.

 

[TheReptileben]

palmerston NT

 

[GeckoJosh]

Where was it found?
The long head suggests a tree snake i.e Dendrelaphis sp.
The photo is not good enough for a positive ID

The title suggests Darwin.

 

[Bushman]

Thanks for the locality. Is that a coca-cola can underneath the tub. If so, then it must be tiny. It looks like a neonate. Did your mate mention how big it was?

 

[GeckPhotographer]

Headshape doesn't look like a tree snake to me, more like a neonate Liasis python. Clearer pictures would help and don't touch it just because I cried 'python' it could still be a venomous sp.

 

[TheReptileben]

nah its a towel

 

[TheReptileben]

aparently it is pure black no patern at all

 

[Bushman]

OK then, but still small it seems and patternless black.
I considered a neonate Olive Python due to the long head of that species as well.
However, the slender whip-like tail of this specimen, suggested Dendrelaphis punctulatus to me.
It's really just an educated guess though, for want of a better photo.

 

[snakebag]

Maybe a juvenile Demansia Papuensis???

 

[Bushman]

How did it move/handle? Was it fast and thrashy or relatively slow and wrappy like a python?

Good guess Snakebag. The whip-like tail could easily belong to a Demansia. It could be a Demansia papuensis (Greater Black Whipsnake).

So we have three contenders. Can anyone think of any more?
Take your pic mate. I doubt that anyone would put money on this.

 

[i_am_snake]

Its likely a slate grey neonate, i found 4 last week around my work. Most were dying or dead unfortunately.

Dan

 

[Barrett]

The head shape looks too long to be a Demansia species. My (uneducated) guess would be a python neonate because it doesn't have the 'bulge' you often see with Dendrelaphis species eyes, though that could just be due to the quality and angle of the photo.

 

[TheReptileben]

the lucky bugger escaped thankfully, I just found out that she was keeping it till tomorrow because she was to scared to go into the shed and get her machete at night, good thing it excaped

 

[Paintbrushturkey]

the lucky bugger escaped thankfully, I just found out that she was keeping it till tomorrow because she was to scared to go into the shed and get her machete at night, good thing it excaped

you may want to tell her that most snakebites are a result of people trying to kill snakes, or otherwise mess with them....

 

[Fuscus]

you may want to tell her that most snakebites are a result of people trying to kill snakes, or otherwise mess with them....

While I tell this to people all the time, it is almost certainly a waste of time.

 

[saratoga]

My guess would be a skinny juvenile Water Python, but that is just a guess; rally need a better image

 

[-Peter]

Headshape doesn't look like a tree snake to me, more like a neonate Liasis python. Clearer pictures would help and don't touch it just because I cried 'python' it could still be a venomous sp.

Liasis mackloti(fuscus) by th e looks but as you rightly say could be a ven.

 

[Bluetongue1]

The obvious issues are the quality of the photo and the fact that is likely a neonate, which can display features to the adult. Hence I have seven possible contenders… Demansia papuensis; Demansia vestigiata; Liasis mackloti; Liasis olivaceus; Stegonotus cullculatus; Cryptophis pallidceps; Dendrelaphis punctulatus.

The head shields appear to extend as far behind the eyes as they do in front and the discernable scales on the dorsal surface would indicate no more than maybe 20 mid-body scales. On that basis I would rule out the pythons.

The head is long in comparison to its width. Than rules out C. pallidiceps which has a broader head in comparison to its length.

We are told it was black, so that rules out D. punctulatus.

D. papuensis is quite robust for a whip snake and therefore an unlikely contender. The head shape is what really rules out both whips, as their heads are barely wider than the neck and taper quickly back in where as the significantly wider head and gentle taper back to the neck is much more a characteristic of S. cullcullatus.

I’d reckon you are looking at a neonate Slaty Grey.

I_am_snake how similiar were the neonates you saw, to the one in the photo, including the skinny last third of its length?

Blue

 

[i_am_snake]

well heres a pic of one of the specimens (i preserved it!) the final third of the body is fairly slim.