Australian Snake ID

Australia boasts a rich snake fauna of about 180 species of land snakes, with a further 36 species of venomous sea snakes in its surrounding oceans. Identifying a snake that has been observed in the wild before disappearing into the bush [or ocean], and so cannot be examined close-up, is fraught with difficulties.

Where up-close examination of a snake is not feasible, this guide asks for some basic information (approximate size, dominant colour(s), location, etc) and presents the user with a series of photographs of species likely to be encountered at the location where the observation was made, and that can roughly match the few characters observed. The user is then invited to work through the gallery of potential species to find the one (or more) that most closely resembles the snake observed. Information about other features of these species (their habits and habitats) can then be used in an attempt to eliminate as many species as possible from the list of ‘possibles’.

If the snake to be identified has been killed or captured, its identity can be established with a much higher level of accuracy and certainty.