Inconclusive sighting

Hi all - just a comment on the bandy bandy id. This does not look like a Bandy Bandy - they typically have a black body with white bands - so they look like they have alternating black and white rings. Are we sure this is a snake and not an oddly marked Pygopus or other legless lizard (I once saw a Pygopus with bands but for the life of me cannot find any thing like a banded Pygopus in my id guides or on the web). It does appear to have ventral scutes (but hard to discern because of the sand etc sticking to the specimen) so in that case would be a snake. I am having trouble seeing the shape of the head, what are eyes, mouth etc. I actually suspect that what looks like a head is a broken off part of the tail tail with a hindlimb flap showing and looking like a mouth! It does not look well - and i wonder if it is lying dead somewhere near where released. Probably long gone now. The colour pattern is one of many variations that we have seen in juvenile brown snakes - but many legless lizards mimic this as well. Oddly enough it resembles some of the outback semi burrowing snakes - but I cannot see anything like it in my field guides. John you will have seen a great many odd snakes over the years - look forward to your thoughts. WillO.

I have no idea what this is. Is is definitely not a Bandy bandy as we know them. The bands seem to fit a juvenile Brown Snake but I agree the region that appears to be the head is not right. Pity they didn't take more complete body photos and let it go!

I spoke to the builder again today who said that what was poking out from the mixer was definitely the head of the animal and it was release by Yarralumla Creek

I rang Canberra Sand and Gravel - the sand originally came from Bungendore and was mixed at Fyshwick. so a local species - perhaps a brown snake?

The banding certainly fits a baby Brown Snake. The head is problematic unless the mouth is full of sand which could explain the funny shape. Pity they didn't give it a wash!