Pseudonaja textilis

5 Eastern Brown Snake at Belconnen, ACT

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Identification history

	Pseudonaja textilis	8 Oct 2021	wombey
	Unidentified	8 Oct 2021	Anniecarr

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4 comments

wombey wrote:

8 Oct 2021

It is an Eastern Brown. Copperheads always have a white part of each lip scale giving it an appearance of teeth, diagnostic for this species irrespective of what other body colour they have. No other large Elapid in the SE Australia has this. The best way to get a handle on this is to look at CNM images of Copperheads and look at the white on the lips, once you have that in your head they are easy to id.

Anniecarr wrote:

8 Oct 2021

Thanks, Wombey.
I did look at those images and noticed the white parts of the lip scale. They made me think it was an Eastern Brown after all. But its beautiful golden head made me think of Copperhead. You can tell that I am no snake expert! I will know next time I come across a Copperhead. The old adage: if there is a choice between the common species and a rarer one, it is probably the common species. I have never seen a Copperhead in town, only in the country. I appreciate your knowledge, thanks again.

wombey wrote:

8 Oct 2021

Very good. The other thing is that although it is called a "Copperhead", very often the head colour is not very different the the rest of the body and certainly not really copper as the name suggests.
John

Anniecarr wrote:

9 Oct 2021

Thanks again, John. Common names are so fascinating! Sometimes they are very accurate descriptors, other times not so much! Now is a good time for observing reptiles: the ones I have seen recently have all looked fabulous - fresh and shiny in what I assume are clean new scales after shedding. I do appreciate the service provided by moderators on CNM in answering id questions from amateurs like me! Cheers Annie

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