Austrelaps ramsayi
Highlands Copperhead at Crackenback, NSW
Identify this sighting
| Austrelaps ramsayi | wombey | 7 Oct 2026 | |
| Pseudonaja textilis | YellowCanary | 7 Oct 2026 | |
| Austrelaps ramsayi | YellowCanary | 7 Oct 2026 |
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User's notes
• Bullet-shaped head, black scales on back and white scales on belly
• At first thought to be a red-bellied black snake, but the belly was distinctively white
• Sighted beside the tree along peninsula between the two foot bridges along Stockwhip Way
• The sound of many frogs was in the immediate vicinity
• Pictures and video taken just after 4pm ADST Australian Daylight Savings Time (UTC+11)
2 comments
7 Oct 2026
The clue to id Copperheads is the white on half each lip scale, never present on Red-bellied Black Snakes. Have a look at images of Copperheads to see what I mean. Mentioning the white on the lips will confirm id every time, colour of the belly is much less help.
8 Oct 2026
Thanks wombey. Yes, it did have the distinctive, half-white scales on the upper lip which appeared a bit zigzagged at first glance. I’ve posted some other photos of the same snake to show it from different aspects.
Location information
- Coordinates 148.450917-36.443268
- Places Crackenback, NSW
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- 7 Oct 2026 04:09 PM Recorded on
- YellowCanary Recorded by
Collections
- YellowCanary NatureMapr Canberra & Southern Tablelands Latest Austrelaps ramsayi Snakes Reptiles and Frogs
Species information
- Austrelaps ramsayi Scientific name
- Highlands Copperhead Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1759.9m Recorded at altitude
Record quality
Quality score
5 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- Description
- GPS evidence of location
- Additional attributes