AUSTRALIAN REPTILE PHOTOS, DISTRIBUTION MAPS AND INFORMATION
This site covers Snakes and Lizards, Crocodiles and Turtles, including Colubrid snakes, Pythons, Elapids (called Cobras or Coral Snakes in some countries), Sea Snakes, File Snakes, Blind (or Worm) Snakes, Sea Turtles, Freshwater Turtles (or Tortoises) Dragon Lizards (Agamas), Gecko's, Legless Lizards, Monitor Lizards (often called Goanna's in Australia), Skinks and Crocodilia.
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EASTERN BROWN SNAKE
Pseudonaja textilis
Highly Venomous - Extremely Dangerous
Adult Eastern Brown Snakes Pseudonaja textilis may vary in colour and patterning depending on geographic
location, as well as varying between individuals in one locality. They may also have speckles, blotches banding and/or other patterning.
Juvenile Eastern Brown Snakes Pseudonaja textilis from
Seaham, NSW, just North-west of Newcastle
Juvenile Eastern Brown Snakes normally have a black head plus a ring around their neck, however many other snakes, legless lizards and some skinks have similar head markings.
Bands may or may not be present on the body. The bands usually vanish as the snake matures.
The above 2 photos of a young Eastern Brown Snake Pseudonaja textilis from the Adelaide region show the most commonly seen pattern on juveniles of this species.
Juvenile from South Australia
Brown snakes and many other venomous snakes do not always inject venom when biting, however due to the extremely high toxicity of the venom and lack of symptoms in many individuals that have been envenomated, it is vital that first aid is performed immediately (Constrictive bandage etc) and the patient is taken immediately to hospital.
Correct and immediate treatment for Brown and other dangerous snakes increase the chance of survival.
Brown snakes have one of the most toxic snake venoms in the world, often ranked at number 2 worldwide, (behind the Inland taipan Oxyuranus microlepidotus), and bites are quite common, however despite that it ranks very low on a world wide scale when rated by human deaths, which would be on average less than 1 human death per year.
Compare that to the Saw scaled viper (not found in Australia) which has a less toxic venom, but is responsible for about 20,000 deaths per year.
Surprisingly nobody has died from a bite of an Inland taipan Oxyuranus microlepidotus!
Although people are commonly bitten by dangerous snakes in Australia, the actual number of deaths is actually very low, due to antivenines and
medical procedures.
Updated August 5, 2018
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