If it dont have legs, its a Snake!

*My golden rule is that no matter what it is, I leave it alone*

Exactly, dark or not!

>First it is illegal to kill any native fauna.

There are many instances where that is not correct - and if in serious danger of attack from the animal is one of them, neverless many snake bites occur because people try to kill them rather than just letting them carry on their merry way.

www.avru.org/
www.usyd.edu.au/anaes/venom/snakebite.html
www.usyd.edu.au/anaes/venom/spiders.html

Will provide more info than you can point a stick at.

And the title of this thread is incorrect:
Site Link

In the main; if you don't mess with snakes they won't mess with you - simple.

Mike Harding

One of the most deadliest snakes in the world is the Trouser Snake.

If it comes in to contact with a female human she could stay swollen for many months....lol

You're a better man than me Willie.

"swollen for months"?

I'd be happy with minutes....LOL.

Jimbo...answer could be viagra or possibly referring to ego
Cheers
Greg

lololol......your eyes are out of focus...quote.."she could stay swollen"

I agree with the minutes thingy..lol

I got it Willie,

But I'll vary my comment to....

You're a MUCH better man than Me.

Keep her swollen for months? What is your middle name? Sir Tristram?

>But the question I've got is what the heck was a death addar
>doing in Sydney?? I didn't think they would live anywhere
>NEAR there....

It got on the wrong bus? :)

There have been sightings of them just inside Victoria around the Echuca / Swan Hill region - careful when you're camped on the Murray.

Reading a little more of my snake book (The snakes of Victoria, Coventry/Robertson, Museum of Vic) tells me that it may occur in the coastal heaths of far East Gippsland as it still occurs on the south east coast of NSW in similar country.

A particularly dangerous snake.

Mike Harding

Yeah the only two snakes that really give me the heaby geebies are the Death addar and the tiger snake, those tiger snakes are agressive buggers. We were mountain biking through some swap land when we were about 17 and as we jumped off a log we lept over a tiger snake, the bugger came after us!! Luckily we were absolutally moving but it chased us for a little while, mate I've never pedaled so fast I can tell you!

Hello - there are at least 4 species of Death Adder in Australia (WA is lucky - we have all 4). The type specimen of The Common Death Adder - Acanthopis antarcticus was described in 1802 and was in fact originally found by European naturalists in the Sydney region. This species is not found in the central desert regions and the wetter parts of SW WA, Victoria, south eastern NSW or Cape York. Quite conceivable that it could occur in the north western outskirts of Sydney as described in news report. Wisemans Ferry is located along the Hawksberry River about 50km Nth of Sydney proper. The area is almost surrounded by National Parks, State Forests and Recreational Areas i.e. lots of bush.

Cheers
Greg

Is there any significant difference (from a bush users point of view) between the four species?

Hello Mike - Species are very similar to the untrained eye and if you had all 4 in a bag at the same spot you would need to examine/count scales to make "proper" identifications to species level - not recommended, though colour can be used as a guide also. Their distributions overlap only slightly around edges (except Desert Death Adder and Pilbara Death Adder) so you could use your location to narrow down options in most cases to 1 or 2 species.

The most defining factors are
Common Death Adder - Acanthopis antarcticus - Dark greyish brown or dark brownish grey. Back and tail with 40-50 pale grey or pale brown cross bands. Anterior dorsal scales smooth or weekly keeled - SW WA, coastal hinterland of SA, NSW, Southern 3/4 of QLD and QLD/NT border.

Northern Death Adder - Acanthophis praelongus - Ground colour dark brown, grey brown or dark reddish brown with pale crossbands, head scales moderately rugose (wrinkled) - Far Nth Kimberley, Nth NT and Cape York.

Desert Death Adder - Acanthophis pyrrhus - head scales strongly rugose (wrinkled), Ground colour bright reddish brown - Arid zone from southern Kimberley to northern WA wheatbelt, Sth 3/4 of NT, Nth SA and SW corner of QLD.

Pilbara Death Adder - Acanthophis wellsi - very similar to Desert Death Adder - Body brick red with pale or black crossbands, differs from Desert Death Adder by having more boldly marked lips and undivided prefrontal scales- confined to Pilbara region and isolated population at Cape Range. See my picture in my album of specimen caught (and then released..not by me!!) at Dampier.

Cheers
Greg

Thanks for that Greg.

Hell Jeff. et al.

What an interesting and instructive forum.
Gerry Swan's Field Guide to Snakes & Lizards of NSW indicates ample evidence of Death Adders close to Sydney.
When learning to handle snakes with WIRES the most dangerous by far is the Eastern Brown, much more so than Tigers. However the one snake which we do not attempt to pick-up is the Death Adder. The pointy end being too close to the tail!
Cheers.

It reeeely anoys the hell out of me how many people (country people are actually the worst although they should know better) have a morbid fear of snakes with the opinion that every snake (including legless lizards) are rabid killing machines that will chase you down and continue striking until you are dead. a mere sighting of a snake is called a near death experience. More annoying is they generally kill all they can with 2 pythons being killed at work and me having to save a harmless shovel nosed snake. lived in the country most of my life and have never come close to being bitten. there just like any othe reptile intent on flight than fight

A fear of the unkown perhaps Davoe. Mate I'm not one of these hack their heads of type of people (although that was how we were brought up in the country). I understand that they are best left alone, rather than being hunted down. But as I said, those two snakes above still give me the willies. But I'd sure as bleep rather bugger off quick smart in the other direction than hang around with a shovel trying to lop the poor buggers head off! ;-)