When inactive they shelter beneath fallen logs and large rocks, within deep soil cracks, and in animal burrows, and will readily utilize man-made cover, e.g. The species can be particularly abundant in rural areas that have been heavily modified for agricultural purposes, and is also frequently encountered on the suburban periphery of many large towns and cities. In arid inland areas they inhabit watercourses and swampy areas that receive at least some seasonal flooding. Unrelated species similar to the Eastern Brown include the Mulga Snake ( Pseudechis australis) and Taipan ( Oxyuranus scutellatus).Įastern Brown Snakes can be found across a wide range of habitats (excluding rainforest and alpine regions), however they seem to prefer open landscapes such as woodlands, scrublands, and savannah grasslands. aspidorhyncha) by its smaller, more rounded rostral scale (as opposed to an elongate, squared-off rostral). textilis may also be distinguished from the Strap-snouted Brown Snake ( P. inframacula) by its blotched ventral surface (versus an entirely dark brown or grey venter). nuchalis) by its flesh pink (as opposed to predominately black) mouth colouration, and from the Peninsula Brown Snake ( P. Pseudonaja textilis is separable from the Speckled Brown Snake ( P. The Eastern Brown Snake is easily confused with other members of the Pseudonajagenus that overlap its distribution, and close inspection is generally required to distinguish them. Midbody scales in 17 rows, ventrals 185-235, anal scale divided, subcaudals divided (rarely a few single anterior scales). The iris is usually orange thickly rimmed with black, and the pupil is round. Eyes are medium size and shadowed by an obvious brow-ridge. Body scales are smooth and slightly glossy. Ventral surface is cream, yellow or orange, and blotched with pinkish-orange, brown or grey. These markings fade as they mature, however in some populations the bands are retained into adulthood. Hatchlings have a prominent dark patch on the top of the head and across the nape, and some hatchlings also have dark bands down the entire length of the body. The head colour of dark individuals may be slightly paler than the rest of the body, but otherwise the dorsal colour is fairly uniform (a very few scattered dark scales may be present). Body colour may be almost any shade of brown, ranging from near black to light tan, chestnut or burnt-orange. IdentificationĪ medium sized snake, with a slender to moderate build and a smallish head barely distinct from the neck. Despite the free pest control they offer to farmers and landholders, brown snakes are still widely seen as dangerous pests themselves. Broad-scale clearing of land for agriculture, while disastrous for many native creatures, has proved a boon for the Eastern Brown Snake, and their numbers have proliferated thanks to the ready supply of rodents that followed.
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