On the contrary, Old Bob, I've been reading along. Just don't have any similar experiences to share (or with the war stories either), so I haven't said anything. I am curious what Akhenaten finds out about snakes.
That's very nice of you, and quite heartening. Thank you. I'll bet you DO have some stories though. Don't forget that not EVERYTHING in this thread needs to be verified, so there's a bit of "artistic" licence granted
Anyway, it's snake time! I'll start with two of our most popular garden varieties, since others have mentioned them already.
Eastern Brown Snake
© Snake Catchers Brisbane
Red-bellied Black Snake
© Wildlife Qld
Distribution Map
© Imhotep's Maps for Chaps - all your cartographic needs in one convenient location. Pharaoh shops here!
As you can see from the maps above, the range of the Red-bellied Black snake lies totally within the range of the Eastern Brown Snake. You might think that would cause some problems, given that both are known to eat other snakes.
The fact is though, that they don't usually bump into each other, and from what I've observed it's because they have slightly different preferences for habitat.
The area depicted on the right-hand map contains most of what passes in Australia for mountains, including what we call the Great Dividing Range. In most areas, however, it's not so much a mountain range as a dissected plateau. As such, it contains at least two distinct habitats; the plateau itself and the valleys and gorges of various watercourses.
Up on top of the plateau, it's hot and dry in Summer, cool and dry in Winter. Open sclerophyl forest mainly. Down in the valleys, it's generally moist for most of the year, and the temperature range is much less severe. A lot of temperate rainforest
As a side note, they've re-created this effect on a small scale in the Botanical Gardens in Canberra. Arthwollipot is probably a more recent visitor than I, and may have pics to share. (hint
)
Anyway, back to the snakes.
In Summer, snakes can be found just about anywhere, but I've noticed that if you're following a creekline and you're right down near the water, you're far more likely to encounter a Black than a Brown, while up on top of the ridges and in the more open areas of the plateau, the situation is reversed. In both areas, the prey available to opportunists like snakes is fairly similar, with the notable exception of frogs, which are (perhaps obviously) more common near the water.
In Winter, Brown Snakes become fairly inactive, but you can still find Black Snakes doing their thing down in the moist, warmish leaf litter.
It seems to me that the slightly warmer temperatures and available food are things that give the Black Snake some advantages in Winter, as well as keeping them within their niche. I can't say what it is that keeps the Browns where they are, but whatever the mechanism, it seems to have been in place long enough that even the colours the two species have evolved reflect their preferred environments - brown for the open, sandy uplands and black for the dark, shadowed valleys.
Having made these observations, I have to point out that urban growth is stuffing things up as usual. I made the point that snakes are opportunists, and like others of their ilk, such as foxes, dingoes and seagulls, they have discovered that people will provide all kinds of things for them to eat. So they've moved in with us.
Here's an interesting titbit from the
CSL Antivenom Handbook
Brown snakes are common throughout mainland Australia, in essentially all habitats, including urban areas. They are not present in Tasmania or the islands off the southern coast of Australia, such as Kangaroo Island (SA). They are relatively common in some urban and metropolitan areas. Hundreds of brown snakes are removed from houses and other properties each year in some capital cities and >10% of these snakes are found inside the house!
Where I lived as a kid, south of Sydney, NSW, this item would more likely have referred to Red-bellied Black Snakes.
What I mean to say, when saying that urbanisation has stuffed things up, is not that it's harmed the snakes at all, but it's mixed up their distribution because they both seem equally happy to move in wherever we go. Yay! (?) I think something similar is going on with the Currawongs, but that's for another post.
Sciency Stuff
Eastern Brown Snake
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Reptilia
Order:
Squamata
Suborder:
Serpentes
Family:
Elapidae
Genus:
Pseudonaja
Species:
P. textilis
Fun Fact
CSL Antivenom Handbook
The venom is multicomponent and includes powerful presynaptic neurotoxins, procoagulants and possibly both cardiotoxins and direct nephrotoxins. There is no myolytic activity. The venom of the common brown snake is the second most potent snake venom in the world.
Apparently the most potent venom comes from Taipans. Guess where they come from.
Red-Bellied Black Snake
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Reptilia
Order:
Squamata
Suborder:
Serpentes
Family:
Elapidae
Genus:
Pseudechis
Species:
P. porphyriacus
Fun Fact
Wikipedia
Although the Red-bellied Black Snake has the most toxic venom of the genus pseudechis, bites from Red-bellied Black Snakes are rarely lethal because of immediate medical attention. Tiger Snake antivenom is used to treat bites from red-bellied black snakes. While black snake antivenom can be used, tiger snake antivenom can be used at a lower dose. The smaller dose is cheaper to produce, and is less likely to cause a reaction in the patient.
That's convenient. How lucky we are to have lots of Tiger Snakes.
Cheerssssss,
Dave
