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      girraween > animals > reptiles > snakes > elapid snakes



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Pseudechis porphyriacus
Red-bellied Black Snake

Conservation status: Least Concern

The Red-bellied Black Snake can be found along the east coast of Australia. It is common in the Girraween area and can be found near creeks, in wet heaths and swamps, as well as moist ferny gullies such as those near South Bald Rock.

 
Scientific Classification
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Reptilia
Squamata
Serpentes
Elapidae
Pseudechis
porphyriacus
This snake has a very distinctive appearance, with its upper surface being a glossy purplish black and its underside a dull pink or cream on the belly turning to a pale pink or a brilliant red towards the sides. Its nose is often a lighter brown colour and the underside of its tail is black. It can grow to a length of 2.5 metres. Males grow larger than females.

Like all elapid snakes it is front fanged - which means it has a pair of hollow, fixed fangs at the top front of the mouth. It injects venom through these fangs from pair of glands at the back of the top jaw.

The Red-bellied Black Snake is considered dangerously venomous, but it is not agressive and will usually try to escape. If provoked, it will recoil into its striking stance and hiss loudly as a threat. It may even make a feinting strike, while keeping its mouth closed.

Frogs are its main food source, thus its favourite hunting grounds are wet areas such as in swamps and along creek banks. Red-bellied blacks also eat lizards, other snakes (including its own kind and Eastern Brown Snakes), small mammals, birds and even the occasional insect or fish. Sadly, many Red-bellied Black Snakes have been fatally poisoned while trying to eat the introduced toxic Cane Toad.

Red-bellied blacks active both day and night, especially during warm weather. When not hunting, the snake can be found either basking in a sunny place, or hiding in a safe place such as under a rock or log or in a burrow.

Mating occurs in Spring. During that time, male snakes spend a lot of time out in the open and moving around in their search for a female. Some have been known to travel more than a kilometer in one day. Rival males commonly fight each other for dominance; intertwining their bodies with heads raised, trying to push the other snake's head down.

Small groups of pregnant females have been known to share a burrow or to bask together in the sun. Females give birth to live young between January and March. The individual newborns are covered in a thin membrane from which they quickly and easily wriggle free. Between 5 and 19 babies may be in the one litter and they have an average length of about 22cm. The young become mature between 19 and 31 months of age.


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© Vanessa and Chris Ryan, 2009 | Copyright Details and Disclaimer
Last updated: 17th April 2016