Snakes

Overview

Snakes evolved from a lizard-like ancestor around 130 million years. Technically, they are just another group of legless lizards.

The characters that we associate with snakes (elongate bodies, loss of limbs, venom and forked tongues) are all found in one group of lizards or another. However, snakes have taken some of these attributes to the extreme.

Australian snakes come in a surprising array of shapes and sizes. Some are small, worm-like burrowers (blind snakes), others large and muscular (pythons). There are lean, active hunters (whip snakes and taipans) and short, squat ambush predators (adders). They occupy all habitat types, including our coastal waters. Some lay eggs, others give birth to live young. Their diets vary. Some are generalists, consuming a wide variety of prey and others are highly specialised. Bandy-bandies, for instance, feed exclusively on blind snakes.

Queensland is home to some of the world’s most venomous land snakes, with more than twenty species considered capable of killing humans. However, snakes are generally shy, retiring creatures. Even dangerously venomous species pose little threat to our daily lives and will usually retreat when given the opportunity to do so. Developments in first aid and patient management have greatly improved the outlook for snakebite victims. In Australia, there are usually fewer than three snakebite deaths a year.

Snakebites

Medical advice is available from the Poisons Information Centre, phone 13 11 26.

First aid procedure for any snakebite from the Australian Venom Research Unit.

Common questions

Images