Spectacular Snakes of Australia

By Michael Cermak

Spectacular Snakes of Australia showcases these beautiful creatures which play such an important part in our biodiversity. It portrays most of the species found in Australia, such as tiger snakes, copperheads, brown snakes, death adders and sea snakes, up close and personal. It also includes some unique photographs, such as the hatching of scrub pythons, that offer a rare glimpse into their more intimate lives.

The informative text, based on the latest research, describes the reproductive biology, behaviour, predators and prey of these reptiles, as well as their habitat and conservation values. Readers will explore the importance of colours and patterns in allowing snakes to blend into their environment, their defence and attack mechanisms, and the adaptations they have undergone to cope with their surroundings. In addition, the author provides some anecdotes on his encounters with snakes, and clears up a few myths regarding snake behaviour.

Richly illustrated with exceptional photographs, Spectacular Snakes of Australia features the deadly serious as well as the quirky – from snakes that love water to those with potent venom, and even snakes that are blind! This book is a real treat for snake lovers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
• Release date: Nov 11, 2008
• ISBN: 9780643102804

Book preview

PREFACE

Four decades ago, when I began collecting and keeping reptiles as a hobby, there were relatively few of us passionate amateurs scattered in all corners of this country. We were in contact with each other, providing support through the decades of unreasonable oppression imposed by the state governments in relation to keeping reptiles as a hobby. Those were tough times. Through dedication, many of us earned the status of professional ‘reptile keepers’ in the exceptionally low-paid zoo and wildlife park industry, while others ventured into their own reptile-related businesses. Many of us became lifelong friends and sadly, I am to meet many of them again only in another world.

One person had a particularly significant influence on my career, introducing me to a different aspect of herpetology in the early 1970s and affecting my decision to embark on the academic path many years later. To this day, I am grateful to the late Graham Settle of Sydney for his unintentional influence and sadly, short friendship.

The aim of this book is to visually portray snakes, their habitats, predators and prey, alongside informative text, digestible not only by reptile enthusiasts but by anyone who appreciates wildlife and natural history.

Australia’s snakes have been the subject of many excellent guides to identification and there are also several works on their biology. This notwithstanding, I present new information from my own experiences along with information gathered over many years. My photographs showcase the snakes, their habitats, predators and prey and highlight their beauty. I hope my work will enhance and inspire interest in, and admiration of, these amazing reptiles.

BOIDAE

Pythons are harmless snakes with neither fangs nor venom. They possess several rows of sharp teeth, which they use for securing their prey before killing it by constriction. First they bite and hold onto their prey with their teeth. Then they quickly wrap their coils around the victim’s body. They don’t crush their prey or break the ribs as people sometimes believe; pythons merely apply sustained pressure so that the victim is unable to inhale and suffocates. Like all other snakes, pythons swallow their prey whole. Their teeth are also used in self-defence.

The current understanding is that pythons originated in the Australian region, possibly within Australia, then later diversified and spread to Asia and Africa. Pythons are generally regarded as a primitive group of snakes, sharing many primitive features such as oviparity (egg laying), labial pits, retention of the left lung and remnants of the pelvis and femur (apparently relics of hind limbs). The only externally visible parts of these vestigial hind legs are the tiny spurs that look like a pair of claws, one on each side of the cloaca. Male pythons use these claws in male-to-male combat and to stimulate females during courtship. Female pythons possess smaller spurs but their function is not evident.

Australian pythons occupy a wide range of habitats. They occur in most parts of the continent except for the cold southeast corner of Victoria and in Tasmania.

THE DRY COUNTRY DWELLERS

WOMA AND BLACK-HEADED PYTHON

The genus Aspidites, comprised of the black-headed python and the woma, is the most primitive group of Australian pythons. These snakes adapted extremely well to dry conditions and today, the two species can be found in the driest habitats on this continent. They have retained many primitive features. They differ from other pythons in that they possess narrow heads and lack the heat-sensitive labial pits used by other pythons to locate warm-blooded prey. Such adaptations make sense when one considers their prey: cold-blooded and elongated-shaped snakes and lizards. Labial pits would be futile in detecting such cold-blooded prey, and as their shape makes them easier to swallow, there is no need for the large triangular head of some other pythons. It is not certain whether these characters represent primitive or derived features.

However, it is not only their morphology that sets these two pythons apart. There are also some behaviours not observed in other pythons. Most significantly, black-headed pythons and womas are the only two species of the python family that burrow. They use their heads and necks to dig and push earth sideways, and some scientists believe this behaviour may have been the main factor in the evolution of their narrow heads. If this is true, then the use of the head as a shovel may have led to the loss of the labial pits, which would have been a hindrance during digging as they would have constantly become clogged with dirt.

Top: A woma (Aspidites ramsayi) from the Tanami Desert.

Right: Some individuals are heavily banded while others are plainer.

Newborn snakes do not have an easy life. They face a wider variety of predators than their adult counterparts. In addition, it is not always easy for