Herps--reptiles and amphibians

Here's some red-sided garter snakes starting to emerge from their winter dens in Manitoba. Real cuties.

Mating ball of red-sided garter snakes.

The red-sided garter snake males emerge first and wait for the females to emerge. When they emerge one by one they're attacked with an orgiastic frenzy by the males en masse. Only one male gets to mate, then the female leaves the scene as quickly as possible.

The snake in a previous post that I said have sculptural qualities iss a red-bellied black snake, a venomous species from Australia. Still, a stunning species.

More Australian Elapids: Elapids are the family of venomous snakes containing cobras, mambas, coral snakes, etc.


Collett's snake--Pseudechhis colletti, related to the red-bellied black snake shown above.

Common or southern death adder, Acanthophis anarcticus. One of several species of the genus, which are some of the most dangerous snakes of Australia, death adders, are elapids and not vipers despite its appearance as. The term "death" is thought to have been derived from the word "deaf" referring to its inability to hear. The word "Acanthophis" means spiny snake and refers to a spine on its tail.

Pibara death adder
Acanthophis wellsei

Inland taipan or small-scale taipan--Oxyuranus microlepidotus

The inland taipan is the most venomous snake in the world; based on the median lethal dose value in mice, its venom, drop for drop, is by far the most toxic of any snake – much more so than even sea snakes[10][11][12] – and it has the most toxic venom of any reptile when tested on human heart cell culture.[13][14][15] Unlike most snakes, the inland taipan is a specialist mammal hunter so its venom is specially adapted to kill warm-blooded species.[16] It is estimated that one bite possesses enough lethality to kill at least 100 fully grown men,[17] and, depending on the nature of the bite, it has the potential to kill someone in as little as 30 to 45 minutes if left untreated.[18] It is an extremely fast and agile snake that can strike instantly with extreme accuracy,[19] often striking multiple times in the same attack,[20] and it envenoms in almost every case.[21]

Although extremely venomous and a capable striker, in contrast to the rather aggressive coastal taipan, the inland taipan is usually quite a shy and reclusive snake, with a placid disposition,[22] and prefers to escape from trouble.[23] However, it will defend itself and strike if provoked,[24] mishandled,[25] or prevented from escaping.[26] Also, because it lives in such remote locations, the inland taipan seldom comes in contact with people;[27] therefore it is not considered the most deadly snake in the world overall, especially in terms of disposition and human deaths per year.[28] The word "fierce" from its alternative name describes its venom, not its temperament.[29]

Steve Itwin plays with an inland taipan:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HXh0rLQPK5g

Coastal taipan--Oxyuranus scutellatus.
Another taipan related to the inland taipan, but hotter tempered.

The coastal taipan is primarily diurnal, being mostly active in the early to mid-morning period, although it may become nocturnal in hot weather conditions. When hunting, it appears to actively scan for prey using its well-developed eyesight, and is often seen traveling with its head raised slightly above ground level. Once prey is detected, the snake ‘freezes’ before hurling itself forward and issuing several quick bites. The prey is released and allowed to stagger away. This strategy minimizes the snake’s chance of being harmed in retaliation, particularly by rats, which can inflict lethal damage with their long incisors and claws.[16] It is not a confrontational snake and will seek to escape any threat. When cornered, though, it can become very aggressive and may strike repeatedly.[

The reason I'm posting a lot of Australian snakes is because I know very little about them. A large number of the snakes in Australia are elapids, the Cobra family. In the United States most of the snakes are in the harmless family of colubrids with only the coral snakes representing the elapid family. In contrast to the United States where most of the snakes are harmless and colorful, many of Australia's snakes seem to be large, dangerous, and drab, but they still are interesting to learn about.

There are about 172 species of snakes in Australia, and 83 of them are in the elapid family and many of them are very dangerous. However, just because of snake is large and deadly does not mean that it is hot tempered and prone to bite. One example of this is the previous video showing Steve Irwin free-handling the deadly inland taipan with little concern about the snake's extreme toxicity. He wasn't being reckless, he simply was familar with the personality and docile nature of the snake.

Never heard that term, in Britain we call our legless lizards slow worms. Don't know if they're the same.

I didn't know about the slowworm, but it's in a different genus than the European legless lizard although they are in the same family. We have a couple of species of legless lizards in the United States and they're interesting critters. I've picked up a couple of them and they're completely innocuous, but you have to be careful handling them because their tail, which is the majority of the whole animal, breaks off rather easily. The one in the picture looks like it lost part of its tail.

This is another video of Steve Irwin relating to an inland taipan or fierce snake, the same species in the previous video. Oxyuranus microlepidotus. He isn't handling this one. He's lying on the ground next to it, and it licks him on the face tasting him. Unbelievable!

These snakes have an extremely toxic venom with one bite able to kill 100 men. But they are relatively mild tempered.

Steve Irwin was a wonderful ambassador for the wildlife of nature, especially the
ones we fear and hate. Children loved him and so did I.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UETfZLsWWAM

The first time I saw one I initially thought it was a massive worm, it's only when I got closer I could make out its features. Not seen any tails coming off, but that doesn't mean they don't.

If you pick one up and hold it too tightly it will struggle mightily, and if you're holding onto the tail it snaps off and keeps wiggling to appease the predator. The problem is that from above it's very difficult to tell where the tail starts. From below it starts at the vent, and it comprises more than half the entire body. It grows back eventually, but it never looks like the original one. No doubt they're really cool animals.

Another dangerous Australian elapid, the mainland tiger snake--Notechis scutatus. It accounts for a lot of bites, but because it prefers frogs and lives near wetlands, and these area are in decline, the population of snakes is also in decline. Coloration varies greatly and bands are not as always evident. Notice this one showing the threatening dorsal/ventral flattening common in elapids.

Common or eastern brown snake--Pseudonaja textilis. A medium-large poisonous elapid of Australia known for its hot temper and accounting for 60% of the snake bite fatalities in Australia. In a defensive posture it raises the front part of its body off the ground and flattens its neck, which is so common in other Australian elapids. Its species name, textilis refers to its scalation looking like "fine stockings".


I ran into an Australian newspaper article warning residents of a small town to beware of an invasion of brown snakes which are fleeing from a fire. The snakes are seeking shelter from predators and food. Their favorite food happens to be the house mouse. And houses make good shelters.

This is a video of two guys road hunting from Texas to California. Road hunting is traveling at night on back roads looking for snakes and other animals. It's one of the favorite pastimes of herpetologists and other naturalists. This is their three day--or night--trip condensed into nine minutes. These guys are wonderful with wild animals and are positive role models.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=6s&v=dbnAj0Xs-mo

Here's the same guys coming back to Texas from California having fun with more snakes.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RF2IMFBm3FE

I think I once mentioned the year our wilderness (more or less) park was overrun with bull snakes. One was in a very exposed position and I thought I would help him to safety. Stupid critter tried to bite me. So much for that idea, though I was able to encourage others to get off the roadways. I'll let other people pick up the ungrateful creatures.

Highland copperhead--Austrelaps ramsayi
An Australian elapid not related to the U.S. copperhead.