![]() The inside of the mouth is dull pinkish-grey. The eye is large with a dark iris and a reddish-orange ring around the pupil. The belly is dirty-cream, yellow or medium brown, becoming paler under the throat and chin. A dark band on the neck is often present, and there may also be a scattering of dark brown or black scales on the head and neck. Broad bands are occasionally interspersed with a number of narrower bands. These bands can be one to many scales wide and range from very faint to quite distinct. While some individuals may be unpatterned, there is usually a degree of dark banding present which is often more pronounced along the sides and posterior half of the body. Dorsal colour and pattern is highly variable the base colour ranges from pale to medium brown on the body, with the head often darker brown. Scales are smooth and semi-glossy, often very glossy around the head and neck. When viewed from above the snout has a chisel-shaped appearance due in part to the enlarged strap-like rostral scale. Pseudonaja aspidorhyncha A long and slender snake, with a smallish head indistinct from the neck. Despite the enormous challenge researchers were able to narrow down a number of basic colour morphs, and recent genetic studies have now built upon earlier findings to confirm the existence of at least three species within the nuchalis-complex. Ontogenetic colour changes, suggestions of intergrades, and possible hybridisation with other Pseudonaja species added to the confusion. The most easily-observed difference between mengdeni and nuchalis is that the rostral scale in nuchalis is long and strap-like, and the snout appears squared-off from above, whereas in mengdeni the rostral is not particularly elongated and the snout is more rounded.Western Brown Snakes may also be confused with another large brownish-coloured snake, the unrelated Mulga Snake Pseudechis australis, however Mulga Snakes tend to have a broader head and “heavier” build (particularly larger specimens), and never show any sort of banded pattern.įor many years it was suspected that the widespread Western Brown Snake ( Pseudonaja nuchalis) was in fact a composite species, however efforts to split nuchalis were largely defeated by the extreme level of colour and pattern variation encountered both within and between populations. ![]() nuchalis by its lighter coloured mouth (blackish in both mengdeni and nuchalis). ![]() Within the Western Brown Snakes Pseudonaja aspidorhyncha may be differentiated from Pseudonaja mengdeni and P. Close examination is often necessary (generally not recommended when live!) to make a positive identification. Western Brown Snakes overlap in distribution with a number of other snakes that are similar in appearance, particularly other species of brown snake ( Pseudonaja spp.). ![]()
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