Notechis scutatus

Tiger Snake at Ben Boyd National Park

Notechis scutatus at Ben Boyd National Park - 24 Mar 2019
Notechis scutatus at Ben Boyd National Park - 24 Mar 2019
Request use of media

Identification history

Notechis scutatus 19 Nov 2023 PatrickCampbell
Notechis scutatus 8 Oct 2019 PatrickCampbell
Unidentified 25 Mar 2019 Allan

Identify this sighting


Please Login or Register to identify this sighting.

User's notes

I estimate about 100-120 cm long. Deep tan with a yellowish underbelly. No banding. Saw the same type of snake about a week ago - in the same place. Thought it might be a tiger or brown snake?

6 comments

   25 Mar 2019
It's difficult to positively ID this snake from the photo provided.
Is the head visible? Do you have any more pics that you can post up Allan?
Allan wrote:
   26 Mar 2019
No other photos, sorry. When I saw it the first time I did see its head and it its head did look a bit like the picture of the golden-crowned snake at the "what snake is that" site (http://www.whatsnakeisthat.com.au/category/region/nsw-act/south-coast/). But the rest of the body was uniformly dark tan with a yellow underbelly. But I do remember thinking at the time that it's head was a bit unusual. Certainly if I see it again I'll try and get a picture of its head.
   27 Mar 2019
Be very careful trying to get a photo of the head Allan, as it might be a dangerously venomous species like a Tiger Snake (a lean one). If you have a telephoto/zoom lens option I recommend using it, as it's wise to keep your distance from unidentified snakes. I don't think it's a Golden-crowned Snake, as it's out of range (they're not naturally known to be this far south).
I strongly suspect that it's a Tiger Snake based on coloration, total length and what I perceive to be very faint banding, so please be very careful. Tigers usually give you plenty of warning, so if you keep a safe distance and use a telephoto lens (100 mm+ ideally) you should be OK to take better pics that include the head if you can.
Allan wrote:
   28 Mar 2019
Great! Thanks for the advice. It's getting colder now so maybe I won't see it until next year? Certainly will try (carefully) to get a picture of the head. Also yes it doesn't look like any of the brown snakes we used to get out west at Wagga Wagga.
Allan wrote:
   1 Apr 2019
Hi Patrick,
I found a picture on the net of what I think looks very much like the snake I saw and so I've added the picture to the sighting, explaining that it was not the same snake but something that looked almost the same. It is a tiger so your words of caution are certainly important! Thanks again.
   9 Oct 2019
Thanks Allan. You may see this snake again as the weather warms up, and as I strongly suspect it to be a Tiger Snake and you also think it looked like the Tiger you added a pic of, please be careful. Having said that, I've found Tigers to be shy and retiring, preferring to retreat if given half the chance and will also give fair warning with defensive body posturing if you come a bit closer than they're comfortable with.

Please Login or Register to comment.

Nearby sightings

Page 1 of 1 - image sightings only

Location information

Sighting information

  • 1 Abundance
  • 24 Mar 2019 06:26 PM Recorded on
  • Allan Recorded by

Species information

Record quality

  • Images or audio
  • More than one media file
  • Confirmed by an expert moderator
  • Nearby sighting(s) of same species
  • GPS evidence of location
  • Description
  • Additional attributes
2,148,794 sightings of 19,882 species in 6,407 locations from 11,276 contributors
CCA 3.0 | privacy
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this land and acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.