Cryptophis nigrescens

Eastern Small-eyed Snake at Moruya, NSW

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Identification history

	Cryptophis nigrescens	26 Apr 2019	PatrickCampbell
	Unidentified	25 Apr 2019	LisaH

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User's notes

I'm assuming two baby red-belly black, newly dead (run over, I think).

4 comments

PatrickCampbell wrote:

26 Apr 2019

Looks more like Cryptophis nigrescens to me, although it's hard to be sure based solely on these photos of ant-covered specimens. Did you happen to take any shots of the underside or close-ups of the head? Please add them if you did.

LisaH wrote:

26 Apr 2019

Thank you. I've turned over the one remaining snake. Does this help? Looks like the head is lost.

PatrickCampbell wrote:

26 Apr 2019

Yes, that definitely helps. Thanks Lisa. I'm sure it's a Small-eyed Snake after seeing the additional photo of the belly. A key difference between these two similar looking species is the belly of the Red-bellied Black Snake is strikingly barred with regular black bands, as there is a black posterior edge to each belly scale. The Small-eyed Snake doesn't have these distinct black ventral bands.

LisaH wrote:

26 Apr 2019

Fantastic - thank you! I'm learning so much by submitting to the Nature Map. I appreciate your time.

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