Eastern Brown Snake (Pseudonaja textilis) lives in deserts across Australia and New Guinea. It feeds on small mammals rodents. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Eastern Brown Snake
- A fully grown eastern brown snake can stretch, reaching up to 2 m (7 ft) and, in rare cases, 2.4 m (7.9 ft). Most adults measure around 1.5 m (4.9 ft), but northern populations tend to be larger than their southern cousins. It often hunts in open farmland.
- Its bite is the deadliest in Australia: the eastern brown snake is the world's second-most venomous land snake, second only to the inland taipan, and accounts for more snake-bite deaths than any other species down under. Between 2005 and 2015, brown snakes caused 41 % of identified snake-bite victims and 15 of the 19 recorded deaths, with the eastern brown snake responsible for the majority. This lethal efficiency makes rapid medical treatment essential whenever a bite occurs.
- A female can lay a clutch of 10-35 eggs, each weighing about 8 g (0.28 oz). Warmth speeds development: at 25 °C (77 °F) the eggs hatch after 95 days, but at 30 °C (86 °F) they emerge in just 36 days. Young snakes become sexually mature in roughly 31 months and can live up to 15 years in captivity.
- During winter the snakes spend an average of 140 days coiled in burrows, a behavior called brumation. Males usually start this deep rest by early May and emerge in the first week of September, while females wait until late September. Large groups have been found under concrete slabs, 13 snakes under a 5 m × 3 m (16 ft × 10 ft) slab and up to six together in smaller slabs.
- When it feels threatened, the eastern brown snake can sprint faster than a human at full speed, according to naturalist David Fleay. Its rapid strike is aided by a full-body neck display, allowing a precise bite often landing on the upper thigh of a fleeing person.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeAustralia and New Guinea
HabitatDeserts
DietSmall mammals rodents
About the Eastern Brown Snake
In the sun-baked expanses of the Australian outback, the Eastern Brown Snake glides with effortless elegance, its slender, tawny form weaving through the grasses with a silent, almost spectral precision. As it moves, its unblinking eyes seem to drink in every detail of its surroundings, ever-vigilant for the slightest whisper of prey or potential threat. With its potent venom and lightning-fast strike, this majestic serpent is a master of its domain, a true monarch of the arid wilderness.
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