Grey snake
Common name: Grey snake
Scientific name: Hemiaspis damelii
Conservation status: The grey snake is 'Endangered' in Queensland (Nature Conservation Act 1992).
Description: Grey snakes are uniform olive grey to grey above, except that each scale, especially those on the flanks, may be tipped with black anteriorly. The top of the head and the first few scale rows are black in juveniles. This dark patch reduces to a narrow bar in adults, or may rarely disappear completely. Ventral surfaces are white to cream, usually flecked with dark grey. The total length of the snake is 0.6m.
Habitat and distribution: It favours woodlands, usually on heavier, cracking clay soils, particularly in association with water bodies.
Its distribution extends from central inland New South Wales, north to Rockhampton. Within Queensland records are known from near Goondiwindi and the adjacent Darling-Riverine Plain from the Darling Downs and from the Lockyer Valley. Several isolated records also occur in the Rockhampton area.
Behaviour and life history: Grey snakes mostly feed on frogs and occasionally lizards. They bear live young and 4-16 young are born, usually between January and March. Individuals take about 12 months to mature.
Threatening processes: Threats suspected to have affected this species are land clearing, the introduction of cane toads (poisoning through ingestion) and destruction of wetlands.
Recovery actions:
- Negotiate management agreements for the protection of priority areas and key habitat areas in line with management guidelines.
- Provide resources and/or technical advice and facilitate the up-take of appropriate management of key habitat and threatening processes by industry stakeholders.
- Work with local governments to protect snake habitat on the stock route network and shire roadsides and reserves.
- Work with landholders to conduct monitoring programs on land with species presence, potential key habitat and/or high threatening processes identified.
- Encourage schools participating in reptile educational programs to adopt a local reptile species as their school icon. Encourage local governments participating in recovery actions to adopt a local reptile species as the shire icon.
Further information:
A draft recovery plan is being prepared for Brigalow Belt Reptiles that includes this species: Richardson, R. (in prep). Draft Queensland Brigalow Belt Reptile Recovery Plan 2007-2011. Report to the Department of the Environment and Heritage, Canberra. WWF, Australia.
Last updated: 05 September 2006