How to Identify De Vis' Banded Snake (Identification Guide)

Key identifying features

De Vis' Banded Snake is a small, secretive elapid distinguished by subtle, often indistinct pale crossbands or bands set against a brown to reddish-brown body, a more muted version of banding compared to strongly banded species elsewhere. A slightly darker head cap is another useful feature.

Coloration & pattern

The body color ranges from reddish-brown to chestnut brown, with narrow, sometimes faint pale bands or crossbars crossing the back at intervals; these can be quite subtle and harder to see on darker individuals. The head is often a shade darker than the body, sometimes with a faint dark band across the nape. The belly is pale cream to pinkish, generally unmarked.

Head, eyes & scales

The head is small, rounded, and barely wider than the neck, with moderate-sized eyes and round pupils. Scales are smooth and glossy. The slightly darker head coloring, when present, is a useful field mark against the paler-banded body.

Size & body shape

This is a small, slender species, typically less than 50 cm long, with a cylindrical body adapted to burrowing and moving through loose soil, leaf litter, and under surface debris.

Range & habitat where you'll see it

Found in dry woodlands, open forest, and sandy or rocky substrates in parts of Australia, usually hidden under logs, rocks, or leaf litter and rarely seen in the open during the day.

How to tell it apart from look-alikes

The faint, narrow pale banding on a reddish-brown body, combined with a slightly darker head, distinguishes De Vis' Banded Snake from the more uniformly colored Grey Snake and Marsh Snake, as well as from the more boldly blotched Ornamental Snake. Careful attention to the subtlety of the banding is important since it can be easy to overlook in poor lighting or on darker individuals.