Today I Saw a Native Animal

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We've had fantastic weather over the last 5 days and the seals are swimming up the river now it's back to a normal flow.
 

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I’d suggest being very very careful in trying to identify snakes by their colouring. The attached photo (from the ”Snakes of the Pilbara” publication) shows the variations in colours of a clutch of Gwadars or Western Brown Snakes.View attachment 9157
The colour of snakes can certainly be misleading.
A naturalist once told me that the snake known as the king brown is actually a type of black snake.
This is interesting because, since the black snake is more placid and less venomous than the eastern brown
it seems to indicate that the king brown may share those welcome attributes.
Not that I would welcome either one of them in my bedroll.
 
The snake once known as the king brown is now known as the mulga snake (Pseudechis australis), I guess to distinguish it from the unrelated eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis), which it resembles in appearance. As you were correctly informed, the mulga snake is in the same family as the red-bellied black snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) of the east coast.

The main problems with the mulga snake are:
1. Although its venom is less toxic than the eastern brown snake (and works differently, causing muscle paralysis rather than nervous system collapse), its output of venom is greater than any other Australian venomous species; and
2. Treatment of mulga snake bite victims with brown snake antivenom is ineffective - black snake antivenom is necessary!

Here in WA, both the dugite and the gwardar can also be brown-coloured, but since they're in the same family (Pseudonaja) as the eastern brown, ordinary brown snake antivenom is an effective treatment for either. Unfortunately, because the mulga snake is a brown-coloured snake too, there's a big danger of incorrect identification resulting in incorrect medical intervention.
 
The snake once known as the king brown is now known as the mulga snake (Pseudechis australis), I guess to distinguish it from the unrelated eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis), which it resembles in appearance. As you were correctly informed, the mulga snake is in the same family as the red-bellied black snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) of the east coast.

The main problems with the mulga snake are:
1. Although its venom is less toxic than the eastern brown snake (and works differently, causing muscle paralysis rather than nervous system collapse), its output of venom is greater than any other Australian venomous species; and
2. Treatment of mulga snake bite victims with brown snake antivenom is ineffective - black snake antivenom is necessary!

Here in WA, both the dugite and the gwardar can also be brown-coloured, but since they're in the same family (Pseudonaja) as the eastern brown, ordinary brown snake antivenom is an effective treatment for either. Unfortunately, because the mulga snake is a brown-coloured snake too, there's a big danger of incorrect identification resulting in incorrect medical intervention.
Thanks for that interesting info.
I was also told that the eastern brown snake has short fangs so that if it bites at you through thick socks or a pair of jeans it should not break the skin.
As a confirmed panner, I wear gum boots so ankle biters ae the least of my concerns.
 

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