Snake I.D Please

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It is a Colubrid as it possesses a loreal scale (applies in Australia only). Loreal scales separate the nasal from the pre-oculars scales. However, it is not a tree snake. They are not that colour or pattern, have a more angular, elongated head that is wedge shaped in profile, the size of the eye is over half the thickness of the head, and the head shield tend to be more rectangular in shape.

It is a Keelback Tropidonophis mairii because, in addition to the rostral scale, there are some keels visible on what little of the dorsal scales that can be seen, the rear part of the mouth curves distinctly upward and there are dark joins between the upper labial scales. The shape of the head shields is also consistent with a Keelback, such as the shield shaped frontal and the almost triangular shape of the parietals.
 
Shaggers89, Bluetongue1, I'm not sure if we're looking at the same photos but that is most certainly not a keelback. The most obvious feature that tells me that straight away is that it does not have a loreal scale. It is very clear in all of the head photos that St3v3 has provided that the post-nasal scale is directly touching the pre-ocular scale indicating that it is an elapid and not a colubrid. If you both would like I can go into more reasons why it is not a keelback, however I feel the lack of the loreal scale should be enough.

St3v3, the snake you are holding is a lesser black whip snake Demansia vestigiata, which is venomous and a potential threat to humans. Reasons why it's a lesser black whip snake: 1) head shape, with the tip of their snout being approximately one eye width from their eye along with a slightly rounded end to the snout, 2) the black speckling around the face in combination with the pale areas around the eye and black comma present under eye, 3) lack of the black strip around the nasal area, 4) shape and placement of the head shields (not sure how these look like those on keelbacks), and 5) the body scale shape and colouration.

For future encounters St3v3, I highly recommend that you do not pick up any snakes that you can not identify (or any that you can unless you know exactly what you're doing), particularly has you have done here. While you may have felt safe holding and controlling the snakes head, how you have done so with a finger below the mouth of the snake has put you at great risk of being bitten as snakes can and will bite through their mouth when provoked. With a lesser black whip there probably wasn't much chance of that occurring, however if in future you were to accidentally do this with a species with longer fangs, such as a death adder or taipan, you may not end up so lucky.

Cheers, Cameron
 
Spot on Cameron. Most definitely an elapid and agree to it being a Lesser Black Whip. Somewhat surprised Bluetongue1 got it so wrong.
 
Whoooooaaaaaa....... some seriously bad posting here! :O

If you're not sure, don't post on snake ID requests!

+1 to Baker/Cameron's post, he's said almost everything I would have and a few things I wouldn't have.

If you don't know exactly what you're doing, don't give a definitive answer to a snake ID, and far out, Bluetongue, I'm amazed at this from you!
 
Thank you Cameron for correcting my serious error. I do feel awful about getting something so import wrong.

I have noted that the images rendered by laptop of late do not seem to concur with what others can see. In this case the dark patch on the pre-ocular scale appeared to be a scale division. I intend to have this looked at ASAP.

Your ID resolved some other queries I had, but put down to the specimen being a variant in a region I have no familiarity with. I will say that my initial thoughts were to ask for a shot of the dorsum and the underneath of the tail from vent to tip. Clearly I should have stuck to my initial instincts. Maybe it’s time I retired…
 
Thank You Cameron for correcting my seriouss error i feel terrible about after a better look on my Phone i certianly agree lesser black whip. it also seems i have the same problem my Laptop Renders images different to the renders on my phone maybe its time for an eye check...
 

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