Whip snake or Tree Snake

[B-Rock]

Ok people I need a hand.
How do we tell the difference between some of the whip snakes that are all over the place with some of the similar looking colubrids? Usually the eyes are a give away for colubrids but from the photos of whip snakes I have seen that look very similar. What are the identifiers?

 

[eladidare]

head shape. whip snakes have that general elapid shaped head, and tree snakes have sort of raised supraocular (above eye) scales. but eye size is a key.

 

[gillsy]

Whip snakes are generally found on the ground, yellow face whips would be the most common mistaken for tree snakes.

Whips have a yellow/cream line through their eye, and is noticable even from a distance.

They also have a kind of eye brow ridge, if i can call it that.

 

[smacdonald]

Tree snakes (and all Australian colubrids except Fordonia leucobalia) have a loreal scale. See this pic:

Brown tree snake head on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Of course, you have to get reasonably close to see the loreal (or lack of).


Stewart

 

[B-Rock]

Cheers for the replies.
I have had another look, I guess you can tell by the brow, sort off. But Those lovely big colubrid eyes are a give away.

Someone correct me if I am wrong.

2 Yellow-faced whip snakes & 2 brown tree snakes.

 

[MoreliaMatt]

thats correct

yellow faced whips look like they are crying.... to me anyway! lol

 

[Australis]

B-Rock,

Look for the loreal scale,its the middle scale between the eye and nose, Elapids do not have this scale, colubrids do.

 

[B-Rock]

lol, I don't wont to get bitten by a whip thinking its a tree snake when I look for the loreal.