STEPHEN'S BANDED SNAKE

 

Photographed in Watagan State Forest, NSW, December 2020

161                 STEPHEN'S BANDED SNAKE                    Hoplocephalus stephensii

AUSTRALIAN SNAKES               36

One of a group of three large snakes with broad, flat heads. Nocturnal, arboreal and can climb rocks. Ranges on the coast from Gosford (NSW) to Kroombit Tops, Queensland. Occurs in a variety of habitats, from rainforests, wet sclerophyll and dry sclerophyll forest to rock outcrops. Shelters beneath loose bark, among epiphytes, in hollow logs, limbs and rock crevices, or under slabs. Feeds on lizards, frogs, mammals and birds. Potentially dangerous.