We encountered three poisonous snakes on our Kokoda trek.
I was able to photograph this one. It does not look in good shape as I think part of its body has been smashed by a rock. Nevertheless, it should be pretty easy for some budding herpetologist (someone who studies reptiles and amphibians) to identify. If you think you know what it is, I would like to know because Sue and I have looked on the web and our best guess is some species of death adder.
Oh yes, there is a prize for the one who identifies the snake. The prize is you will get your first name published on our blog!
2 comments:
I'm no herpetologist, but it appears to me that it's a New Guinean ground boa. The death adder photos I've found have stripes around the body, and this one has a random reticulated pattern. Also, adders have a triangle-shaped head, and this one doesn't... Ground boas are very fat and grow to only about a meter long, as it appears this one matched that description, too... hmmm.
Here's a picture of a New Guine ground boa... (also known as a viper boa)
http://jc_reptiles.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/viperboa.jpg
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