Mud Adder Snakes

The Mud Adder (Denisonia devisi), also known as De Vis's banded snake, is an elapid snake found in certain regions of Eastern Australia, including South West Queensland, northern New South Wales and north-west Victoria. Its scientific and alternative name refer to Charles Walter De Vis (1829-1915), first Director of the Queensland Museum and writer of around 50 papers on herpetology.

The snake is short, thick and slightly flat, the eyes are set at the top of its head and have a conspicuous iris. Its yellowish brown to olive green colour is broken by irregular, ragged edged, narrow dark bands running across the body. De Vis banded snake is usually confused with Death Adders as both have thick, banded bodies. The main difference is that the De Vis banded snake’s tail does not taper abruptly and its head is not broad and triangular.