What is a red and black snake?

The red-bellied black snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus ) is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae, indigenous to Australia. Originally described by George Shaw in 1794 as a species new to science, it is one of eastern Australia's most commonly encountered snakes. Averaging around 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in) in length, it has glossy black upperparts, bright red or orange flanks, and a pink or dull red belly. It is not aggressive and generally retreats from human encounters, but can attack if provoked. Although its venom can cause significant illness, no deaths have been recorded from its bite, which is less venomous than other Australian elapid snakes. The venom contains neurotoxins, myotoxins, and coagulants and has haemolytic properties. Victims can also lose their sense of smell.

Table of Contents Show

Pseudechis porphyriacus
Identification:
Distribution:
Similar species:
Additional Information:
Where do red and black snakes live?
What color is a poisonous snake?
What is the name of the black and red snake?
What happens if you get bitten by a red belly black snake?

Common in woodlands, forests and swamplands, the red-bellied black snake often ventures into nearby urban areas. It forages in bodies of shallow water, commonly with tangles of water plants and logs, where it hunts its main prey item, frogs, as well as fish, reptiles, and small mammals. The snake is a least-concern species according to the IUCN, but its numbers are thought to be declining due to habitat fragmentation and decline of frog populations.

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Pseudechis porphyriacus

Red-bellied Black Snake, Pseudechis porphyriacus

Red-bellied Black Snake, Pseudechis porphyriacus eating an Eastern Brown Snake, Pseudonaja textilis.
Photograph by Joe Sambono.

Identification:

The Red-bellied Black Snake has a shiny, immaculate black back and the tip of the snout is brown. The belly is cream, but each scale has a dark hind edge. There is red on the lower flanks. This species grows to 2 metres. Midbody scale rows 17; ventrals 170–215; anal paired; subcaudals single at front, remainder divided 40–65.

Distribution:

Found in north-eastern Queensland from Big Tableland to Mt Elliot. It is present in mid-eastern Queensland in the Proserpine and Eungella regions. The southern part of its range extends from Gladstone (south-eastern Queensland) through New South Wales and Victoria to south-eastern South Australia.

Habitat:

Usually found in well watered areas such as river and creek banks and swamps. Also known from rainforests, wet eucalypt forests and heaths.

Habits:

This species is active by day.

Danger:

A dangerously venomous species with strongly haemotoxic and cytotoxic venom. If bitten, apply first aid and seek urgent medical attention. First aid procedure for any snakebite from the Australian Venom Research Unit.

Food:

Feeds on fish, frogs, reptiles (including other snakes) and small mammals. Cane Toads are sometimes taken (with fatal results for the snake).

Breeding:

Mating activity occurs during spring and mid-summer. Five to nineteen live young are born between October and March. The newborn snakes are around 22 cm from the tip of the snout to the base of the tail (snout-vent length).

Similar species:

Most similar to the Small-eyed snake (Cryptophis nigrescens), which is smaller and has different scalation, a small flat head with tiny eyes and a slim build. Cryptophis nigrescens has a coral pink or cream belly, sometimes blotched, and lacks red on its lower flanks.

Additional Information:

This species has declined in many areas where Cane Toads occur.

The Red-bellied Black Snake is an inhabitant of coastal swamps and waterways.

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Snakes with red and black stripes can range from deadly poisonous to completely harmless, so it's important to be able to distinguish between different species. While bright markings on snakes generally indicate that you should keep your distance, some snakes only use their colors to ward off predators and will cause nothing more than a puncture wound if they bite. A few telltale markings are generally all you need to distinguish the venomous coral snake from nonvenomous red and black striped snakes.

Look for red, black and yellow or white banding around the snake's body to identify a coral snake, a highly venomous snake in North America. Several snakes have similar markings, but coral snakes have red bands sandwiched between yellow or white bands.

A shiny black snake with thin red stripes running along the length of its body is probably a rainbow snake. The rainbow snake lives in streams, lakes and swamps, mostly in the southeast United States. It is nonvenomous.

A corn snake is mostly red or rust-colored and marked with thin black bands. Corn snakes, a North American species, are nonvenomous.

The nonvenomous scarlet king snake, another North American species, has red, black and yellowish-white bands. It looks similar to the coral snake, except the red bands are sandwiched between black bands. Also, the bands do not extend across the belly.

The rhyme, "Red and yellow, kill a fellow; red and black, friend of Jack" can help you remember the difference between a deadly coral snake and its nonpoisonous look a likes.

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About the Author

Based in the Washington, D.C., area, Dan Taylor has been a professional journalist since 2004. He has been published in the "Baltimore Sun" and "The Washington Times." He started as a reporter for a newspaper in southwest Virginia and now writes for "Inside the Navy." He holds a Bachelor of Arts in government with a journalism track from Patrick Henry College.

Where do red and black snakes live?

The Red-bellied Black Snake can be found all along the east coast of Australia, and northern parts of Victoria. Mating occurs in the spring time. Males have been known to travel long distances in search of females.

What color is a poisonous snake?

Generally, the more colorful and patterned a snake is, the more dangerous it is. Most solid colored snakes are relatively harmless; though there are always exceptions to this rule.

What is the name of the black and red snake?

The coral snake is the only red-and-black-banded venomous snake in the United States, but other nonvenomous banded snakes can be found around the country.

What happens if you get bitten by a red belly black snake?

The venom has predominantly anticoagulant and myotoxic effects, and symptoms of envenomation include bleeding and/or swelling at the bite site, nausea, vomiting, headache, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, sweating, local or general muscle pain and weakness, and red-brown urine (due to myoglobin being released from damaged ...