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Black-striped Snake (Neelaps calonotos)

The Black-Striped Snake is a small, fossorial elapid recorded in coastal south-western Western Australia, including the Swan Coastal Plain. It uses sandy habitats, and its burrowing habits and venom mean crews should avoid handling it and use a cautious, staged approach to clearing. It is listed as Priority 3 on the WA DBCA priority fauna list, meaning it is poorly known, known from several locations and not considered under imminent threat.

Conservation status

Western Australia, WA Threatened and Priority Fauna List: Priority 3.

Seasonal planning

Seasonal activity, breeding and movement months are not known for this species. The row below is a general planning prompt, not a species-specific seasonal window.

Breeding, young and movement months are not known.

  • Plan surveys and clearance: Planning window only. No species-specific seasonal pattern is known; schedule checks and clearance controls according to project requirements and current site conditions.

Identification: Appearance and size

Use the combination of small size, a dark-striped back and a dark-marked head as a field clue. The species is venomous, so do not handle it for identification.

This is a very small, slender, fossorial snake. It has a pinkish or orange-red body, a dark vertebral stripe that can form a chain-like pattern, a dark band across the head and nape, and a dark snout. The underside is white.

A study recorded a maximum total length of 271 mm. Other records include females of 281 mm and 284 mm.

Identification: Similar species

Field comparisons with similar species are not available. Do not rely on colour alone to confirm identification.

Identification: Field signs

The snake is fossorial and burrowing, but no distinctive burrow, track or other field sign is known to confirm its presence. Treat an unidentified small snake in suitable sandy habitat as requiring expert assessment.

Distribution: Known range

The species is recorded in coastal south-western Western Australia. Atlas of Living Australia records show a broad record envelope, not precise locations for field verification.

The species is recorded in Western Australia. Atlas of Living Australia records matched to the current name comprise 167 records at 49 distinct 0.1-degree locations, from latitude -33.7 to -29.2 and longitude 114.9 to 117.5. Records outside WA were excluded as likely errors.

Distribution: WA regions and context

The DBCA priority list flags the Midwest and Swan regions. A review of the Swan Coastal Plain identifies the species as endemic or largely restricted to the Swan Coastal Plain. These regional statements do not establish presence at any particular development site.

Distribution: Status

The species is DBCA Priority 3, meaning it is poorly known, known from several locations and not under imminent threat. This is a WA priority list category, not a listing under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. It has no national listing.

Habitat: Reported settings

The species is associated with sandy environments in coastal south-western WA.

Reported habitat includes dunes, open woodlands and shrublands with sandy soils. Particular vegetation species, soil depths and site-level habitat requirements are not known.

Habitat: Applying habitat information

Use these broad habitat descriptions to guide desktop review and field attention, not as proof that the species is present or absent. Sandy ground within the reported regional range warrants consideration during site assessment.

Foraging habitat: Available diet information

Information on feeding is limited, and specific foraging sites are not known.

The species feeds at night on small animals such as lizards. Its diet has not been documented in detail, and no specific prey species are established.

Foraging habitat: Site implications

Foraging habitat has not been distinguished from the broader sandy habitats reported for the species. Do not infer a particular prey-rich feature or foraging location without site evidence.

Breeding habitat: Known reproduction

Breeding biology is poorly known.

The species is oviparous. Breeding months, nesting habitat, egg numbers and incubation details are not known.

Breeding habitat: Precaution

Do not assign a site or season as a breeding area without site evidence. During works, retain the general precautions for sandy habitat and stop for assessment if a snake or suspected eggs are encountered.

Sheltering habitat: Reported shelter

The snake is burrowing and fossorial, and shelters in loose sand during the day.

Loose sand is a reported daytime shelter, and the species is burrowing. A characteristic burrow shape, depth or shelter-site dimensions are not known.

Sheltering habitat: Worksite attention

Do not treat apparently empty sandy ground as evidence that the species is absent. No validated surface sign is known by which crews can rule out a fossorial snake.

Threats: Regional pressures

Regional reviews discuss pressures on reptile communities, but species-specific effects on this snake are not established.

Reviews of the northern Swan Coastal Plain identify habitat clearing and fragmentation, declining groundwater, inappropriate fire regimes or wildfire, and Phytophthora infection as potential pressures on reptile communities. These are regional considerations, not confirmed impacts on Neelaps calonotos.

Threats: Evidence limits

The species is listed as Priority 3 because it is poorly known. Its population trend has not been quantified, and a species-specific threat assessment is not available.

Survey methodology: 1. Desktop assessment

No validated survey protocol or detectability estimates are available for this species. The following are precautionary field practices for searching sandy habitat for a small fossorial snake, not confirmed species-specific methods.

Check the DBCA regional flag, available records and site habitat against the reported coastal south-western WA range and sandy habitat descriptions. Treat broad regional records as context, not confirmation of occurrence at the site.

Survey methodology: 2. Field search

Have a suitably qualified ecologist or fauna spotter-catcher inspect the work area and sandy ground before disturbance. Use careful visual searches and avoid destructive digging or turning over material in a way that could injure an animal.

Survey methodology: 3. Recording and safety

Record search effort, habitat, date and any observation or sign, including photographs where safe and appropriate. The snake is venomous: do not handle it, and use an appropriately qualified snake handler for any required intervention.

Vegetation associations: Woodland

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

Reported habitat includes dunes, open woodlands and shrublands with sandy soils.

Automatically indexed from existing profile text. Not a verified preference, mapped occurrence or habitat requirement. Check the original source and regional qualifiers before use.

Evidence: Unreviewed profile-derived candidate

Confidence: Not independently verified

Region: Scope as described in the quoted profile text; not independently verified. Profile states: WA.

Habitat use: general

Attribution gap: No sentence-level reference is attached to the original profile block. Review the profile bibliography; this candidate is not source-verified.

Vegetation associations: Shrubland

Reported habitat includes dunes, open woodlands and shrublands with sandy soils.

Automatically indexed from existing profile text. Not a verified preference, mapped occurrence or habitat requirement. Check the original source and regional qualifiers before use.

Evidence: Unreviewed profile-derived candidate

Confidence: Not independently verified

Region: Scope as described in the quoted profile text; not independently verified. Profile states: WA.

Habitat use: general

Attribution gap: No sentence-level reference is attached to the original profile block. Review the profile bibliography; this candidate is not source-verified.

Ecosystem associations

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

No species-specific ecosystem association has been indexed or source-checked in this evidence library. This is an evidence gap, not evidence of no association.

Soil and substrate associations

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

No species-specific soil association has been indexed or source-checked in this evidence library. This is an evidence gap, not evidence of no association.

Water and wetland associations

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

No species-specific water association has been indexed or source-checked in this evidence library. This is an evidence gap, not evidence of no association.

Fauna records and mapped habitat: Not yet analysed

Record locations can be overlaid with mapping, but record frequency alone does not measure habitat preference. No species is excluded from desktop assessments by this analysis.

No quality-controlled record-to-map analysis has been completed for this species. The existing generalised distribution dots and indicative range polygons have not been treated as precise occurrence coordinates.

A defensible run needs dated, independently attributable records, coordinate uncertainty, duplicate and captive-record checks, layer versions and regional scope. Preference and absence require additional survey-effort and detection evidence.

Habitat limitations and contrary evidence: No supported exclusion recorded

Not recorded is not the same as cannot occur. Low suitability, resident habitat, breeding habitat and occasional movement are different conclusions.

This library has not established a vegetation, ecosystem or soil-type exclusion for this species. This does not mean all habitat is suitable; the evidence needed to justify an exclusion has not been assembled.

Habitat limitations and contrary evidence: Before using a negative association

  • Confirm the taxon, geographic region, life stage and habitat function covered by the evidence.
  • Check survey methods, season, repeated effort and detectability before interpreting non-detection.
  • Investigate credible contradictory records and microhabitats absent from broad mapping.
  • Do not convert a missing map class, low record count or failed data request into species absence.

Before habitat disturbance: 1. Plan and brief

Plan for the possibility of a fossorial snake in suitable sandy habitat, even though site-level presence and reliable detection methods are not established.

Review records and habitat, define the disturbance footprint and arrange pre-clearance fauna checks by suitably qualified personnel. Brief crews that the species is small, burrowing and venomous, and that it has a WA Priority 3 listing.

Before habitat disturbance: 2. Prepare the work area

Keep clearing within the approved footprint and identify a clear stop-work process. Ensure workers know not to pick up or approach a snake and know who to contact for expert assistance.

During habitat disturbance: 1. Clear cautiously

Use staged, controlled work and keep personnel clear of any snake encountered.

Proceed in manageable stages with the fauna spotter-catcher able to inspect the active work area. Avoid unnecessary disturbance of adjacent sandy habitat and do not use destructive probing or excavation to search for the species.

During habitat disturbance: 2. Stop and respond

If a snake is seen or suspected, stop work in the immediate area, keep people and machinery back, and notify the designated fauna lead. Do not touch, capture or move it unless this is undertaken by an appropriately qualified person under the applicable approvals and procedures.

During habitat disturbance: 3. Document

Record the location, circumstances and response. Resume work only when the fauna lead confirms that it is safe and consistent with site requirements.

After habitat disturbance: 1. Check the work area

Close out any encounter or suspected occurrence carefully, and retain information that can improve future site planning.

After disturbance, have the fauna lead inspect the affected area and any relevant retained habitat for further observations. Do not assume that one observation accounts for all possible animals.

After habitat disturbance: 2. Report and review

Document survey effort, observations, incidents and actions taken, and submit records through the applicable project and agency processes. Use the findings to review the remaining work plan and the adequacy of controls.

Rehabilitation actions: 1. Restore disturbed ground

Species-specific rehabilitation or translocation requirements are not known.

Where rehabilitation is required, follow the approved site plan and restore disturbed areas to the specified sandy substrate and vegetation condition. Avoid creating new disturbance outside the footprint.

Rehabilitation actions: 2. Check outcomes

Record rehabilitation methods and monitor against project objectives. Habitat restoration does not guarantee recolonisation or survival of this species.

Sources