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Masters' Snake (Drysdalia mastersii)

Masters' Snake is a small, venomous elapid found in parts of South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. It uses mallee, heath, sandy coastal habitats and associated ground cover, and may be affected by vegetation clearing, fire, fragmentation and loss of shelter on development sites.

Conservation status

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Critically endangered.

Breeding season

Masters' Snake is a live-bearing snake. Births are documented from late February to mid April, and mating occurs soon after birth. Because winter sperm storage and the duration of pregnancy are not fully documented, plan clearing conservatively around late summer to winter sheltering.

Reproductive mode: Viviparous, producing live young.

Litter size: Usually 2 to 3 young, with a mean of 2.8.

Gestation: Not recorded.

Size at birth: About 8 cm snout to vent length. One record gives 83 mm snout to vent length, 20 mm tail length and 103 mm total length.

Age at maturity: Not recorded.

Nest or egg sites: Not applicable to this live-bearing species. Specific birthing sites have not been reported.

Breeding frequency: Not recorded. The species produces young each year in the available assessment.

Confirm timing locally before works, particularly after changes in rainfall or temperature, because the available sources do not provide a species-specific activity calendar or gestation period.

  • Mating: Mating occurs soon after females give birth. Births occur from late February to mid April, so mating is expected mainly from late February to April, but no monthly peak is documented.
  • Gravid females: Species-specific months for gravid females are not reported. For planning, treat females as potentially carrying embryos around the late February to mid April birth period, noting that sperm may be stored over winter and gestation length is unknown.
  • Births: Young are born from late February to mid April. The documents do not identify a peak within this period.
  • Newborns: Newborns are expected from late February to mid April. Birth size is about 8 cm snout to vent length, with one record giving 103 mm total length.
  • Active period: No species-specific active months are documented. As a temperate, diurnal, shuttling heliotherm, treat September to April as the likely general surface activity period, subject to local temperature.
  • Winter inactivity: Brumation and winter inactivity are not specifically documented. For temperate southern populations, treat May to August as a period when snakes may shelter in vegetation, litter and debris and be less able to escape machinery.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest from February to August as this combines the late February to mid April birth period with the general winter sheltering period. Retain and inspect dense vegetation, litter and ground debris before clearing throughout this window.

Identification

Masters' Snake is a small, slender snake with a dark head, a pale lip stripe and a yellow to orange nape band. It is venomous, so identification should be done from a safe distance and any capture should follow the project fauna handling procedure.

Adults are grey, brown, olive-grey or dark grey above, with the head darker than the body. A white stripe runs along the upper lip from the nostril, below the eye and towards the neck. A pale yellow to orange or off-white band crosses the nape and is often narrowly broken at the midline. The underside is orange centrally and may be grey with black speckling along the sides.

Juveniles are darker than adults and have a bright orange-red underside, a pale upper-lip stripe and a light nape band.

Maximum reported length: Less than 30 cm for Victorian specimens; other references report 33 to 40 cm.

Scale characters: Usually 15 dorsal scale rows at mid-body, 130 to 146 ventral scales and 32 to 51 undivided subcaudal scales.

Victorian subcaudal count: Reported as 34 to 43 in one Victorian assessment.

Identification: Similar species

The main field comparison is the White-lipped Snake, Drysdalia coronoides. Masters' Snake has a broken orange-yellow or pale nape band and generally fewer subcaudal scales. The two species are reported not to overlap in range.

Masters' Snake should not be identified from colour alone because dorsal colour varies between regions and subspecies. A suspected animal should be photographed from a safe distance and referred to a suitably qualified herpetologist where confirmation is needed.

Masters' Snake subcaudals: 32 to 51, with 34 to 43 reported for Victorian specimens.

White-lipped Snake subcaudals: 38 to 67.

  • Do not handle the snake solely to confirm its identity.
  • Record the location, habitat, photographs, estimated length and behaviour.
  • Use a trained fauna spotter catcher for any required capture or relocation.

Identification: Field signs

The supplied sources do not describe reliable tracks, scats, calls, nests, sloughs or eyeshine for this species. Snakes may leave little diagnostic evidence apart from direct observation or a shed skin, and a shed skin should be retained for expert identification if found.

During pre-clearing checks, inspect live vegetation, plant litter and ground debris in mallee, heath and porcupine grass habitat. Avoid relying on absence of sightings as evidence that the species is absent.

Distribution: National range

Masters' Snake is endemic to southern Australia and has a disjunct distribution. Records are concentrated in the Victorian and South Australian mallee and in a narrow coastal band extending from south-western Western Australia through southern South Australia.

The species occurs in Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria. The western and coastal occurrence extends from near Esperance through south-western Western Australia and southern South Australia, eastwards as far as the Spencer Gulf. A separate occurrence is present in north-western Victoria and adjoining south-eastern South Australia, including the Big Desert and nearby mallee areas.

The supplied sources do not provide formal IBRA bioregion names. The geographic areas described are south-western Western Australia, the southern South Australian coast and mallee, the Eyre Peninsula and the Victorian and South Australian Big Desert and mallee.

Distribution: Subpopulations and trend

The Victorian and South Australian mallee population is geographically disjunct from the coastal and south-western Western Australian occurrence. The mallee populations may be taxonomically distinct from coastal populations, but this requires further research.

The Victorian assessment reports a marked decline. No Masters' Snakes were recorded over three field seasons when the Chinaman Well area was retrapped between 2015 and 2018, although one individual was recorded on private property south of the Big Desert in late 2017. The species may persist in long-unburnt patches and on private land, but its current distribution is poorly resolved.

Victorian extent of occurrence: Estimated at 4,824 km² from accepted post-1970 Victorian records.

Victorian area of occupancy: Estimated at 135 km² using 2 by 2 km grid cells.

Estimated population reduction: The Victorian assessment estimated 40% to 98% reduction over the preceding 6 to 18 years and projected 50% to 100% reduction over the following 6 to 18 years.

Mature population size: Not known.

Habitat: Vegetation communities

Masters' Snake occupies dry inland and coastal habitats with dense vegetation and ground cover. The most important documented habitat feature is persistent live vegetation and associated litter or debris that provide shelter from heat and predators.

Recorded habitats include mallee, heath, grassland, coastal heath on dunes and limestone, and sandy plains with grasses. In the Victorian and South Australian mallee it is usually associated with porcupine grass, Triodia scariosa.

The species has also been recorded in dense coastal heath and in heathlands near the coast in south-eastern Western Australia.

Habitat: Structure and climate

Long-unburnt vegetation appears to provide important shelter and drought refuge. Live vegetation, plant litter and ground debris are used to reduce exposure to very high summer ground temperatures and predators.

The supplied documents do not give an elevation limit, temperature threshold or minimum patch size. They describe a distribution spanning dry mallee and coastal heath, including sandy and limestone soils.

  • Retain dense ground vegetation, porcupine grass, litter and low shrub cover wherever practicable.
  • Treat long-unburnt mallee and heath patches as potential habitat even when no snakes are observed during a site inspection.
  • Map habitat separated by roads, cleared corridors and recently burnt areas before works begin.

Foraging habitat: Diet

Masters' Snake is a diurnal predator that feeds mainly on small lizards, particularly skinks. It forages in the same mallee, heath and grass dominated vegetation that provides cover.

The documented diet is mainly skinks. Frogs are also recorded as occasional prey, although one Victorian assessment based on stomach contents from four specimens reported only skinks.

The sources do not identify particular food plants or quantify the species' foraging range. Vegetation that supports skinks and other small reptiles is therefore likely to contribute to feeding habitat.

Primary prey: Skinks and other small lizards.

Additional prey: Frogs have been recorded.

Foraging period: Diurnal.

Foraging habitat: Site implications

Clearing that removes dense ground vegetation, litter and shrub cover can reduce both prey habitat and safe foraging areas. Retaining connected patches of mallee, heath and grass cover may help maintain prey availability across a work site.

  • Inspect dense vegetation and litter before clearing, particularly where skinks are common.
  • Avoid unnecessary removal of ground cover from retained habitat and access areas.
  • Record prey-rich habitat such as dense Triodia, heath and litter separately from open cleared ground.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Masters' Snake is viviparous, so females give birth to live young rather than laying eggs. The supplied sources do not state the mating period, birth months, gestation length or age at maturity.

Breeding mode: Viviparous, also described as ovoviviparous in the supplied taxonomic database.

Litter size: Mean 2.8 young, with a reported range of 2 to 3.

Size at birth: About 8 cm snout to vent length.

Gestation: Not reported in the supplied documents.

Age at maturity: Not reported in the supplied documents.

Longevity: Usual wild longevity is assumed to be about 8 years in the Victorian assessment; this is not a direct species longevity measurement.

Generation length: Suspected to be 2 to 6 years.

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat

Specific birthing sites have not been described. Females and young are likely to require the same dense vegetation, litter and debris that provide shelter from heat and predators. Long-unburnt mallee, heath and porcupine grass patches should be retained where possible during works.

  • Treat dense, long-unburnt vegetation as potential breeding habitat even when no gravid females or young are seen.
  • Schedule clearing outside the documented high-risk period only when a project ecologist has reliable local breeding information, because the supplied sources do not provide breeding months.
  • Use staged clearing and fauna inspections where habitat removal cannot be avoided.

Sheltering habitat: Known refuges

Masters' Snake is not described as a burrowing species. It relies on live vegetation, plant litter and possibly ground debris for shelter, particularly during hot conditions.

In north-western Victoria the species is reported to use live vegetation, and possibly ground debris and plant litter, for protection from very high summer ground temperatures and predators. Long-unburnt vegetation may provide drought refuges.

The sources do not report use of tree hollows, purpose-built dens, burrows, rock crevices or refuge dimensions.

  • Retain dense Triodia, heath, low shrubs, fallen vegetation and intact litter where they occur.
  • Inspect vegetation and debris piles before they are moved or removed.
  • Do not assume that a recently burnt or cleared area is unsuitable if adjacent shelter remains connected.

Sheltering habitat: Clearing practice

Because shelter is scarce after fire and clearing, individuals may be more exposed to predators and heat during and after site disturbance. Keep retained habitat connected and minimise the time between vegetation removal and completion of fauna checks.

Threats: Fire and vegetation loss

The main documented threats are fire-driven loss of shelter, repeated burning, habitat clearing and fragmentation, with likely additional pressure from introduced predators. The species' small, fragmented Victorian and South Australian mallee populations are particularly sensitive to loss of dense cover.

Wildfire and planned burning have affected large parts of the Victorian and South Australian mallee range. Frequent burning reduces live vegetation, litter and other shelter, and may reduce the species' geographic range and abundance.

Clearing for construction, roads, services and other infrastructure can remove feeding and shelter habitat, divide populations and increase exposure at habitat edges. The supplied documents do not quantify a species-specific clearing threshold.

  • Avoid clearing long-unburnt mallee, heath and porcupine grass habitat where practicable.
  • Keep disturbance footprints narrow and retain connected vegetation between habitat patches.
  • Do not burn cleared vegetation or retained habitat without assessing the effect on potential refuge sites.

Threats: Predators and access

Red Foxes and feral Cats are known predators of small reptiles and are likely to take Masters' Snakes, although their species-specific impact has not been quantified. Tracks and access routes may facilitate predator movement through habitat.

A reduction in wild dogs may have increased fox and cat numbers in parts of the Victorian range through mesopredator release, although this remains a plausible mechanism rather than a measured species-specific effect.

  • Limit food waste and other attractants around work compounds.
  • Keep temporary access tracks to the minimum required and rehabilitate redundant tracks promptly.
  • Record fox and cat activity during fauna surveys and report it with habitat condition.

Threats: Other project risks

Fragmentation, vehicle movements and direct mortality during clearing are relevant risks for a small, ground-dwelling venomous snake. The supplied documents do not identify disease or hydrology change as confirmed threats to this species, and do not provide evidence for a specific disease pathway or water regime requirement.

  • Use a qualified fauna spotter catcher during vegetation removal in mapped habitat.
  • Apply low-speed vehicle controls and daily pre-start checks on access tracks through retained habitat.
  • Treat any snake found during works as venomous until identified otherwise, and follow the project's snake response and medical procedures.

Survey methodology: 1. Habitat assessment and records review

Use habitat assessment and targeted searches because Masters' Snake is small, secretive and associated with mallee, heath, porcupine grass, ground debris and plant litter. No species-specific survey effort or seasonal survey guideline is provided in the supplied documents, so the project ecologist must apply the approved state survey guideline and document the basis for effort.

Before field work, map mallee, heath, Triodia scariosa, sandy or limestone ground, dense ground cover, litter and long-unburnt patches within the disturbance footprint and nearby retained areas.

Review accepted records, recent fire history, planned burns, drought effects and known records in the Victorian and South Australian mallee and the south-west coastal range.

Treat apparently suitable unburnt shelter habitat as potential habitat even if no recent record is available, because the species has declined markedly in parts of Victoria and South Australia.

Documented distribution: North-west Victoria and south-eastern South Australia, plus a narrow band along the south-west coast of Western Australia and southern South Australia as far east as the Spencer Gulf.

Typical habitat: Mallee and heath, often with Triodia scariosa, and coastal heath on dunes and limestone.

Survey methodology: 2. Daytime active searches

Prioritise daytime searches because the species is reported to be diurnal.

Search slowly through suitable ground cover, especially the bases of porcupine grass, plant litter, fallen vegetation and other shelter used to avoid high summer ground temperatures and predators.

Inspect likely shelter sites without dismantling habitat unless the method is authorised and the feature can be reinstated immediately.

Record the search date, start and finish time, weather, recent rain, temperature, wind, fire history, searchers, area searched, habitat condition and all reptiles detected.

No number of transects, search hours or survey visits is specified in the supplied documents, so set effort using the applicable state guideline and increase effort where habitat is fragmented, recently burnt or difficult to inspect.

Body size: Usually a small snake, with Victorian specimens reported at less than 30 cm and published maximum lengths of 33 to 40 cm.

Identification features: Grey-brown body, darker head, pale yellow to orange nape band or collar, and a white stripe along the upper lip to the neck.

Survey methodology: 3. Trapping and targeted methods

Use pitfall or other trapping only where it is authorised, supervised and consistent with the applicable state survey guideline, animal ethics requirements and permit conditions.

Past Victorian work used trapping, including surveys around Chinaman Well, but the supplied documents do not provide a prescribed number of trap nights, trap dimensions, checking intervals or transect spacing for this species.

If trapping is used, provide shelter, shade and protection from heat, inspect traps at the frequency required by the approved method, and release animals promptly at the point of capture unless an authorised relocation plan applies.

Use photographs and diagnostic checks to confirm records, because Masters' Snake can resemble the White-lipped Snake, although the documented ranges do not overlap.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Use the effort required by the current state survey guideline for threatened reptiles, and state clearly where no species-specific effort is available.
  • Survey all suitable habitat in the proposed clearing area and the adjoining retained habitat that may be used for shelter or relocation.
  • Record negative results as well as captures, sightings, injured animals, carcasses, habitat condition, fire history and any unplanned disturbance.
  • Submit verified records and survey data to the relevant state wildlife database, such as the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas where the work is in Victoria.
  • Report the species to the project approval authority and relevant wildlife agency when required by the permit, approval or threatened species conditions.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Avoid clearing known or potential Masters' Snake habitat wherever practicable. This is particularly important in the Victorian and South Australian mallee, where repeated burning and loss of shelter are linked with severe declines.

Retain connected patches of mallee, heath, Triodia scariosa, dense ground cover, plant litter and fallen vegetation within and beside the work area.

Prioritise retention of long-unburnt vegetation and unburnt refuges, because the species relies on live vegetation, ground debris and plant litter for shelter from high summer temperatures and predators.

Avoid creating isolated remnants where a continuous retained patch can be kept, and maintain practical links between retained shelter areas.

Do not use a generic clearance buffer in place of a site assessment; set no-go areas and buffers from the mapped habitat, records, fire risk and approval conditions.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

Confirm the current EPBC Act status before works begin; the supplied records state that Masters' Snake is not listed under the EPBC Act, but this does not remove state duties or other approval requirements.

Confirm state threatened species listings, permits, authorisations and clearance conditions, particularly in Victoria where the species is listed as Critically Endangered under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee framework.

Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies habitat, survey effort, daily controls, fauna spotter catcher authority, stop-work triggers, release sites, injury response and reporting.

Stage clearing so retained habitat remains available while adjoining areas are checked and cleared, rather than removing all shelter at once.

Avoid planned burning or other high-temperature disturbance in retained habitat unless it is supported by the relevant fire and threatened species management authority.

Victorian status in the supplied records: Critically Endangered under the state listing provided in the profile and proposed as Critically Endangered in the 2021 assessment.

EPBC status in the supplied records: Not listed.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

Complete the approved pre-clearance survey immediately before disturbance, with extra attention to long-unburnt mallee, heath, Triodia and litter-rich shelter.

Mark no-go habitat, retained vegetation, release areas, access routes and any habitat features that must not be disturbed.

Install exclusion fencing where it will keep machinery and people out of retained habitat, and inspect the fencing before each shift.

Brief all workers that this is a small venomous elapid snake, and that only authorised personnel may handle it.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery coordination

Use a stop, check and release process throughout clearing. Masters' Snake is small and may be hidden in live vegetation, ground debris or litter, especially where fire has removed other shelter.

The fauna spotter catcher must inspect the work area before machinery starts each day and after any overnight change, fire, flood or other event that may move fauna.

Clear progressively in short sections under the direction of the spotter catcher, keeping machinery outside marked retained habitat and moving vegetation in a way that allows the spotter catcher to inspect the ground and cover.

Keep machinery speed low enough for the spotter catcher to stop the operator safely, and maintain direct communication by radio or agreed hand signals.

Do not burn, mulch, roll, bury or rapidly remove ground debris, litter or live shelter before it has been checked where those features are within the approved disturbance area.

During habitat disturbance: Finding and handling a snake

Stop work immediately when a suspected Masters' Snake is seen, and keep workers, vehicles and machinery clear of the animal.

Only a suitably trained and authorised fauna spotter catcher should handle the snake, using the approved equipment and method for venomous elapid snakes.

Do not ask untrained workers to catch, restrain, photograph at close range or move the snake.

Release the animal as soon as practicable into nearby retained habitat that matches the capture habitat, is outside the active work area and is approved in the fauna management plan.

Do not move the animal long distances or across unsuitable open ground unless specifically authorised by the relevant wildlife authority.

Venom: Masters' Snake is a venomous, front-fanged elapid.

Relocation habitat: Nearby retained mallee or heath with suitable live cover, litter or ground debris, selected by the authorised fauna spotter catcher.

During habitat disturbance: Injury, stop-work triggers and records

Stop work in the affected area if a snake cannot be safely located, if machinery has disturbed unsearched shelter, or if the fauna spotter catcher considers visibility, heat or site conditions unsafe.

Treat any injured snake as a wildlife emergency and transfer it through the approved wildlife carer, veterinarian or wildlife authority pathway.

Record the date, time, exact location, habitat, weather, activity underway, identification evidence, handling, release location, injury and personnel involved.

Report a bite or suspected bite through the project emergency procedure and seek urgent medical treatment; do not attempt to provide treatment in the field.

Record all stop-work events, captures, relocations, mortalities and near misses in the project fauna register and notify the environmental officer and approval authority where required.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Post-clearance work must check that no animals remain in disturbed shelter and that retained habitat controls are still effective. The assessment indicates that small and fragmented Victorian populations may be especially vulnerable after habitat loss or fire.

Complete a final inspection of the cleared area and the edge of retained habitat for live snakes, carcasses, injured animals and disturbed shelter.

Recheck retained mallee, heath, Triodia, litter and fallen vegetation after machinery leaves, particularly where clearing has exposed hot ground or displaced cover.

Keep exclusion fencing, no-go markers and access controls in place until the environmental officer confirms that the disturbance risk has ended.

If a snake is found during the final inspection, apply the same stop-work, authorised handling and release procedure used during clearing.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

Monitor retained habitat and any approved release area using the method, timing and frequency set in the fauna management plan and relevant state guideline.

Compare post-work observations with pre-clearance records, including habitat area, fire condition, shelter availability, sightings, captures, injuries and mortalities.

Investigate any absence from previously occupied habitat rather than treating a negative search as proof that the species is absent.

Submit verified records to the relevant state wildlife database and provide the project report to the approval authority where required.

Known decline evidence: A retrapping program around Chinaman Well recorded no Masters' Snakes over three field seasons, despite earlier records of the species as the most frequently trapped snake there.

After habitat disturbance: Offsets and corrective action

Where approved impacts cannot be avoided, apply the offset, restoration or other compensatory measure required by the relevant approval and state threatened species framework.

Use monitoring results to trigger corrective action if retained shelter is burnt, invaded by weeds, isolated, damaged by vehicles or no longer supports suitable ground cover.

Document any failure of controls, including unplanned fire, predator access, unauthorised clearing or mortality, and revise the fauna management plan before further disturbance.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore habitat structure

Rehabilitation should restore the shelter structure used by Masters' Snake, not only the canopy. The priority is a connected mix of mallee or heath, dense ground cover, Triodia where appropriate, litter and fallen vegetation that can provide refuge from heat and predators.

Re-establish locally appropriate mallee and heath communities using species and seed sources approved for the site and consistent with the pre-disturbance vegetation community.

Restore Triodia scariosa where it formed part of the original habitat and is suitable for the site.

Retain and replace natural plant litter, fallen branches and other ground debris without creating unsafe fire loads or introducing material from contaminated sites.

Do not install nest boxes as a substitute for the live vegetation and ground shelter used by this ground-dwelling snake.

Maintain connected rehabilitation areas beside retained habitat and avoid creating narrow isolated strips where a wider retained patch is practicable.

Rehabilitation actions: Fire, weeds and predators

Prepare a fire management regime that protects long-unburnt shelter and avoids repeated burning of the same habitat.

Coordinate any fuel reduction or planned burn with the threatened species authority and the fauna management plan before implementation.

Control weeds that reduce native ground cover, litter and Triodia, using methods that do not injure snakes or remove shelter during hot conditions.

Manage feral cat and Red Fox risks in accordance with approved predator programs, because both are identified as likely predators and may have greater effects where shelter is scarce.

Keep vehicle and track use out of recovering habitat and repair tracks that allow predators or unauthorised access into retained areas.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

Monitor rehabilitation for survival and cover of planted mallee, heath and Triodia, retention of litter and fallen vegetation, weed cover, fire condition and evidence of predator activity.

Use the approved survey method to check whether Masters' Snakes use the rehabilitated area, but do not rely on a single negative survey to judge failure.

Set success measures in the rehabilitation plan before works begin, including vegetation establishment, connected shelter, protection from fire and weeds, and verified fauna records where monitoring effort is sufficient.

Keep monitoring results, maintenance actions, fire events, predator control and any Masters' Snake records in the project register and submit required records to the relevant state wildlife database.

Sources