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Narrow-banded Shovel-nosed Snake (Brachyurophis fasciolatus)

The Narrow-banded Shovel-nosed Snake is a small, nocturnal, fossorial elapid found in sandy habitats across mainland Australia, including arid and coastal areas. In New South Wales it is listed as Vulnerable, and clearing, soil compaction, loss of fallen timber and disturbance of litter, hummocks and soil cracks can remove habitat used for shelter and feeding.

Conservation status

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Vulnerable.

Breeding season

Narrow-banded Shovel-nosed Snakes are egg-laying and show warm-season surface activity. Breeding and hatching records indicate that clearing from late spring to early autumn can affect gravid females, eggs, hatchlings and snakes sheltering in soil, litter or ground cover.

Reproductive mode: Oviparous, egg-laying

Clutch size: About three to five eggs. Three eggs were recorded from one female.

Incubation: Not recorded

Size at hatching: Not recorded

Age at maturity: Not recorded

Nest or egg sites: Specific nest sites are not recorded. Eggs are likely to be laid in concealed sandy soil, soil cracks, holes or other sheltered ground features, but this has not been documented for the species.

Breeding frequency: Not recorded

Confirm timing locally before works, because rainfall and temperature can shift warm-night activity, breeding and hatching across this species' broad Australian range.

  • Mating: Mating months are not recorded for this species. This general planning window covers the reported warm-season reproductive period before and during late spring and early summer oviposition.
  • Gravid females: The species account does not give months for gravid females. A female with three oviductal eggs was recorded, and late spring to early summer is the reported oviposition period, so October to December should be treated as the main planning window.
  • Egg laying: Oviposition is reported in late spring to early summer, equivalent to October to December. Clutches average about three to five eggs, with three eggs recorded in one female.
  • Incubation: Incubation length and nest conditions are not recorded. Eggs laid in late spring or early summer may remain in concealed ground sites until hatching from January to March, so November and December are included as a precautionary egg period.
  • Hatchlings: Hatching is reported from January to March. The documents do not identify a peak month or the duration of juvenile sheltering and dependence.
  • Active period: The species emerges on warm nights to forage. In the long-term study, most captures occurred in spring and summer, November was the highest capture month, and no individuals were caught during the 1992 winter collections.
  • Winter inactivity: Winter inactivity is not directly described, but no Narrow-banded Shovel-nosed Snakes were caught during the 1992 winter collections. Treat June to August as a period when some snakes may remain concealed in sandy soil, cracks, holes, litter, grass hummocks, spinifex or embedded timber.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest from October to March, when late spring and early summer egg laying overlaps with eggs in concealed ground sites and January to March hatching. Warm-night activity also increases the chance of encountering surface-active snakes, while winter sheltering creates a separate risk from June to August.

Identification

This is a small, banded, burrowing snake with a shovel-shaped snout. It is usually encountered at night or in traps, rather than moving openly during the day.

Adults average about 300 mm in total length and may reach approximately 400 mm. The body is pale reddish-brown to cream, with black-tipped scales forming 50 or more narrow bands. The head is black, with a narrow pale band separating the head from the nape. The snout is cream or brown and adapted for burrowing.

The underside is cream to white. Reported scale counts are 140 to 175 ventral scales, 15 to 30 divided subcaudal scales, 17 mid-body scale rows, and a divided anal scale.

Identification: Distinguishing features

The most useful diagnostic character reported for separating this species from other Brachyurophis is the scale arrangement around the eye and nostril. A scale occurs between the preocular and nasal scales in B. fasciolatus, whereas these scales are in contact in other species of the genus.

The irregular, ragged black bands on a pale or pinkish background and the dark head and nape pattern are useful field characters, but a confirmed identification may require close examination of the head scales.

Identification: Field signs and handling

The species is fossorial and burrows in sandy ground, so direct tracks, scats and calls are not expected to be reliable survey signs. The supplied sources do not describe a distinctive track, scat, call, slough or eyeshine.

Useful encounter methods include nocturnal searches on warm nights and pitfall trapping. In the Great Victoria Desert study, specimens were found in pit traps during early morning checks, but pitfall captures do not establish the exact time of activity.

Treat all individuals as venomous snakes. Avoid handling unless authorised and trained, and use an approved fauna handling and relocation procedure.

Distribution: National range

The species is endemic to mainland Australia and has a broad but discontinuous distribution across inland and sandy regions. Its New South Wales range is concentrated in the north-west of the state.

The documented state range includes New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The species is reported from mainland Australia except Victoria.

The two recognised regional forms are described as occurring in south-western Western Australia and central Australia. The type locality is near Perth in Western Australia.

Distribution: Documented regions

A long-term study site in the Great Victoria Desert of south-western Australia recorded the species in red sand desert with large sand ridges, interdunal flats, spinifex and scattered marble gums.

In New South Wales, records include the Paroo River, White Cliffs and Mutawintji National Park. The NSW profile identifies known or predicted habitat in the Broken Hill Complex, Channel Country, Cobar Peneplain, Darling Riverine Plains, Mulga Lands and Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields.

Distribution: Population information

No national population estimate, density estimate or population trend is provided in the supplied documents. The NSW profile notes poor knowledge of the species' distribution and abundance.

The Great Victoria Desert study recorded 22 individuals over several sampling periods between 1978 and 2003. This is a study sample, not a population estimate.

Great Victoria Desert study sample: 22 individuals

Study period: 1978 to 2003, across multiple spring and summer sampling periods

Population trend: Not reported

Habitat: Habitat types

The Narrow-banded Shovel-nosed Snake uses sandy, open habitats with loose soil and ground-level cover. Habitat descriptions span arid desert, spinifex dune systems, shrubland and open woodland.

Reported habitats include savanna, desert, grassland, shrubland, spinifex dunes, open woodland and shrubland with a hummock grass understorey.

At the Great Victoria Desert study site, the substrate was red sand with large ridges, steep slopes and interdunal flats. Spinifex covered much of the flats, while shrubs grew on the sand ridges and scattered marble gums occurred between dunes.

Habitat: Structural features

Retain loose sandy soil, sand ridges, slopes, soil cracks, surface litter, grass hummocks, spinifex, fallen timber, embedded logs, stumps and low shrubs.

In the Great Victoria Desert study, B. fasciolatus was captured mainly on sand ridge slopes and was not captured on flat areas between dunes. This pattern may reflect substrate or prey distribution, and should not be treated as a universal exclusion from flats.

Habitat: Climate and elevation

The species is reported from arid and coastal zones and from central, western and eastern mainland regions. The supplied documents do not provide an elevation limit or a numerical climatic envelope.

Foraging habitat: Food

This snake feeds on small reptiles and their eggs, generally in sandy habitat where skinks and other fossorial reptiles occur. It is nocturnal and may emerge on warm nights to forage at the surface.

The reported diet includes small terrestrial lizards and reptile eggs, with Lerista and Ctenotus identified as important skink prey genera. The species may also take skink eggs.

In the Great Victoria Desert study, only two of 22 B. fasciolatus specimens contained food. Both stomach contents were Ctenotus, so that study provides limited evidence for the full diet of this species.

Foraging habitat: Foraging behaviour

The species is nocturnal and fossorial, and emerges to the surface on warm nights to forage. It burrows or moves through sandy substrate and may use areas where fossorial skinks occur.

There is no documented home-range size, daily foraging distance or foraging territory for this species. During project works, retain connected sandy ground and nearby litter, hummocks and embedded timber rather than treating individual shelter objects as isolated habitat.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

The species lays eggs and is associated with warm-season activity. The supplied information does not describe a specific nest structure, incubation temperature or age at maturity.

Breeding type: Oviparous

Laying period: Late spring to early summer, based on the available species account

Clutch size: About three to five eggs; three eggs were recorded for one B. fasciolatus female in the Great Victoria Desert study

Hatching period: Late summer to early autumn, reported as January to March

Gestation or incubation: Not reported in the supplied documents

Age at maturity: Not reported in the supplied documents

Lifespan: Not reported in the supplied documents

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat features

Specific nest sites are not described. Retain sandy substrate, soil cracks and holes, litter, grass hummocks, spinifex, fallen timber and embedded stumps that may provide concealed warm-season shelter.

Avoid clearing, grading, cultivation and soil compaction in suitable habitat during the late spring to early autumn period, when laying, eggs or recently hatched snakes may be present.

Sheltering habitat: Known refuges

Shelter is provided by the soil itself and by ground features that maintain loose, shaded or concealed spaces. The species is not reported to use tree hollows or elevated roosts.

The NSW species profile records shelter under well-embedded fallen timber and stumps, in associated soil cracks and holes within litter, and under grass hummocks.

The species also burrows in sandy ground. Spinifex dunes, loose sand ridges and vegetated ground can provide the substrate needed for fossorial movement and concealment.

Sheltering habitat: Site protection

Retain fallen logs, branches, stumps, leaf litter, grass hummocks, spinifex and understorey shrubs, especially where timber is embedded in soil. Do not stockpile materials, park machinery or establish access tracks across these features.

No refuge dimensions, burrow depth or den occupancy period are provided. A fauna spotter catcher should inspect suitable ground cover and soil cracks before clearing and follow the approved project procedure for any live snake found.

Threats: Clearing and earthworks

The main documented risks are loss and degradation of sandy ground habitat and its ground-cover features. These risks are directly relevant to clearing, earthworks, access tracks and construction compounds.

Habitat destruction from blade ploughing, cultivation and removal of fallen timber is identified as a threat in New South Wales.

Grazing can compact the soil surface, reduce litter, destroy soil cracks and break up the surface crust. Construction traffic, grading, trenching and compound establishment can cause similar local damage to fossorial habitat.

  • Retain suitable sandy ground, soil cracks, litter, hummocks, spinifex, shrubs, fallen timber and embedded stumps within and beside the work area.
  • Keep vehicle movement, laydown areas and spoil placement out of retained habitat.
  • Inspect timber, litter, hummocks and soil cracks before mechanical clearing.

Threats: Fragmentation and habitat loss

Habitat destruction and fragmentation are identified concerns for the species in New South Wales. Loss of connected sandy ground may reduce access to shelter and prey, particularly where suitable dune, shrubland or hummock habitat occurs as small patches.

  • Avoid creating unnecessary breaks through sandy habitat and retain links between suitable ground-cover patches.
  • Prevent clearing of habitat that supports nesting sites or food sources.

Threats: Predators and introduced animals

Predation by foxes and cats is identified as a possible threat in New South Wales. Goats, pigs and rabbits can degrade habitat by removing vegetation or disturbing soil.

  • Control or exclude feral goats, foxes, cats, pigs and rabbits where this is part of the project or land management plan.
  • Do not leave food, waste or other attractants around construction compounds.

Threats: Other pressures

The supplied documents do not identify a species-specific disease threat, hydrology change threat, road mortality rate or fire response. These matters should still be assessed where a project changes drainage, introduces frequent vehicle movements or alters fire regimes in sandy habitat.

The species is venomous. Work health and safety controls should cover safe observation, exclusion and authorised handling.

Survey methodology: 1. Nocturnal searches

No species specific survey guideline is provided in the supplied documents. Survey design should reflect a small, nocturnal, fossorial snake that uses sandy ground, soil cracks, litter, grass hummocks and embedded timber.

Survey during warm nights in spring and summer, when the species is expected to emerge and forage. The Great Victoria Desert study recorded most Brachyurophis fasciolatus in November, while the other species were generally most active in December.

Search sandy ground, open woodland and shrubland, spinifex or other hummock grass, soil cracks, litter, fallen timber and embedded stumps. Inspect likely surface routes and shelter sites with care.

Use hand searches and night searches by suitably experienced personnel. The species is fossorial and may be difficult to detect, so a failure to find it does not demonstrate absence.

Typical adult length: About 30 cm, with individuals reaching approximately 40 cm

Activity period recorded in the study: Spring and summer, with Brachyurophis fasciolatus captures concentrated in November

Winter detection result at the study site: No individuals were caught during winter collections in 1992

  • Record the date, start and finish times, weather, ground temperature if measured, recent rain, searchers, route length, area searched and all habitat features inspected.
  • Do not rely on daylight searches alone, because the species is nocturnal.

Survey methodology: 2. Targeted habitat searches

Walk all proposed clearing areas and retained habitat at a pace that allows inspection of sandy substrates, cracks, litter, grass hummocks, fallen timber and stumps. Mark each feature that could provide shelter or foraging habitat.

Give particular attention to sandy slopes and crests. In the Great Victoria Desert study, Brachyurophis fasciolatus was captured nearly half the time on slopes and was not captured on flat areas between dunes.

Include adjacent retained habitat in the search, because the species can use connected sandy habitat and the NSW profile identifies open woodland or shrubland with a hummock grass understorey as habitat.

Microhabitat result from the Great Victoria Desert study: Brachyurophis fasciolatus was trapped nearly half the time on slopes and never on flat areas between dunes

Study site: Red sand desert with sand ridges, slopes, bases, crests and interdunal flats

  • Search the full disturbance footprint and a connected inspection area around it where access and approval allow.
  • Use repeat searches where weather is unsuitable or the first search occurs outside warm spring and summer conditions.
  • Record negative results with the area, effort and habitat searched, rather than reporting only that the species was absent.

Survey methodology: 3. Trapping and refuge inspection

Use pitfall trapping only where it is approved, justified by the risk assessment and supervised by personnel experienced with fossorial reptiles. The published study used pitfall traps and hand capture over 10 Austral spring and summer seasons between 1978 and 2003.

Check traps at least two to three times daily if trapping is used, and provide suitable protection from exposure and predation. The study found snakes during early morning checks and identified them as nocturnal.

Treat capture data as an index of activity, not proof of absence. Pitfall trapping can miss animals, does not establish the exact time of capture and may expose animals to environmental stress or predation.

Published trapping effort: Pitfall traps were checked 2 to 3 times daily in a study conducted over 10 spring and summer seasons

Published study sample: 22 Brachyurophis fasciolatus were recorded, but only 2 had stomach contents

Published detection limitation: No individuals were caught during winter collections in 1992

  • State the number and position of traps, trap nights, checking frequency, weather and any trap-related mortality in the survey report.
  • Stop trapping if conditions create unacceptable risks to reptiles or other captured fauna.
  • Use a suitably authorised person for any handling, identification or release.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Set survey timing and effort from the proposed clearing area, habitat quality, season, weather and likely consequence of disturbance, and document the rationale because no species specific survey guideline is supplied here.
  • Use more than one method where the site contains suitable sandy or crack-forming ground, hummock grass, litter, embedded timber or shrubland habitat.
  • Record species identification, photographs where safe, GPS location, date, time, weather, habitat, behaviour, sex if known, body length if measured, handling details and fate.
  • Submit confirmed records and significant survey results to the relevant state wildlife database, including the NSW database where the record is from New South Wales.
  • Report the survey area, search effort, methods, trap nights if applicable, detection conditions, limitations, habitat retained and any proposed management response.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Plan to retain the ground features and vegetation that provide shelter, movement routes and prey habitat. The NSW profile identifies habitat destruction, soil compaction, loss of litter, removal of fallen timber and clearing as risks.

  • Avoid clearing sandy slopes, crests, open woodland, shrubland, spinifex and hummock grass where practicable.
  • Retain fallen timber, embedded logs and branches, stumps, litter, understorey shrubs, grass tussocks, soil cracks and intact surface crust.
  • Keep connected areas of suitable ground habitat between retained patches, and avoid creating isolated remnants where the project layout allows.
  • Keep cultivation, blade ploughing, soil stripping and unnecessary vehicle movement out of retained habitat.
  • Control goats, foxes, cats, rabbits, pigs and other feral browsers where they threaten retained habitat.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

  • Confirm the current conservation status, approval requirements and wildlife handling requirements for the project jurisdiction before works begin.
  • Treat the species as Vulnerable in New South Wales and not listed under the Commonwealth status recorded in the NSW profile.
  • Obtain any required state permits for survey, trapping, handling, relocation or rehabilitation, and ensure fauna spotter catchers hold the required authority.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies survey methods, habitat to retain, exclusion measures, stop-work triggers, capture and release procedures, injury response and reporting.
  • Stage clearing so that retained habitat and escape routes remain available until each work area has been checked and cleared.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

  • Complete a pre-clearance inspection during suitable warm spring or summer conditions where possible, with targeted attention to cracks, litter, grass hummocks, timber, stumps and sandy ground.
  • Mark retained habitat, no-go areas, access routes, stockpile areas and locations where machinery must not compact soil.
  • Install exclusion fencing only where it can be kept continuous, checked regularly and positioned to direct animals towards retained habitat rather than trapping them within the work area.
  • Brief operators and supervisors on the species appearance, its fossorial behaviour, the location of no-go areas and the stop-work procedure.
  • Remove rubbish and avoid storing materials on retained ground habitat.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls

Use a controlled clearing sequence with a fauna spotter catcher present for high risk activities. Work should stop when an animal or suitable refuge feature cannot be safely checked.

  • Inspect exclusion fencing, gates and retained habitat each day before machinery starts.
  • Keep machinery within marked limits and prevent unnecessary driving, turning, soil scraping or stockpiling in retained habitat.
  • Clear vegetation and ground features in stages, moving from the disturbed area towards retained habitat where this is safe and approved.
  • Keep a fauna spotter catcher in direct communication with the operator during clearing of sandy ground, timber, stumps, litter, grass hummocks and soil cracks.
  • Recheck the active work area after clearing and before excavation, trenching, grading or vehicle access resumes.

During habitat disturbance: Handling habitat and fauna

Handling consideration: The species is venomous, although its venom is generally considered mild to humans; all bites must still be treated as serious

  • Stop machinery before the spotter catcher approaches a suspected snake, shelter feature or burrow.
  • Do not put hands into cracks, burrows, dense grass, litter or under embedded timber without a safe and authorised procedure.
  • Have the authorised fauna handler identify and handle the snake using approved reptile equipment and methods.
  • Release an uninjured animal into nearby retained habitat with suitable sandy ground, shelter and connectivity, subject to the relevant approval and fauna management plan.
  • Do not move the animal farther than necessary, cross major barriers or place it in habitat that has been compacted, cleared or exposed.
  • Place an injured animal in a secure, ventilated container and arrange prompt assessment by an appropriately qualified veterinarian or wildlife carer.

During habitat disturbance: Stop work and records

  • Stop work immediately if the species is found in the active work area, if a suspected individual cannot be safely located, or if machinery is about to disturb an unchecked shelter feature.
  • Stop work if exclusion fencing fails, a captured animal is injured, or the approved handling and relocation arrangements are unavailable.
  • Record each observation or capture with GPS location, date, time, habitat feature, activity, photographs where safe, handler, action taken, release location, condition and any injury.
  • Notify the project environmental officer and relevant regulator or wildlife authority when required by the approval, permit or fauna management plan.
  • Review the clearing method after every find and extend the inspection or exclusion area when the animal is associated with habitat that remains at risk.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Post-clearing work should confirm that no animals or usable shelter features remain at immediate risk and that retained habitat has not been damaged.

  • Complete a final inspection of the cleared footprint, stockpile areas, access tracks, trenches and edges of retained habitat before the area is signed off.
  • Inspect disturbed sandy ground, cracks, litter, grass hummocks, timber and stumps for animals displaced during clearing.
  • Check that exclusion fencing, no-go markers and retained habitat remain intact after machinery and vehicle movements.
  • Document all searches, findings, captures, relocations, injuries, mortalities and unresolved risks.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

  • Monitor retained habitat during warm spring and summer conditions, with attention to November and December when the published study recorded greatest activity for this species or its assemblage.
  • Repeat targeted searches if works continue through suitable activity periods or if habitat disturbance, soil compaction, grazing or predator activity increases.
  • Report confirmed records to the relevant state wildlife database and provide the project approval authority with the survey effort, incidents, habitat retained and management outcomes.
  • Maintain fauna controls until disturbed areas are stabilised and the environmental officer confirms that the approved controls are no longer required.
  • Apply any required offset, restoration or compensatory measure under the project approval or state threatened species requirements.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore habitat structure

Rehabilitation should restore sandy ground structure, shelter and prey habitat rather than only replacing vegetation. The NSW profile specifically identifies litter, fallen timber, shrubs, grasslands and Triodia as features to retain or restore.

  • Reinstate natural sandy ground profiles and soil cracks where construction has compacted or stripped the surface.
  • Retain or replace embedded fallen timber, logs, branches, stumps, litter and grass hummocks in suitable retained or rehabilitated areas.
  • Re-establish open woodland or shrubland structure and a hummock grass understorey where those communities formed the pre-clearing habitat.
  • Maintain Triodia, spinifex or porcupine grass where it occurs naturally and is suitable for the site.
  • Do not install hollows, nest boxes or wetland features as a substitute for the sandy, burrowing habitat required by this species unless they are required for other affected fauna.

Rehabilitation actions: Manage threats

  • Prevent grazing from compacting soil, removing litter, destroying cracks and breaking the surface crust in rehabilitation areas.
  • Control goats, foxes, cats, rabbits, pigs and other feral browsers where they degrade habitat or may prey on the species.
  • Control weeds without removing the litter, shrubs, grass tussocks or shelter features being retained for rehabilitation.
  • Manage fire so that retained timber, litter, shrubs, grasslands and Triodia are not unnecessarily removed, while following the relevant fire authority and ecological fire requirements.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitor success

  • Inspect rehabilitation after construction and during warm spring and summer conditions for soil stability, retained shelter features, litter, shrubs, grass tussocks and Triodia.
  • Use repeat nocturnal searches and targeted refuge inspections to check whether the rehabilitated area is being used, recording effort and conditions each time.
  • Measure success against survival of the restored ground structure, persistence of shelter features, recovery of the understorey, absence of damaging soil compaction and confirmed fauna records.
  • Keep monitoring and maintenance records, and adapt weed, grazing, predator, fire and access controls when rehabilitation is not meeting the approved outcomes.

Sources