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Short-nosed Snake (Elapognathus minor)

The Short-nosed Snake is a small terrestrial elapid recorded in south-western Western Australia, including swamp and coastal habitats. It is poorly known, so precautionary survey and careful clearing are important where suitable habitat occurs.

Conservation status

Western Australia, WA Threatened and Priority Fauna List: Priority 2.

Seasonal planning

Plan with year-round precautions.

Breeding timing: Not recorded.

Survey timing: No species-specific seasonal survey window is recorded.

Months are not established for this species. Apply precautionary survey and clearing controls whenever suitable habitat may be disturbed.

  • Survey and works planning: Year-round planning prompt only. Species-specific activity months are unknown, so this is not a prediction of seasonal activity.

Identification: Appearance and size

Use the following description as a guide, allowing for variation and limited species-specific information.

The genus is reddish or greenish grey to brown, with a darker head, pale upper lip and a dark collar visible on the sides of the neck in E. minor. It has no dorsal bands or blotches, and a yellow or orange belly that may have dark speckles or bars.

This is a small terrestrial snake, with snout-to-vent length below 600 mm. A typical adult length for this species is not recorded.

Identification: Similar species and field signs

The Short-nosed Snake resembles Drysdalia snakes, but detailed field separation features are not documented. Seek expert identification where a reliable distinction cannot be made.

Species-specific tracks, scats and other persistent field signs are not documented. A snake or suitable shelter cover alone does not confirm the species is present.

Distribution: Known range

The species is recorded in the south-west of Western Australia.

The species occurs in south-western Western Australia. Atlas of Living Australia records show 62 Western Australian records at 39 distinct 0.1-degree locations, spanning latitude -35.2 to -33.7 and longitude 115.1 to 118.2. These figures summarise records and do not give precise site locations.

Distribution: WA regions and locality

The DBCA priority list flags the South Coast, South West and Warren regions. Swan River is the type locality, but this does not confirm a current population there.

Habitat: Reported settings

Habitat preferences are not well defined.

The species is recorded in swamplands and coastlands in south-western Western Australia. More detailed habitat preferences are not documented.

Habitat: Site context

Where works affect swamp or coastal vegetation within the known regional range, consider the species as a precaution. Suitable habitat alone does not establish that the snake is present.

Foraging habitat: Reported prey

Prey is known, but feeding sites and foraging behaviour are not documented.

Reported prey includes small skinks, mainly of the genus Hemiergis, and small frogs.

Foraging habitat: Implications for works

Particular foraging microhabitats are not known. Prey presence does not confirm snake presence. Consider nearby damp or vegetated cover during site assessment where it occurs in the reported swamp or coastal settings.

Breeding habitat: Reproduction

Breeding biology is poorly known, and breeding-site requirements cannot be specified.

The species is ovoviviparous. Breeding months, litter size, age at maturity and specific breeding habitat are not documented.

Breeding habitat: Precaution

Do not schedule works on the assumption that any particular season is free of breeding risk. Apply careful pre-clearance and animal-response procedures throughout the year.

Sheltering habitat: Reported shelters

Potential shelter types are documented, but their importance and frequency of use are unknown.

The species is reported to shelter in nests of stick ants (Iridomyrmex conifer), dense rushes and reed tussocks.

Sheltering habitat: Inspection focus

Where these features occur in suitable regional settings, inspect them carefully before disturbance. How often the snake uses each shelter type and how readily it is detected are not known.

Threats: Available status information

Specific threats to this species have not been identified.

The species is poorly known and recorded from few locations, some of which are on conservation lands. Its DBCA Priority 2 status is a Western Australian priority category, not a listing under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. No national listing is given.

Threats: Development risk

Species-specific development impacts have not been assessed. Where works may remove or disturb reported swamp, coastal, rush or reed-tussock habitat, use precautionary survey and staged clearing because the species is poorly known.

Survey methodology: 1. Desktop assessment

Survey detectability and species-specific protocols are poorly known. Use experienced personnel and methods suited to the habitat; a non-detection does not establish absence.

Check the proposed footprint against the DBCA regions and known south-western range. Review available records and identify swamp or coastal settings, dense rushes, reed tussocks and reported stick-ant nests that may be affected.

Survey methodology: 2. Field inspection

Have a suitably experienced ecologist inspect potential shelter features and vegetation before clearing. Use careful visual searches and, where appropriate, methods accepted by the project ecologist for terrestrial snakes. Do not dismantle ant nests or disturb cover without an agreed method and relevant approvals.

Record search conditions, areas inspected, habitat features and observations. No season, survey effort or method is known to guarantee detection.

Vegetation associations: Wetland or sedgeland

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

The species is recorded in swamplands and coastlands in south-western Western Australia.

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 works on the assumption that an animal may be present in suitable habitat.

Confirm the work footprint, timing and vegetation to be removed. Arrange a pre-disturbance inspection by a suitably experienced ecologist where suitable habitat may be affected, and brief the crew on stop-work and reporting procedures.

Before habitat disturbance: 2. Mark and minimise

Clearly mark exclusion areas and retain suitable vegetation and shelter features where practicable. Keep clearing within the approved footprint and avoid unnecessary disturbance to adjacent swamp or coastal habitat.

During habitat disturbance: 1. Clear cautiously

Use controlled clearing and follow an agreed response if a snake is encountered.

Work progressively and under the agreed ecological oversight. Take particular care around dense rushes, reed tussocks and reported stick-ant nests. Do not assume the vegetation is unoccupied because an initial search found no animal.

During habitat disturbance: 2. Respond to an encounter

Stop work in the immediate area, keep people back and notify the fauna spotter catcher or ecologist. Do not handle or kill the snake. Resume only when the responsible ecologist has assessed the situation and advised that work can proceed.

After habitat disturbance: 1. Check and record

Close out the disturbance carefully and retain records to inform future decisions.

Have the ecologist check the affected area and any retained habitat features as agreed in the project plan. Record observations, encounters, animal handling or release actions, and any changes to the work footprint.

After habitat disturbance: 2. Report and review

Report relevant records through project and applicable fauna reporting processes. Review whether methods or boundaries need adjustment before work continues nearby.

Rehabilitation actions: 1. Restore vegetation

Rehabilitation should restore habitat structure where practicable, without assuming unverified species requirements.

Where rehabilitation is required, use locally appropriate native vegetation and aim to re-establish dense cover in swamp or coastal settings where that habitat is being restored. A planting mix or restoration time for this species has not been specified.

Rehabilitation actions: 2. Protect recovering areas

Limit avoidable access and further disturbance to recovering areas. Monitor vegetation establishment and document any confirmed fauna observations for review by the project ecologist.

Sources