Tiger snake
Notechis scutatus
— Where the name comes from
Notechis is “southern viper”, from nótos, the south wind and by extension the south, and échis; scutatus means “armed with a shield”, for the large belly scales. The common name comes from the pale and dark bands many individuals carry, though in this species the pattern varies from population to population until it disappears entirely.
— Facts
- Group
- Reptiles · Reptilia
- Order
- Squamates
- Habitat
- Marshes, shores, damp meadows, coastal dunes, islands
- Range
- Southern and eastern Australia, Tasmania
- Size
- 100–150 cm, up to 200 cm; 400 g–1.5 kg
- Diet
- Frogs, rodents, birds, lizards
- Lifespan
- 15 years
— Characteristics
- 01
It flattens its neck like a cobra when threatened.
- 02
It swims well and hunts frogs in shallow water.
- 03
It bears up to a hundred young, the record among Australian snakes.
— What sets it apart
On some islets off southern Australia it eats one thing only: shearwater chicks, available for a few weeks a year. Those snakes have much larger heads than their mainland relatives, and the difference is not inherited — it develops during growth, because eating large prey physically widens the jawbones. Move young snakes from one island to another and the head changes accordingly: it is one of the clearest documented cases of an animal whose anatomy is sculpted by its diet.
