Australia
Common Name: Broad-headed snake
Scientific Name: Hoplocephalus bungaroides
Image: © Dart Learning
Fact
Baby broad-headed snakes are large at birth (7.8 inches), but they grow slowly due to irregular feeding (they can survive 12 months without food!).
About
Overview:
A small to medium sized venomous snake, one of three in the genus Hoplocephalus, all of which are restricted to eastern Australia.
Lifespan:
Up to 20 years.
Habitat:
Image: © Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
Found only in the Sydney Basin of New South Wales, Australia, the Broad-headed snake’s choice of habitat varies by temperature, age, gender and breeding status. In colder months adults and juveniles live in sandstone crevices of exposed cliff edges seeking to maximise warmth from the sun. In warmer months adult males and non-breeding females move to nearby woodlands where they live in hollow trees, whilst juveniles and breeding females remain on the cliffs
When to spot:
Can be found on cliffs or in woodland around Sydney, but like many snakes, the broad-headed snake is elusive and shy. It is a nocturnal species.
Diet:
Mainly lizards (especially velvet gecko and small skinks), frogs, small-eyed snakes and small mammals. An ambush predator it silently sits and waits for the prey to appear.
Fact
Even though the broad-headed snake belongs to the group of venomous snakes, bites are rarely fatal for humans due to small size of the animal.
How To Identify
Broad-headed snakes have a black body covered with bright yellow scales arranged in the form of irregular cross-bands. The bottom side of the body is grey and covered with yellow blotches. They have a wide head (compared to the rest of the body), that is flat at the top. They have a slender body and eyes with rounded pupils. They reach between 20 to 35 inches in length, with females larger than males.
Image: © Jesse Campbell
Vulnerability Status
IUCN Red List status: Vulnerable
Country status: Endangered
Population size: Unknown
Threats
Numbers have declined in recent decades. The species was once common in rocky coastal areas near Sydney including Port Jackson, Botany Bay, Middle Harbour, Lane Cove and Parramatta, however, there have been no records in these areas since the 1970s.
Key threats to species:
The entire range of the Broad-headed Snake occurs in an area with the highest density of human population in Australia.
Habitat destruction due to removal of sandstone rocks (that are used for decoration of gardens), intentional killing and uncontrolled collecting of snakes from the wild (due to pet trade), are the major threats for the survival of this species.
Fact
Females give birth to 4 to 12 live babies usually from January to April. Larger females give birth to more babies compared to small-sized females.
Conservation Actions
Under the ‘Save our Species’ plan, New South Wales government’s recovery plan for the species focuses on restoring habitat by moving in new rocks and rocky pavers; managing the trees and weeds around the cliffs to ensure the crucial cliff sites are not in shade; and protecting existing populations by modifying visitor access routes in national parks.
Some NGOs are focusing their attention on Australia’s reptiles which are often given less attention than the country’s other species like mammals and birds. One such organisation is the Threatened Species Recovery Hub.
Further Information
Click the title below for further information.
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The Threatened Species Recovery Hub’s six-year research program was completed in 2021.
The hub was guided by an Indigenous Engagement and Participation Strategy. The purpose of the strategy being to enable a meaningful two-way partnership to be developed between the hub and Indigenous Australians that recognises the interests, rights and knowledge of Indigenous Australians in undertaking the Hub’s research agenda.
The hub worked closely with around 250 on-ground partner organisations across the country, including management agencies, Indigenous land managers and conservation groups, to ensure research had an on-ground impact in threatened species management.
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The Action Plan for Australian Lizards and Snakes 2017 provides the first comprehensive assessment of the conservation status of Australian squamates in 25 years. Conservation assessments are provided for 986 species of Australian lizards and snakes (including sea snakes). Over the past 25 years there has been a substantial increase in the number of species and families recognised within Australia. There has also been an increase in the range and magnitude of threatening processes with the potential to impact squamates. This has resulted in an increase in the proportion of the Australian squamate fauna that is considered Threatened. Notably over this period, the first known extinction (post-European settlement) of an Australian reptile species occurred – an indication of the increasingly urgent need for better knowledge and management of this fauna. Six key recommendations are presented to improve the conservation management and plight of Australian squamates.
This Action Plan represents an essential resource for research scientists, conservation biologists, conservation managers, environmental consultants, policy makers from Commonwealth and State/Territory governments, and the herpetological community.
Common Name: Largetooth sawfish
Scientific Name: Pristis pristis
Image: © NOAA Fisheries
Fact
Largetooth sawfish are normally mistaken for sharks, but they are actually rays.
About
Image: © The Ocean Foundation
Overview:
The largetooth sawfish is in the Chondrichthyes class, home to sharks, rays and skates. It is one of five sawfish species found in Australia and the biggest freshwater fish in the country. They can grow up to 6.5m in length.
Lifespan:
They reach adulthood at 10 years old and can live to an age of 35 years.
Due to a slow grow rate, each litter may consist of 7-9 pops.
Habitat:
Largetooth sawfish are an euryhaline species, meaning they can move between fresh and saline waters. Historically, they are found in warm tropical or subtropical waters.
In northern Australia, the largetooth sawfish frequents fresh water bodies, but it can also be found in brackish rivers, as far as 100 km inland. Juveniles spend the first few years in freshwater habitats, but they move into shallow marine coastal ecosystems as they mature.
When to spot:
No specific times of year, however, they are most active at night when they are hunting.
Diet:
Sawfish are predators. They feed on crustaceans (e.g., prawns) and fish. Thousands of tiny pore-like organs in their snouts enable them to pick up the presence of their prey. They dismember their prey by moving the rostrum like a saw, which stuns and kills it.
Fact
Sawfish skin was historically used to make cowboy boots.
How To Identify
The largetooth sawfish is fairly easy to identify given they are very unique. They have a long rostrum “snout” which resembles a saw with protruding teeth. They also have two prominent dorsal fins on their backs. Their unbodies are flat and white, whilst the rest of them is normally dark grey.
Image: © Simon Fraser University
Vulnerability Status
IUCN Red List status: Critically Endangered
Country status: Vulnerable
Population size: Unknown, estimates suggest a range between 200 and 5000.
Historically, the Largetooth sawfish had a wide-range across topical regions with four distinctive populations in the eastern Atlantic, western Atlantic, eastern Pacific and the Indo-west Pacific and they existed in 75 countries. However, populations in these regions witnessed significant population declines and they are now only known to be present in 20 countries. Northern Australia represents one of the world’s remaining strongholds for Largetooth sawfish populations.
Threats
Key threats to species:
Like most species of sharks and rays, Largetooth sawfish have been heavily exploited for the fins and for their unique toothed rostra. Their teeth, meat and some of their organs are also traded for use in ceremonial weapons and in traditional medicine. They are also threatened by bycatch, habitat destruction and pollution.
Fact
The sawfish uses its rostrum as a weapon when it encounters predators, such as sharks and crocodiles.
Conservation Actions
Sawfish are protected in 19 countries and the commercial trade is banned under the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).
In Australia, the largetooth sawfish has been granted protected status, and there is a focus on education and awareness. Fishermen are taught how to safely return them to the water if they are caught. Gillnet fishing has also been banned in areas where the species inhabit.
What You Can Do To Help
The Shark Trust runs a citizen science project which aims to find and document sawfish rostra - you can get involved! Watch the video below to find out more:
You can also donate to the baby sawfish rescue mission run by the Australian Marine Conservation Society
Further Information
Click the title below for further information.
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The EDGE of Existence programme is the only global conservation initiative to focus specifically on threatened species that represent a significant amount of unique evolutionary history.
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Safeguarding the future of sharks through positive change. We achieve this through science, education, influence and action.