antheraea pernyi , the chinese ( oak ) tussar moth ( or " chinese tasar moth " ) , also known as temperate tussar moth , is a large moth in the family saturniidae .

antheraea roylei is an extremely close relative , and the present species might actually have evolved from ancestral a. roylei by chromosome rearrangement .

they are originally from southern china .

used for tussar silk production , they have been distributed more widely across subtropical and tropical asia .

unlike the domestic silkmoth which is entirely dependent on human care , tussah silkmoths can survive in the wild if they escape from captivity ; small local populations of such feral stock may thus occasionally occur .

the colour and quality of the silk depends on the climate and soil .

this is one of the major producers of tussar silk .

it was of commercial importance during the han dynasty and early three kingdoms era , about 200 bc to 250 ad .

more recently , the hybridogenic species antheraea × proylei is being bred for tussah silk production .

it originated from a natural hybrid between male a. pernyi and a. roylei females , f1 females of which were backcrossed to a. pernyi males .

for reasons unknown , it is a case of paternal mtdna transmission : the mitochondrial genome , normally inherited from the mother only in sexually reproducing organisms , is almost identical to that of the present species .

antheraea pernyi

cathepsin o is involved in the innate immune response and metamorphosis of antheraea pernyi .
cathepsin o is involved in the innate immune response and metamorphosis of antheraea pernyi . - pubmed - ncbi
insect immunity : isolation and structure of cecropins b and d from pupae of the chinese oak silk moth , antheraea pernyi .
insect immunity : isolation and structure of cecropins b and d from pupae of the chinese oak silk moth , antheraea pernyi . - pubmed - ncbi
the functions of serpin - 3 , a negative - regulator involved in prophenoloxidase activation and antimicrobial peptides expression of chinese oak silkworm , antheraea pernyi .
qin l , wang h , jiang y . advance in antheraea pernyi genetics and breeding in china . journal of shenyang agricultural university . 2006 ; 37 ( 5 ) : 677–682 .
li wl , liu y , li fj , li yj . cloning , identification and expressional analysis of immunity related genes apdorasal from antheraea pernyi . science of sericulture . 2014 ; 40 : 32–37 .
in conclusion , a novel spatzle belonging to the spatzle type 1 family from a . pernyi has been identified . apspz was expressed during all developmental stages of a . pernyi . other genes associated with the toll pathway were mainly expressed in the fat body , suggesting that the toll pathway is important in the a . pernyi innate immune system for defending against pathogenic microorganisms . moreover , infection of a . pernyi with the fungus n . pernyi and the gram - positive bacterium e . pernyi but not by the gram - negative bacterium e . coli activates the toll signaling pathway .
qu xm , zhang cf , komano h , natori s . purification of a lectin from the hemolymph of chinese oak silk moth ( antheraea pernyi ) pupae . j biochem . 1987 ; 101 : 545–551 pmid : 3298221
hirai m , terenius o , li w , faye i . 2004 . baculovirus and dsrna induce hemolin , but no antibacterial activity , in antheraea pernyi . insect mol biol . 2004 ; 13 : 399–405 pmid : 15271212
li f , terenius o , li y , fang s , li w . cdna cloning and expression analysis of pattern recognition proteins from the chinese oak silkmoth , antheraea pernyi . insects . 2012 ; 3 : 1093–1104 . pmid : 26466728
li w , terenius o , hirai m , nilsson as , faye i . cloning , expression and phylogenetic analysis of hemolin , from the chinese oak silkmoth , antheraea pernyi . dev comp immunol . 2005 ; 29 : 853–864 pmid : 15978282
li f , terenius o , li y , fang s , li w . cdna cloning and expression analysis of pattern recognition proteins from the chinese oak silkmoth , antheraea pernyi . insects . 2012 ; 3 ( 4 ) : 1093 - 1104 .
semi - quantitative rt - pcr was performed to examine the expression of genes involved in the toll pathway in different developmental stages and various tissues of the a . pernyi 5th instar larvae ( fig 4 ) . in addition to a . pernyi spatzle , the genes selected were a . pernyi gnbp ( genbank accession no . kf725771 ) , a . pernyi myd88 ( genbank accession no . kf670143 ) , a . pernyi tolloid ( genbank accession no . kf670144 ) , a . pernyi cactus ( genbank accession no . kf670142 ) and a . pernyi dorsala ( genbank accession no . jf488068 ) . to standardize the templates , apactin was used as an internal control [ 25 ] . rt - pcr was performed with the specific primer pairs ( shown in s1 table ) for the each gene .
lu wx , yue d , hai zj , daihua w , yi zm , fu wc , et al . cloning , expression , and characterization of prophenoloxidase from antheraea pernyi . arch insect biochem physiol . 2015 ; 88 : 45–63 . pmid : 25521627
liu y , chen m , su j , ma h , zheng x , li q , et al . identification and characterization of a novel microvitellogenin from the chinese oak silkworm antheraea pernyi . plos one . 2015 ; 10 : e0131751 . pmid : 26126120
wu s , xuan zx , li yp , li q , xia rx , shi sl , et al . cloning and characterization of the first actin gene in chinese oak silkworm , antheraea pernyi . afr j agric res . 2010 ; 10 : 1095–1100 .
liu qn , zhu bj , dai ls , fu ww , lin kz , liu cl . overexpression of small heat shock protein 21 protects the chinese oak silkworm antheraea pernyi against thermal stress . j insect physiol . 2013 ; 59 : 848–854 . pmid : 23763950
liu y , li y , li x , qin l . the origin and dispersal of the domesticated chinese oak silkworm , antheraea pernyi , in china : a reconstruction based on ancient texts . j insect sci . 2010 ; 10 : 180 . pmid : 21062145 .
wang j , zhang s , xing t , kundu b , li m , kundu sc , et al . ion - induced fabrication of silk fibroin nanoparticles from chinese oak tasar antheraea pernyi . int j biol macromol . 2015 ; 79 : 316–325 . pmid : 25936281
the pernyi caterpillars are a little hairier than the polyphemus . this one is wandering over my hand , searching for food .
to investigate the role of the a . pernyi toll signaling pathway in the response to different pathogens , the relative mrna levels of genes in the toll pathway were assessed by qrt - pcr after a . pernyi was challenged by different pathogenic microorganisms .
li , f . ; terenius , o . ; li , y . ; fang , s . ; li , w . cdna cloning and expression analysis of pattern recognition proteins from the chinese oak silkmoth , antheraea pernyi . insects 2012 , 3 , 1093 - 1104 .
there are significant differences between the domestic silkworm ( bombyx mori ) and the chinese oak silkworm ( a . pernyi ) . unlike the domestic silkworm , a . pernyi larvae are fed on the leaves of oak trees in tussah - feeding oak forests until cocooning during the larval stage . therefore , there is a high risk of a . pernyi larvae infection by different microorganisms in the wild . moreover , substantial economic losses in tussah production are associated with different diseases every year . however , it is evident that a . pernyi must have immune responses to defend against different microorganisms , as tussah production has lasted for hundreds of years . different developmental stages of a . pernyi and survival conditions of a . pernyi larvae are shown in s1 and s2 figs .
zhang cf , dai ls , wang l , qian c , wei gq , li j , et al . eicosanoids mediate shsp 20 . 8 gene response to biotic stress in larvae of the chinese oak silkworm antheraea pernyi . gene . 2015 ; 562 : 32–39 . pmid : 25527122
li , fengjuan ; terenius , olle ; li , yuan ; fang , suyun ; li , wenli . 2012 .
cdna cloning and expression analysis of pattern recognition proteins from the chinese oak silkmoth , antheraea pernyi .
insects 3 , no . 4 : 1093 - 1104 .
liu qn , zhu bj , wang l , wei gq , dai ls , lin kz , et al . identification of immune response - related genes in the chinese oak silkworm , antheraea pernyi by suppression subtractive hybridization . j invertebr pathol . 2013 ; 114 : 313–323 . pmid : 24076149
sericulture was developed in china in ancient times . antheraea pernyi guérin - méneville was domesticated at least 2 , 000 yr ago , and chinese farmers developed artificial rearing of a . pernyi before the 17th century . today , > 60 , 000 tons of cocoons are produced in china each year , which accounts for 90 % of the world production . despite the widespread utilization of a . pernyi in china and a long history of domestic research , the knowledge of a . pernyi outside china is limited . therefore , we have in this paper summarized the production , usage , and breeding of a . pernyi . the foremost usage of a . pernyi is as silk producers ; however , about 55–70 % is used for other purposes . in this paper , we give examples of how the different developmental stages are used as a food source for human consumption and in traditional chinese medicine , both directly in different preparations and also as a nutrient source for rearing medicinal fungi .
previous studies of a . pernyi innate immunity have mainly focused on the prophenoloxidase ( pro - po ) system . it has been reported that lectin increases in response to the intrusion of foreign substances in a . pernyi [ 17 ] . in a . pernyi , the β - 1 , 3 - glucan recognition protein ( ap - βgrp ) and lectin - 5 ( aplectin - 5 ) were induced by all microorganisms , including bacillus subtilis , e . coli , antheraea pernyi nuclear polyhedrosis virus ( apnpv ) and saccharomyces cerevisiae , whereas a . pernyi c - type lectin 1 was not induced by gram - positive bacteria , and the genes exhibited significantly different expression levels in different tissues . the results suggest that lectins might have various functions in different a . pernyi tissues [ 18 ] . a 1 , 3 - β - d - glucan recognition protein from a . pernyi ( ap - βgrp ) that specifically binds 1 , 3 - β - d - glucan from yeast but not e . coli or micrococcus luteus has been identified , and the presence of both 1 , 3 - β - d - glucan and ap - βgrp triggered the pro - po system together but not separately [ 19 ] . an a . pernyi c - type lectin ( ap - rctl ) involved in the pro - po activating system plays an important role in a . pernyi innate immunity as a pattern recognition protein that can recognize and trigger the agglutination of bacteria and fungi [ 20 ] . a . pernyi prophenoloxidase ( apppo ) was also cloned , and apppo expression was significantly up - regulated in a . pernyi tissues following microbial infection . recombinant apppo is able to kill bacteria and induce the cecropin transcription in larvae [ 21 ] . additionally , many genes coding for immune proteins from a . pernyi have been cloned , such as hemolin [ 22 ] , which might affect the progress of viral infection in a . pernyi [ 23 ] .
citation : sun y , jiang y , wang y , li x , yang r , yu z , et al . ( 2016 ) the toll signaling pathway in the chinese oak silkworm , antheraea pernyi : innate immune responses to different microorganisms . plos one 11 ( 8 ) : e0160200 . urltoken
zhang c , dai l , wang l , qian c , wei g , li j , et al . 2015 inhibitors of eicosanoid biosynthesis influencing the transcripts level of shsp21 . 4 gene induced by pathogen infections , in antheraea pernyi . plos one . 2015 ; 10 : e0121296 . pmid : 25844646
liu qn , lin kz , yang ln , dai ls , wang l , sun y , et al . molecular characterization of an apolipophorin - iii gene from the chinese oak silkworm , antheraea pernyi ( lepidoptera : saturniidae ) . arch insect biochem physiol . 2015 ; 88 : 155–167 . pmid : 25348706
xialu w , jinghai z , ying c , youlei m , wenjun z , guoyuan d , et al . a novel pattern recognition protein of the chinese oak silkmoth , antheraea pernyi , is involved in the pro - po activating system . bmb rep . 2013 ; 46 : 358–363 . pmid : 23884102
in this study , a novel spatzle gene ( apspz ) from the chinese oak silkworm , a . pernyi , was identified while investigating the toll signaling pathway in response to different microorganisms . furthermore , the expression patterns of genes involved in the toll pathway were examined in a . pernyi infected with different microorganisms . the results of this analysis provide a foundation for further investigation of the toll signaling pathway in a . pernyi .
the genes involved in the toll pathway were predominantly expressed in immune - responsive fat body tissue , indicating that these genes play a crucial role in a . pernyi innate immunity . further studies of these genes are underway to clarify the immune response of a . pernyi against infection by microorganisms .
zhu j , fan d , zhao j , zhang h , huang j , zhou w , et al . enhancement of the gelation properties of surimi from yellowtail seabream ( parargyrops edita , sparidae ) with chinese oak silkworm pupa , antheraea pernyi . j food sci . 2016 ; 81 : e396–e403 . pmid : 26709730
in summary , the toll signaling pathway in a . pernyi was activated by fungi and gram - positive bacteria but not by gram - negative bacteria .
youlei m , jinghai z , yuntao z , jiaoshu l , tianyi w , chunfu w , et al . purification and characterization of a 1 , 3 - β - d - glucan recognition protein from antheraea pernyi larve that is regulated after a specific immune challenge . bmb rep . 2013 ; 46 : 264–269 . pmid : 23710637
as shown in fig 5 , after infection with different pathogenic microorganisms , significant changes were observed in the transcriptional levels of toll pathway genes in a . pernyi .
antheraea pernyi variety shenhuang no . 2 was used in this study . the eggs ( on the fifth day ) , fifth instar larvae ( on the third day ) , pupae and moths were frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at –80°c until use . the epidermis , silk glands , blood , gonads , malpighian tubules , fat body , midgut , and muscle were dissected from fifth instar a . pernyi larvae , immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at –80°c until use . all of the samples were used for rt - pcr .
the toll pathway is one of the most important signaling pathways regulating insect innate immunity . spatzle is a key protein that functions as a toll receptor ligand to trigger toll - dependent expression of immunity - related genes . in this study , a novel spatzle gene ( apspz ) from the chinese oak silkworm antheraea pernyi was identified . the apspz cdna is 1065 nucleotides with an open reading frame ( orf ) of 777 bp encoding a protein of 258 amino acids . the protein has an estimated molecular weight of 29 . 71 kda and an isoelectric point ( pi ) of 8 . 53 . apspz is a nuclear and secretory protein with no conserved domains or membrane helices and shares 40 % amino acid identity with spz from manduca sexta . phylogenetic analysis indicated that apspz might be a new member of the spatzle type 1 family , which belongs to the spatzle superfamily . the expression patterns of several genes involved in the toll pathway were examined at different developmental stages and various tissues in 5th instar larvae . the examined targets included a . pernyi spatzle , gnbp , myd88 , tolloid , cactus and dorsala . the rt - pcr results showed that these genes were predominantly expressed in immune - responsive fat body tissue , indicating that the genes play a crucial role in a . pernyi innate immunity . moreover , a . pernyi infection with the fungus nosema pernyi and the gram - positive bacterium enterococcus pernyi , but not the gram - negative bacterium escherichia coli , activated the toll signaling pathway . these results represent the first study of the toll pathway in a . pernyi , which provides insight into the a . pernyi innate immune system .
insects possess an innate immune system that responds to invading microorganisms . in recent years , immune response - related genes have become an important focus of a . pernyi research . fifty immune response - related genes and ten stress response genes were identified from a subtractive cdna library in a . pernyi challenged with escherichia coli [ 12 ] . three small heat shock proteins ( shsps ) encoding hsp21 , hsp21 . 4 and hsp20 . 8 ( named as ap - shsp 21 , ap - shsp 21 . 4 and ap - shsp 20 . 8 , respectively ) were isolated from a . pernyi . further studies have shown that these shsps might play important roles in a . pernyi upon challenge with different microorganisms or under stress conditions [ 13 – 15 ] . expression of an apolipophorin - iii ( apolp - iii ) gene from a . pernyi pupae ( ap - apolp - iii ) was significantly up - regulated in response to different microorganisms , and rna interference showed that ap - apolp - iii might function in the a . pernyi innate immune system [ 16 ] .
the fifth instar larvae were inoculated by oral feeding with escherichia coli ( ec ) , enterococcus pernyi ( ep ) , or nosema pernyi ( np ) on the first day , and larvae fed sterile water were used as control samples ( ck ) . fat bodies dissected from each group for rna extraction 24 h and 48 h after inoculation were used for qrt - pcr testing .
however , there is limited information on the toll signaling pathway in antheraea pernyi . the chinese oak silkworm ( antheraea pernyi guérin - méneville , 1855 ; lepidoptera : saturniidae ) is a well - known wild silkworm used for insect food and silk production . chinese farmers developed rearing methods for the chinese oak silkworm approximately 400 years ago [ 6 ] . currently , the chinese annual output of tussah cocoons is approximately 8×10 4 t , which is nearly 90 % of the total output of wild silk worldwide , and the income from tussah rearing has become the main economic source in many sericultural areas . there are approximately one hundred twenty tussah varieties in china , and they can be divided into four races based on larval skin color : yellow , yellow - cyan , white , and blue [ 7 ] . currently , the products from a . pernyi , such as silk , pupae and moths , are used in many fields . for example , tussah silk fibroin nanoparticles have been used as a sustained drug delivery vehicle [ 8 ] , and tussah pupae homogenates were used to enhance the gelation properties of surimi from yellowtail seabream [ 9 ] . therefore , the use of tussah products is common and wide - ranging . with new developments in biotechnology , more attention has been paid to the functional genes of a . pernyi , and several genes from a . pernyi have been isolated and characterized [ 10 , 11 ] .
this species is not very variable in colour , unlike antheraea yamamai , with individuals differing little from the typical fawn colour of the male illustrated below ; however , a chocolate - brown melanic form is known - - f . hartii moore .
in a . pernyi , many immune genes involved in the toll signaling pathway have been isolated , although there is limited information about toll signaling in this organism . two rel / nf - kb - related genes , apdorasl a and apdorsal b , were cloned from a . pernyi . the cloned genes were differentially expressed in response to different microorganisms , indicating that apdorsal might be involved in the immune response to viruses , fungi and gram - positive bacteria in a . pernyi [ 24 ] . although the sequences of many genes involved in the a . pernyi toll pathway have been submitted to genbank , including gnbp ( accession number : kf725771 ) , myd88 ( accession number : kf670143 ) , tolloid ( accession number : kf670144 ) , and cactus ( accession number : kf670142 ) , there has been no report or record of the spatzle gene in a . pernyi to our knowledge . it is well known that spatzle is a key signal transducer for immune responses , a ligand for toll receptors and a very important functional protein for activating the toll pathway in response to different microorganisms .
this silkworm is raised in china for its silk . it is referred to as tussah , chinese tussah , oak tussah , or temperate tussah . it is the source of tussah spinning fiber that we use in the west . it is a relative of the tropical tussah silkmoth , antheraea mylitta of india , and also related to antheraea polyphemus , the american polyphemus silkmoth . in china , they are fed on plantations of specially trimmed oak trees on the hillsides . they began to hatch on may 18 , 2004 .
on the first day , fifth instar larvae were orally administered 20 μl of different microorganisms separately suspended in sterile water , including e . coli ( ec , 1 . 2×10 7 bacterial cells / ml ) , enterococcus pernyi ( ep , 2 . 0×10 7 cells / ml ) , and nosema pernyi ( np , 5 . 0×10 7 spores / ml ) , and larvae fed sterile water were used as controls ( ck ) . fat bodies dissected from different groups were used for rna extraction 24 h and 48 h after inoculation and were stored at - 80°c for qrt - pcr testing . a . pernyi larvae were kept in a rearing chamber at 23±2°c with 70±5 % relative humidity and were fed fresh quercus mongolica leaves .
the expression analysis of toll pathway genes associated with a . pernyi orally infected with fungi ( np ) , gram - positive bacteria ( ep ) and gram - negative ( ec ) bacteria revealed specific interactions between host immunity and pathogens , indicating that the toll pathway could be activated by challenge with np and ep . however , no significant differences in toll pathway genes were observed in a . pernyi after infection with ec , indicating that the toll pathway does respond to gram - negative bacteria .
cathepsins are key members of mammalian papain - like cysteine proteases that play an important role in the immune response . in this study , a fragment of cdna encoding cathepsin o proteinase ( apcathepsin o ) was cloned from antheraea pernyi . it contains an open reading frame of 1170bp and encodes a protein with 390 amino acid residues , including a conserved i29 inhibitor domain and a peptidase c1a ( clan ca of cysteine proteases , papain family c1 subfamily ) domain . comparison with other previously reported cathepsin o proteins showed identity ranging from 45 % to 79 % . quantitative real - time pcr ( qrt - pcr ) and western blot analysis revealed that apcathepsin o was highly expressed in the fat body ; furthermore , the high expression during the pupal stage indicated that it might be involved during metamorphosis . after exposure to four different heat - killed pathogens ( escherichia coli , beauveria bassiana , micrococcus luteus , and a . pernyi nucleopolyhedrovirus ) , the expression levels of apcathepsin o mrna significantly increased and showed variable expression patterns . this indicates that apcathepsin o is potentially involved in the innate immune system of a . pernyi . interestingly , apcathepsin o expression was upregulated after 20 - hydroxyecdysone ( 20e ) injection , which suggested that it might be regulated by 20e . in conclusion , apcathepsin o is a protease that may play an important role in the innate immune response and metamorphosis of a . pernyi .
the immune system in the chinese oak silk moth , antheraea pernyi , has been compared with that of the cecropia moth which has been characterized earlier . antibacterial activity against escherichia coli was induced in diapausing pupae by injection of viable e . coli or enterobacter cloacae . the activity reached a maximum on day 7 - 8 after which the response gradually declined . the pupae produced a set of immune proteins with p4 and p5 as major labelled components similar to that earlier found in cecropia . the major antibacterial factor in a . pernyi was cecropin d . a procedure is described for the isolation of cecropin b and d , which is in principle similar to the one used for the isolation of the corresponding cecropins from cecropia pupae . amino acid sequence analyses of the a . pernyi cecropins show the d form to contain 36 amino acid residues and that both cecropins have blocked c - termini . the general structure of cecropins having a charged n - terminal region ( residues 1 - 21 ) followed by a long hydrophobic stretch ( residues 22 - 32 ) is well conserved . cecropin b and d from a . pernyi differ from the corresponding proteins in cecropia by four and three conservative amino acid replacements , respectively . the homology between the cecropins from the two insects suggests that they orginate from a single ancestral gene . the antibacterial activity was tested against nine different bacterial species . evolutionary aspects of the cecropins are discussed .
wingspan 110 - - 152mm . the similarly marked and coloured sexes are unlike any other european saturniid except the introduced antheraea yamamai , but it can easily be distinguished from that species in having the solid elongated black spot on the outer margin of the hindwing eyespot invaded by yellow . in males , the forewings are distinctly falcate .
serpins are a superfamily of proteins engaged in various physiological processes in all kingdoms of life . to date , many striking results have demonstrated serpins are involved in the invertebrate immune system by regulating the proteolytic cascades . however , in most insect species , the immune functions of serpins in response against pathogen invasion remain obscure . in this study , we identified a full - length cdna sequence of serpin , named serpin - 3 , from the chinese oak silkworm antheraea pernyi . sequence alignments have indicated that apserpin - 3 might regulate the melanization reaction via inhibiting prophenoloxidases - activating protease ( s ) in plasma . furthermore , it was detected to be primarily transcribed within the fat body , epidermis and hemocytes with significant induction following immune - challenge . further studies have shown that the knockdown of serpin - 3 up - regulated the prophenoloxidases cascade stimulated by pathogen in hemolymph , while the addition of recombinant serpin - 3 along with the same elicitor led to the suppressed activation of prophenoloxidase . besides , the injection of dsrna of serpin - 3 caused the elevated expression of antimicrobial peptides . altogether , we arrived at a conclusion that serpin - 3 might act as a negative - regulator in prophenoloxidases activation and inhibit the production of antimicrobial peptides in antheraea pernyi larvae .
a lectin with affinity to galactose was purified to homogeneity from the hemolymph of diapausing pupae of the chinese oak silk moth , antheraea pernyi . the molecular mass of this lectin was 380 , 000 and it formed an oligomeric structure of a subunit with a molecular mass of 38 , 000 . the hemagglutinating activity in the hemolymph was found to increase with time after immunization with e . coli . studies with antibody against the purified lectin showed that increase in the hemagglutinating activity was due to the same lectin , suggesting that the amount of the lectin increased in response to intrusion of foreign substances . the function of this lectin in the defence mechanism is discussed .
the newly - hatched , 5mm long larvae are basically dull black with a glossy , dull orange head . the tubercles are also black , with several white setae . from the second instar the larvae are very similar to those of antheraea yamamai , except for a raw sienna to fawn coloured head , which bears five dark spots on each lobe of the face .
as shown in fig 4a , the a . pernyi gnbp gene was expressed in larvae and pupae during four developmental stages . apgnbp was expressed in all of the tissues examined except for the midgut , and the highest mrna levels were found in the epidermis and fat body . gnbp is a pattern recognition protein that enables the host to detect invading bacteria [ 37 ] . gnbp and the peptidoglycan recognition protein sa ( pgrp - sa ) jointly activate the toll pathway against gram - positive bacterial infections in drosophila [ 1 , 38 ] . a . pernyi spatzle ( apspz ) was expressed during four developmental stages , including eggs , larvae , pupae and moths , indicating that apspz has an important role throughout the entire life cycle of a . pernyi . the highest mrna levels were observed in the larval stage . apspz was expressed in all of the tissues examined except the midgut , and the highest mrna levels were found in the fat body and muscle ( fig 4b ) . a . pernyi tolloid ( aptoll ) mrna was only expressed in the pupae stage and not in the larvae , which might be due to whole larva sampling . aptoll was expressed in malpighian tubules and the fat body , and the highest mrna levels were observed in the fat body ( fig 4c ) . a . pernyi tolloid is a toll family member and could be assigned to the toll - 1 group with d . melanogaster tolloid ( genbank accession no . aaf56329 ) . d . melanogaster tolloid was detected in blood cells and the fat body , but no transcripts were found in the lymph gland [ 39 ] . a . pernyi myd88 ( apmyd88 ) was expressed in the eggs , larvae and pupae . apmyd88 was expressed in all of the tissues examined except for the epidermis and blood , and the highest mrna levels were found in the fat body ( fig 4d ) . a . pernyi cactus ( apcact ) was expressed in the larvae , pupae and moths , and apcact was expressed in all of the tissues examined except for the midgut . transcript levels were most abundant in the fat body ( fig 4e ) . the a . pernyi dorsala ( apdora ) gene was expressed in the larvae , pupae and moths . apdora was expressed in the silk gland , blood , spermary / ovary , malpighian tubules and fat body and was not detected in the epidermis , midgut and muscle . moreover , the highest mrna levels were found in the malpighian tubules and the fat body ( fig 4f ) , which was consistent with a previous study [ 24 ] .
this caterpillar has already dumped out the excess food in his gut , and is about to start spinning . the pernyi caterpillars seem to be particularly shy - they stop whatever they ' re doing when i approach , and put their little feet into this
prayer
pose and sit quietly . most of the other species just keep on eating or spinning or whatever . july 7 , 2004 .
pattern recognition receptors are known to participate in the activation of prophenoloxidase system . in this study , a 1 , 3 - β - d - glucan recognition protein was detected for the first time in antheraea pernyi larvae ( ap - βgrp ) . ap - βgrp was purified to 99 . 9 % homogeneity from the hemolymph using traditional chromatographic methods . ap - βgrp specifically bind 1 , 3 - β - d - glucan and yeast , but not e . coli or m . luteus . the 1 , 3 - β - d - glucan dependent phenoloxidase ( po ) activity of the hemolymph inhibited by anti - ap - βgrp antibody could be recovered by addition of purified ap - βgrp . these results demonstrate that ap - βgrp acts as a biosensor of 1 , 3 - β - dglucan to trigger the prophenoloxidase system . a trace mount of 1 , 3 - β - d - glucan or ap - βgrp alone was unable to trigger the propo system , but they both did . ap - βgrp was specifically degraded following the activation of propo with 1 , 3 - β - dglucan . these results indicate the variation in the amount of ap - βgrp after specific immune challenge in a . pernyi hemolymph is an important regulation mechanism to immune response .
in china , tussah silk produced by the chinese tussah or tussur moth ( antheraea pernyi ) is semi - cultivated . this silk is also called tassar . the larvae feed on various species of oaks ( quercus spp . ) . the oaks on which the caterpillars feed are pruned into shrubs 1 . 5 - 2 m high on which the larvae are raised . two annual crops are obtained . the small spring crop is used exclusively as breeding stock for the large autumn crop . the silk of the autumn crop is mostly reeled . yields average approximately 45 kg / ha of reeled fibre and about 68 kg / ha of spinning fibre [ kolander , 1985 ] . the city of dandong , in liaoning province has been a center for tussah silk production for two centuries and in 1980 provided about 70 percent of chinas output . tussah silk production fluctuates ; in 1980 , 75 000 tons were produced and about 50 000 tons were produced each year between 1987 - 1989 ( peigler 1999 ) .
we performed transcriptome sequencing on the chinese oak silkworm a . pernyi , and high - quality reads were deposited in the ncbi sra database ( accession numbers : srr2919240 , srr2919241 , srr2919242 and srr2919243 ) . assembly of the high quality reads was performed using the trinity de novo assembly program . a unigene ( comp748335 _ c0 ) annotated manduca sexta spz1a ( genbank accession no . gq249944 . 1 ) encoding 256 nucleotides was selected . based the unigene sequence , a novel spatzle gene ( apspz ) from a . pernyi was first identified using rt - pcr , 5 ' race and 3 ' race . the isolated apspz cdna was 1065 nucleotides with an open reading frame ( orf ) of 777 bp that encodes a 258 amino acids protein . the cdna sequence contains a 212 bp 5 ' - untranslated region ( utr ) and a 76 bp 3 ' - utr with a polyadenylation signal sequence ( aataaa ) at position 1027 and a poly ( a ) tail . the initiation codon atg and the termination codon taa are at positions 213 and 987 , respectively ( fig 1 ) . the predicted molecular weight and isoelectric point ( pi ) of ap spz were 29 . 71 kda and 8 . 53 , respectively . apspz was assigned its name because of its similarity to known spatzle proteins . this cdna sequence has been deposited in genbank under accession no . ku323402 .
total rna was extracted using trizol ® reagent ( invitrogen ) according to the manufacturer’s protocol . rna degradation and contamination were monitored on 1 % agarose gels . the extracted total rna was quantified using a nanodrop 2000 uv - vis spectrophotometer ( thermo scientific , usa ) . first - strand cdna synthesis was performed using an m - mulv first strand cdna synthesis kit ( sangon biotech , china ) . the full - length a . pernyi spatzle cdna was cloned using reverse transcription pcr , 5 ' race and 3 ' race . race was performed using a 5 ' race system ( version 2 . 0 , invitrogen ) and a smarter ™ race cdna amplification kit ( clontech ) according to the user manual . the cdnas derived from all of the samples were used for gene expression analysis .
homologous alignment of spatzle from a . pernyi ( apspz , ku323402 ) , manduca sexta ( msspz , acu68553 ) , drosophila melanogaster ( dmspz , np _ 524526 ) , and bombyx mori ( bmspz , np _ 001108066 ) was performed using the clustal x program ( fig 2 ) . sequence alignment showed that the amino acid sequence of apspz is most similar to msspz , with 40 % identity , and the gene exhibited 33 . 15 % identity with bmspz and 13 . 58 % identity with dmspz . the putative activation cleavage site of apspz , located after iaqr 163 , is conserved in msspz and bmspz . an activating protease could cleave after the conserved residue arg 163 in apspz , similar to the confirmed cleavages in dmspz and msspz [ 3 , 35 ] . the protein structure prediction showed that apspz matched the template structure for 4bv4 . 1 . a ( protein spaetzle c - 106 ) . although three cys residues in the putative carboxyl - terminal active cystine knot domain in apspz are conserved in m . sexta , d . melanogaster and b . mori , four other cys residues were not found . the results were consistent with d . melanogaster spz8 . 24 , indicating that they are not involved in disulfide formation , and apspz might be similar to dmspz8 . 24 , which is natively unfolded [ 3 , 36 ] .
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a wide range of beneficial non - wood products are derived from organisms that are closely associated with broad - leaved temperate trees , either as parasites , symbionts or saprophytes . these include edible mushrooms , products from insects that feed on this group of trees and parasitic plants . it should be noted that this chapter contains some overlaps with , as well as updates to , a previous publication in the fao non - wood forest products series no . 12 [ fao , 1995 ] since several mushrooms grow both with broad - leaved trees and conifers .
mushrooms are the reproductive structures of fungi and are also known as sporocarps or fruiting bodies . while some mushrooms are highly toxic and can be fatal if eaten , many species are edible . some are so flavourful that they are major food items in many human cultures throughout the world . many species of edible mushrooms occur in forests and are harvested either commercially or as an outdoor recreation activity .
fungi are lower plants that lack chlorophyll . they are , therefore , unable to manufacture nutrients from sunlight through photosynthesis as do green plants . in order to survive , fungi must function either as parasites , often causing disease in higher plants or animals ; saprophytes , causing the breakdown of dead organic matter ; or as mutualists or symbionts with green plants . in the case of mutualism or symbiosis , both the fungus and the green plant derive benefits from the association .
the predominant form of symbiosis between fungi and trees occurs with tree roots producing structures called mycorrhizae . mycorrhiza means fungus - root and describes the association of specialized soil fungi with the tiny feeder roots of forest trees and shrubs . mycorrhyzal fungi function as an extension of the plants root system and are the means by which almost all higher plants take up water and minerals from the soil . only a few higher plants are known to lack mycorrhizal associations [ manion , 1991 ] . the uptake of phosphorus and nitrogen are particularly important functions of these fungi . mycorrhizal fungi directly enhance tree survival and growth [ molina et al . , 1993 ] .
many species of forest fungi produce delicately flavoured edible mushrooms that are harvested in large quantities , and some are cultivated under semi - artificial conditions . primarily mycorrhyzal fungi produce them , but several saprophytic and parasitic fungi also produce highly flavourful mushrooms .
boletus edulis is a mycorrhyzal fungus that grows in association with a wide variety of trees , including both conifers and broad - leaved species . the mushrooms produced by this fungus are widely used in a number of cuisines , especially in europe where it is one of the most sought - after edible mushrooms . it goes by many common names including cep or cepe de bordeaux ( france ) , king bolete or penny bun mushroom ( english ) , porcino ( italy ) , s teinpilz ( germany ) , zhutui mo ( north china ) and dajiao gu ( south china ) .
the mushroom produced by this fungus is highly variable , and some mycologists have split the fungus into a number of distinct species . a common characteristic of the mushroom is a wide , barrel - shaped stem that has a fine reticulate pattern on its surface . [ 50 ]
boletus edulis occurs in temperate zone forests throughout the northern hemisphere and produces fruiting bodies from the soil as scattered individuals or in small groups [ molina et al . , 1993 ] . it is found throughout north america as far south as mexico , in europe from the northern part of the nordic countries south to southern greece ; italy ; and , in the near east , as far east as afghanistan . it is also found throughout china . in the united kingdom , b . edulis is found associated with birch ( betula palustris ) , oaks ( quercus robur and q . petraea ) and beech ( fagus sylvatica ) . in china it grows under mixed forests of pine and oak [ dickinson and lucas , 1979 ] .
the strong , distinctive flavour of this mushroom has been appreciated since roman times . dishes containing boletes were often used by the romans to conceal poisons used to assassinate politicians and other public figures . they were also believed to have a number of medicinal properties , including the removal of freckles and blemishes , and a salve was prepared from boletes to treat dog bites [ dickinson and lucas , 1979 ] .
boletus edulis is harvested in the wild . in poland , it is the principal wild mushroom harvested [ grochowski , 1966 ] . in the casentino , a mountainous area in the region of tuscany , italy , income and benefits derived from harvesting b . edulis are considered to be significant . about 20 percent of the total harvest is for personal use , and the remainder is sold to restaurants , local stores and wholesalers . mushroom collectors are mostly from the lower to middle income classes ; women are the most numerous group of collectors and nearly half of the collectors are between 50 and 60 years old [ farolfi , 1990 ] . chestnut ( castania sativa ) orchards are a favourable habitat for growth of b . edulis in italy , and in some cases the yield of edible king boletes harvested from these orchards is worth more than the chestnut crop . [ 51 ]
figure 9 . 1 dried boletus edulis mushrooms . their firm , meaty texture makes them popular ingredients for stews , casseroles and sauces , and they can be stored in dried form for several years .
boletes are harvested in british columbia , mainly from haida gwaii ( queen charlotte islands ) and the prince george area . in a good fruiting year , approximately 100 000 kg of fresh boletes are harvested . while in a bad year there may be no harvest at all . [ 52 ] on average , pickers are paid $ can 2 . 50 / lb of boletes and exporters receive around us $ 8 / lb of boletes landed and fresh , around us $ 75 . 00 / kg of dried and landed , and around us $ 5 . 00 - 6 . 00 / kg of frozen .
approximately 90 percent of all harvested boletes are exported dried or frozen and only around 10 percent of the harvest is exported fresh . boletes are one of the first wild food mushrooms to be attacked by pests , and there is currently a world shortage of king boletes [ russel and lipsey , 1999 ] . [ 53 ]
this mushroom has a firm , meaty texture that stands up well to prolonged cooking . consequently it is a popular ingredient in a variety of stews , casseroles and sauces . b . edulis can also be easily dried , a form that permits storage for extended periods ( figure 9 . 1 ) . in some parts of europe they are dried on strings and stored for winter use . it is also a common ingredient in dried soup mixes [ dickinson and lucas , 1979 ] .
the fungus that produces the northwest matsutake mushroom ( tricholoma magnivelare ) , forms ectomycorrhizal associations with many tree species throughout its natural range in western north america , especially various species of pinus [ molina et al . , 1993 ; ciesla , 1998 ] . in the pacific northwest region of the united states , it is the most valuable of the commercially harvested edible mushrooms [ schlosser and blatner , 1995 ] . this mushroom is sold in large quantities to japan where it is an acceptable substitute for the japanese matsutake ( tricholoma matsutake ) , a species that grows in pinus densiflora forests and commands exorbitant prices .
the matsutake mushroom is robust and white in colour when first formed . later it develops pale brown to yellow stains . the stout stem is solid , tough and fibrous . it is smooth above and scaly below the thick , sheathing ring that flares out in young specimens . the mushrooms have a distinct spicy - aromatic odour , reminiscent of sweet cinnamon [ mollina et al . , 1993 ] .
t . magnivelare is also associated with forests of tanoak ( lithocarpus densiflorus ) in northern california and western oregon . among the karuk , yurok and hupa people , three indigenous tribes which occupy portions of northern california , t . magnivalare is known as the tanoak mushroom and is considered to be an important traditional food . in the karuk language , t . magnivelare is known as haiwish . the earliest documentation of the karuk use of tanoak mushrooms dates from ethnobotanical field studies conducted in 1939 , which reported : a certain mushroom , found in november , is cooked on coals and eaten .  [ richards , 1997 ; schenck and gifford , 1952 ] .
the high demand for t . magnivelare mushrooms in japan led to a massive increase in commercial harvesting of this species on public lands in the western united states beginning in the late 1980s . until about 1991 , there was little commercial mushroom harvesting on karuk ancestral lands . as commercial pickers arrived in greater numbers , local tribal members complained that their traditional gathering sites , many of which were on lands administered by usda forest service , were being overharvested . in early 1993 , the karuk tribe appealed a decision made by the klamath national forest in northern california to allow a commercial mushroom harvest season . as a result , no commercial permits were issued , and studies on resource values assigned to this mushroom and the basis for the resource conflict were established . resultant work , some of which is still in progress , indicate that the karuk had developed mushroom hunting techniques based on knowledge of favourable sites , weather and phenology of associated plants . they also engaged in harvesting practices that they believed would sustain the population of the fungus . these practices included twisting off the mushrooms so as not to disturb the fungus mycellium , leaving small mushrooms to grow and fruit and replacing leaf litter in sites where mushrooms have been harvested in order to maintain soil moisture and a more favourable habitat for production of fruiting bodies . the effect of these traditional harvesting practices on sustainability of mushroom harvests requires testing in replicated field trials [ richards , 1997 ] .
truffles ( tuber spp . ) are rounded , potato - shaped mushrooms with a subterranean habit . they are the fruiting bodies of mychorrhizal fungi associated with the roots of various species of beech , oak and other broad - leaved trees [ dickinson and lucas , 1979 ] . one species , t . gibossum , is associated exclusively with douglas fir ( pseudotsuga menziesii ) in the pacific coast of north america [ molina et al . , 1993 ] .
several european species are considered to be prized delicacies . the black périgord truffle ( tuber melanosporum ) is widely used in italian and french cuisines . this truffle is found in oak forests throughout much of europe but the centre of production of the mushrooms is southwestern france where they occur in light , porous , clay marl . in italy it is known as tartufo nero , and in the region of umbria it is an ingredient in pasta dishes and in an amaro , an after - dinner liqueur [ authors observation ] . the white piedmont truffle ( t . magnatum ) is the most sought - after species in italy , where it is added in thin slices to a variety of pasta dishes to which they impart a distinctive , musky flavour . this truffle is produced in the region from the astigiano to the canallese rivers in alba ( piedmont region ) , where most collection occurs from october through december [ moora , 1955 ] . the summer truffle ( t . aestivum ) occurs in the beech forests in the chalk downs of the united kingdom , where a cottage industry based on truffle hunting existed during the eighteenth century . truffles were collected and marketed until the 1930s but are now considered to be too small to merit collection [ dickinson and lucas , 1979 ] .
the unusual habitat and appearance of truffles caused considerable debate as to their origin . the roman naturalist and writer pliny described truffles as calluses of the soil . the greek biographer plutarch explained that their existence was the combined action of thunder , rain and the warmth of the soil . during the sixteenth century , it was widely believed that truffles were the result of the semen of rutting deer . during the nineteenth century , they were believed to be a gall produced by oak roots . later in that century a theory was postulated that the truffle fly , an insect commonly associated with the fruiting bodies , stung the roots of oak trees causing the gall - like truffles to grow [ dickinson and lucas , 1979 ] .
while much truffle gathering occurs in natural forests , the black périgord truffle has been grown in a more or less organized fashion since about 1810 , using an indirect cultivation procedure . a french farmer by the name of joseph talon established an oak plantation by planting acorns . after a few years , truffles began to appear in the plantation . when he repeated the exercise several years later with the specific intent to produce truffles and succeeded , he had begun an indirect method of truffle cultivation . today a sizeable portion of truffles harvested from france and exported are obtained through establishment of new oak plantings [ dickinson and lyons , 1979 ] . at present truffles are the only ectomycorrhizal food fungus which is in widespread cultivation in the pacific northwest ( only in washington and oregon states ) [ russel and lipsey , 1999 ] .


the red whip snake or collared dwarf racer ( platyceps collaris ) is a species of snake in the family colubridae .

native to the middle east , its natural habitats are mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation , rocky areas , arable land , pastureland , plantations , and rural gardens .

red whip snake

also known as : red whip snake , brown whip snake , keel bellied whip snake , keel bellied vine snake .
coachwhip snake , eastern coachwhip , lined coachwhip , prairie runner , red coachwhip , red racer , san joaquin coachwhip , san joaquin whip snake , sonoran coachwhip , western coachwhip .
red - bellied black snake ( pseudechis porphyriacus ) 2 . 52 2 . 53
the rufous or red whip snake ( demansia rufescens ) is restricted to the pilbara region of western australia . this one is from karratha
search red whip snake and thousands of other words in english cobuild dictionary from reverso . you can complete the definition of red whip snake given by the english cobuild dictionary with other english dictionaries : wikipedia , lexilogos , oxford , cambridge , chambers harrap , wordreference , collins lexibase dictionaries , merriam webster . . .
common names : green tree snake , yellow - belied black snake , grass snake .
search red whip snake and thousands of other words in english definition and synonym dictionary from reverso . you can complete the definition of red whip snake given by the english definition dictionary with other english dictionaries : wikipedia , lexilogos , oxford , cambridge , chambers harrap , wordreference , collins lexibase dictionaries , merriam webster . . .
reticulated whip snake ( demansia reticulata reticulata ) . this individual from jurien , western australia
head of yellow - faced whip snake , demansia psammophis , showing distinctive facial markings .
the yellow - faced whip snake is fast and alert and is active by day .
if someone whips a person or animal , they beat them or hit them with a whip or something like a whip .
dryophiops rubescens – brown whip snake . rear fanged . not dangerous to humans . relatively rare .
the coachwhip is classified as least concern ( lc ) on the iucn red list ( 1 ) .
notes : these are really beautiful snakes resembling the ahaetulla prasina in body morphology and gunther’s whip snake . studied closely you’d be amazed at the pattern in the body of the snake . both of ours were brown whip snakes ( we are guessing – there are few photos in the lit ) , there are also red - colored species of this snake .
the yellow - faced whip snake usually feeds on lizards and their eggs , frogs and other small snakes .
to bring , train , etc . , forcefully into a desired condition ( esp . in the phrases whip into line and whip into shape )
this snake is superficially similar to the green tree snake , dendrelaphis punctulata , which lacks markings around the eyes and the reddish tinge seen on the neck of the yellow - faced whip snake .
( errata version published in 2016 ) . the iucn red list of threatened species 2009 : e . t61449a86246670 .
the small - eyed snake ( maximum length 1 . 2m ) looks similar to a red - bellied black snake , with a steely - black skin and pink belly scales that are just visible on the lower sides of the snake .
here is a whip snake that was a bit of a mystery for a while , it was finally identified by an american expat snake researcher in bangkok – michael cota .
during winter the yellow - faced whip snake may shelter beneath rocks , and has been observed aggregating with several other individuals on occasion .
coppertail , two - toned snake , green whip snake are all common names applied to this northwestern australian species ( demansia reticulata cupreiceps ) . this individual from whim creek , western australia
description : uniform glossy black along whole body . belly has red or pink flush brighter on the sides and paler in the middle . hind edge of belly scales is black , creating an even red and black striped appearance . belly colour is visible along flanks and sides .
the black - necked whip snake ( demansia calodera ) is restricted to the central west coast . this individual is from carnarvon , wa .
thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on the iucn red list of threatened species website , we are grateful for your input .
the yellow - faced whip snake is widespread over a large portion of mainland australia and is found in open forests , farmland and suburban gardens .
if you have the whip hand , you have power over someone else in a particular situation .
any of various other birds , such as pachycephala pectoralis and p . rufiventris ( mock whip bird )
any of several birds of the genus psophodes , esp . p . olivaceus ( eastern whip bird ) and p . nigrogularis ( black - throated whip bird ) , having a whistle ending in a whipcrack note
at snake catchers adelaide we offer toolbox talks for information , prevention and safety on snake awareness in the workplace or community .
if you whip people into an emotional state , you deliberately cause and encourage them to be in that state .
these days the shopper has the whip hand , and will not buy if stores fail to lower their prices .
the yellow - faced whip snake is a slender and fast - moving snake , active during the day . it is common and widespread across many areas of australia . it is often confused with the eastern brown snake , and it is hard to observe closely , being alert and fleeing quickly when disturbed .
, also referred to as the whip snake , endemic to the united states and the northern half of mexico . the coachwhip is one of the largest native snakes found in north america .
however ; some people take different reactions to a bite from a yellow faced whip snake , so medical advice should be sought if the bite victim has unusual symptoms or doesn’t feel well .
a very fast and agile snake encountered quite frequently by brisbane residents , usually in their gardens . the yellow - faced whip snake is easy to identify by the comma marking around the eyes . they are non aggressive and will flee at the first chance .
it is thought that the coachwhip gets its name from the pattern on its tail , which looks like a braided whip .
most of 1300 catch it’s call outs for yellow - faced whip snakes are around the north lakes and mango hill area .
the yellow - faced whip snake feeds mainly on small diurnal lizards , as well as frogs and lizard eggs . they have good eyesight , and can chase and capture lizards on the run .
the yellow - faced whip snake is a venomous snake , but is not considered dangerous . however , a bite could be extremely painful , with much local swelling . some instances of increasing severity of bites after multiple exposure have been anecdotally reported for this species .
accident - unavoidable without exceptional awareness . herp - herpetologist bitten while handling snake . kill - bitten while killing snake . mis id - bitten while handling venomous snake believing it to be harmless . trod - bitten after treading on snake . ? - insufficient data to determine cause .
fyfe , g . & booth , p . 1984 . ' some notes on the habits of the little whip snake , unechis flagellum . herpetofauna 6 ( 2 ) . pp 16 - 21 .
when you whip something liquid such as cream or an egg , you stir it very fast until it is thick or stiff .
the yellow - faced whip snake has a large distribution . eastern populations occur from townsville down along the east coast and ranges , extending inland through the nsw semi - arid zone and into eastern sa .
red - bellied blacks are active during the day and night , and are often found near swamps , lagoons , streams and wet forests of eastern queensland . growing to 2m in length , they are iridescent black above with bright red or pink scales along the edge of the belly , fading to pink to white towards the middle belly . this species is generally shy and will only defend itself if cornered .
the western populations , sometimes referred to as a subspecies ( demansia psammophis cupreiceps ) occupy a large portion of the arid interior . their range includes most of western sa , the southern nt and much of the interior of wa up into the pilbara region . the closely related reticulate whip snake ( demansia reticulata ) . sometimes considered a sub - species of the yellow - faced whip snake , inhabits the south - east coast of wa .
a snake will not make a deliberate move towards you unless it is provoked .
reevesby island tiger snake ( notechis ater niger ) 0 . 131 0 . 099
western mainland tiger snake ( notechis scutatus occidentalis ) 0 . 194 0 . 124
chappell island tiger snake ( notechis ater serventyi ) 0 . 338 0 . 271
stephens ' s banded snake ( hoplocephalus stephensii ) 1 . 36 1 . 44
the elapids consist of 23 species of sea snakes and 51 species of land snakes , including some of the world ' s most venomous land snakes such as the taipan , brown snake and king brown snake ( also known as mulga snake ) .
tree snakes belong to the group of snakes known as colubrids . three main species that are regularly encountered by people are the brown tree snake ( boiga irregularis ) , common tree snake ( dendrelaphis punctulata ) and northern tree snake ( dendrelaphis calligastra ) .
if you need help with a snake , call mr gilbert on 0409 536 000 .
eastern mainland tiger snake ( notechis s . scutatus ) 0 . 118 0 . 118
do not try to handle the snake . injured snakes are particularly aggressive . call the rspca qld to obtain details for a rehabilitation permit holder to come and collect the snake .
a whip is a long thin piece of material such as leather or rope , fastened to a stiff handle . it is used for hitting people or animals .
snake catcher richie gilbert has seen it all in more than 13 years on the job .
this snake is known to exist in several protected areas . no conservation actions are recommended .
a three - line whip is a situation where the mps in a political party are ordered to attend parliament and vote in a particular way on a particular issue .
if there is a chance that a snake could find its way into your home you should have the number of a commercial snake catcher on hand . snakes found on your premises can be removed and relocated by snake catchers authorised under the nature conservation act 1992 . contact details of local snake catchers can be obtained through the yellow pages or via the internet . it is important to remember that snakes are an important part of the environment and the relocated snake is often replaced by another living nearby . the best approach is to snake - proof your house .
covecevich , j . & limpus , c . 1972 . ' observations on community egglaying in the yellow - faced whip snake , demansia psammophis . ( schlegel ) 1837 . ( squamata ; elapidae ) . herpetologica , 28 ( 3 ) pp 208 - 210 .
this snake usually feeds on lizards and their eggs but will also eat frogs and other snakes .
danger : highly venomous . accounts for more fatalities than any other australian snake . a nervous , ready biter it will defend itself if threatened . the second most toxic land snake in the world .
hi , i have many whipped snake in captivity myself , and i have the one u show one of the video , howevr these snake is not poisonous . . and they move very fast…they will bites once threatened . . but will not sore or pain , , some smalller whip will not even leave a tooth hole after the bites , nice work , like the way u show on video
peter rankin ( pers . comm . ) documented a case involving an adult female red - bellied black snake at a gully in suburban sydney . the female apparently had a territory that she inhabited and never wandered out of . this snake only utilised a few particular resting places . the snake was observed closely by rankin for some time . an adult male specimen was seen to enter the territory and later mate with the female . the male ' loitered ' around the female for some time ( over a week ) , mating with her more than once , before vacating the territory , never to be seen again .
if the snake is in a place away from electricity and valuable items , try directing a gentle jet of water from the garden hose or squirt bottle towards the snake to encourage it to move away . remember that snakes on the move will naturally try to find shelter , so hosing the snake may not always work .
if someone whips up an emotion , especially a dangerous one such as hatred , or if they whip people up into an emotional state , they deliberately cause and encourage people to feel that emotion .
when a group of people have a whip - round , money is collected from each person so that it can be used to buy something for all of them or for someone they all know .
this snake was found in krabi province , and far north of where other instances of this snake have been found in thailand . there were a couple found in the southernmost provinces – near narathiwat – near the malaysian border .
it is important that you never try to kill the snake . not only is it illegal to kill a native animal , but it places you at a higher risk of being bitten if you force the snake to defend itself .
a whip is a member of a political party in a parliament or legislature who is responsible for making sure that party members are present to vote on important issues and that they vote in the appropriate way .
and with 20 snake species living here , it is common for them to pop up in the most unlikely places .
any of various other slender nonvenomous snakes , such as masticophis flagellum ( coachwhip snake ) of the u . s .
description : the head of this snake is more brown than any other part of the body . keep in mind there are red and brown varieties . the head is elongated and has a ridge between the eye and snout . pupils are set horizontally . the body of the snake is slender – ideal for climbing through vines and light growth . the snake is measured in grams , not exceeding 300 grams for the largest of them . scales on top of the body are smooth . the underside scales are keeled and are excellent for climbing . the whip snake i caught yesterday was able to climb up a smooth plastic water jug and grip it tightly . i was quite surprised . the head is brown , the neck and first half of the body is silver / grey and mottled with some black and dark grey . the belly is pale yellow under the head and neck , and toward the tail gets a coloration very similar to the top – heavily mottled and darker brown moving posteriorly . these snakes are more thin than my smallest finger .
to learn more , go to urltoken or follow the facebook page for tips , videos , identification and general snake education .
an agile , fast - moving snake , the coachwhip can move at top speeds of up to four miles per hour .
the yellow - faced whip snake lays eggs in early summer in the south of its range , with clutches of 5 - 20 eggs ( the average is six ) being recorded . communal egg - laying of up to 200 eggs , in deep soil or rock crevices , has also been reported , possibly deposited over multiple years , as evidenced by old egg shells .
australia ' s most venomous ( yield ) snake is the king brown ( pseudechis australis ) . believed involved in very few fatalities .
about half the deaths are due to bites from the brown snake and the rest are mostly from tiger snakes , taipans and death adders .
the most toxic snake venom on mice ( of the species tested ) is the inland taipan ( oxyuranus microlepidotus ) . see figure 3 .
description : very slender snake with long , thin whip - like tail . large prominent eyes . colour generally pale olive or bluish - grey , often with rusty flush or longitudinal stripes along front - third of body . belly grayish - green , often yellowish under tail . distinctive face markings . obvious pale cream or yellow rim around eye , with dark comma - shaped marking curving back below eye .
description : large , heavy bodied snake with a highly variable , mottled and blocked pattern and colour . mostly white to cream on the underside .
figure 4 . comparative frequency of fatalities relative to the five species - groups of snake believed involve for the 24 year period 1980 - 2004 .
de vis ' banded snake , denisonia devisi . in late august 1975 , colin fitzgerald and myself undertook two full days of collecting adjacent to a swamp between nevertire and nyngan , n . s . w . . on the first day the only snakes we caught were a single adult male eastern brown snake , pseudonala textilis , and an adult male de vis ' banded snake , d . devisi , which was caught inside a log .
so he has put together a handy guide to every snake that can be found on the sunshine coast - from the nice to the particularly nasty .
snake posts by vern lovic . amateur herpetologist roaming about thailand on field herping tours and events to find king cobras , kraits , vipers , corals , keelbacks , and other snakes native to thailand . fyi - thailand has over 200 snake species . here ' s our latest book with detailed information on thailand ' s 35 deadly snakes .
is that snake in your house dangerous ? identify deadly thailand snakes in under 5 minutes !
info here .
the descriptions below will help you to become familiar with some common snakes you may encounter . a variety of books and the queensland museum website provide additional information . even snake skins that have been shed can be identified by matching them to descriptions of scale patterns and scale counts given in snake identification guides .
no . the fastest snake in the world is the black mamba of africa and it can travel at around 12km / hr . humans can easily run faster than this . snakes soon tire , as moving rapidly uses their stored energy . the likelihood that a snake will give a persistent chase is small .
there is no hard - and - fast rule to distinguish a dangerous snake from a harmless one . for the untrained observer in particular , it can often be difficult to make a positive identification of different types of snakes . the general rule is always to be cautious and avoid coming into contact with any snake .
snake posts by vern lovic . amateur herpetologist roaming about thailand on field herping tours and events to find king cobras , kraits , vipers , corals , keelbacks , and other snakes native to thailand . fyi - thailand has over 200 snake species . here ' s our latest book with detailed information on thailand ' s 35 deadly snakes .
is that snake in your house dangerous ? identify deadly thailand snakes in under 5 minutes !
info here . view all posts by vern
no . it is impossible for venomous and non - venomous species of snake to interbreed . even closely related species are extremely unlikely to interbreed in the wild .
no . snake skin is very smooth and soft , similar to supple leather . snake skin is often thought to be slimy as the skin often has a shiny appearance . water pythons ( liasis mackloti ) have a waxy layer protecting the scales , adding to their shiny appearance and the perception that they are slimy animals .
those educators specialising in reptiles must definitely do all in their power to improve the snake ' s image . rather than promote the negatives , emphasise the positives !
five species of colubrid snakes , including the brown tree snake , produce weak venom delivered through fangs at the back of the mouth . venom delivery is poor and these snakes do not pose a threat to human life . five other species of colubrid snakes , including the common tree snake , do not have fangs or venom .
hoser , r . 1980 . ' further records of aggregations of various species of australian snake ' . herpetofauna , 12 ( 1 ) , pp 16 - 22 .
plate 1 ; yellow - faced whip snakes , demansia psammophis . these snakes were caught as a pair under a rock , at west head , n . s . w . photo by author . see the book australian reptiles and frogs for photos of named species and the habitats in which they occur .
the yellow - faced whip snake grows up to one hundred centimeters and is very slender . typical colors are pale bluish grey to light olive green with a greenish - grey belly . a reddish tinge on the neck and front third of its back is often present . the eye is large and is encircled by a pale ring with a black , comma - shaped marking beneath . a dark , pale - edged line on the tip of the snout runs between the nostrils .
in australia there are about 300 snake bites every year , with 200 - 500 victims receiving anti - venom . on average , two or three bites will prove fatal .
on a rainy day in august 1975 , alex dudley and myself caught eight yellow - faced whip snakes under scattered slabs of sandstone , near rock outcrops within a few hundred metres of mona vale road , at terry hills , n . s . w . the snakes appeared inactive and the air temperature was about 15c .
it can be distinguished from the eastern brown snake ( pseudonaja textilis ) by its facial markings , smaller size and slimmer shape and through its less patterned belly ( lacking orange blotches ) .
it is pale grey to brown in colour , with a reddish or yellowish head and tail , and often a red stripe down the centre of the back , which when present is stronger toward the front of the body . the belly is grey - green to yellowish . a dark comma - shaped streak runs from the eye to the corner of the mouth , bordered by a distinct white margin . the face is usually but not always yellowish , with a narrow yellow - edged dark bar around the front of the snout from nostril to nostril .
is it true that dangerous snakes such as taipans etc . are interbreeding with pythons , and producing ' venomous pythons ' ? does the taipan cross with the king brown to produce a fierce snake ?
we tailor to your needs for time and placement and there aren’t any minimum requirements on how many people attend . sessions are very informative and may even change the way you feel regarding either a fear of snakes or not understanding the behaviour of these misunderstood animals . what is covered in the sessions ? well , we can cater to your needs if you have specific information required , or , we cover venomous snake behaviour and understanding of the animal , snake identification , situations to avoid , what to do if you are bitten , initial first aid for snake bite , and q & a .
most sessions are required for us to bring along venomous snakes which is a great way of learning their behaviour and understanding they are not evil creatures like some are lead to believe and also for snake identification – it’s great for people to see them up close as some people have never seen a snake in the wild before and can only go on to relate to what they see or hear .
the yellow - faced whip snake is very slender and is pale bluish grey to light olive green . it typically has a reddish tinge on the neck and front third of its back . the eye is large and is encircled by a pale ring . there is a black , comma - shaped marking beneath the eye and a dark , pale - edged line on the tip of the snout running between the nostrils . the belly is usually greenish - grey . this species grows to 1 m . midbody scale rows 15 ; ventrals 165–230 ; anal and subcaudals divided .
range : literature has this snake occurring only in thailand’s deep south , but , this is the second instance of one found in krabi province – so , obviously the range includes this province as well .
pairing of this snake has also been observed in sydney ' s north shore , although it seems less common there . the three areas referred to above are substantially colder then sydney ' s north shore .
most snakes have the potential to bite a human , but will generally only bite as a last resort . not all snake bites are harmful . pythons do not have venom and colubrids ( rear - fanged snakes ) either have a weak venom or lack venom altogether . bites from venomous elapids ( front - fanged snakes ) should be taken seriously and treated appropriately . read more about avoiding and treating snake bites .
this arboreal , diurnal snake inhabits primary and secondary lowland tropical wet forest where it can be found in thick vegetation ( david and vogel 1996 ) . it has also been found in shrubs in gardens ( cox
there are a number of species of brown snakes in queensland . the one that is most commonly seen is the common or eastern brown snake . this snake occurs over all but the western - most parts of queensland and across a wide range of habitats ( the other species of brown snake occur in western and central queensland ) . like all brown snakes , the eastern brown is fast - moving and sun - loving , and is generally active during the day . it is particularly lively when the weather is extremely hot and is often found around houses and sheds where it searches for prey including rats , mice and lizards .
don ' t panic . back away to a safe distance and allow the snake to move away . snakes often want to escape when disturbed . remember , all native wildlife , including snakes , is protected .
to increase people ' s awareness and improve the snake ' s image in australia much more positive information must be available in any educational session . maybe this will encourage people ' s want to conserve them .
the brown tree snake , sometimes referred to as a ' doll ' s - eye ' or ' night tiger ' lives in coastal areas of the state and cape york peninsula , across a range of habitats from rainforest , mangroves and wet and dry sclerophyll forests , through to paperbark swamps and coastal heaths . it is a distinctive snake with large eyes , a broad head and thin neck and long slender body . its body colour is brown to bright reddish - brown with many irregular , dark cross - bands . its belly is cream to salmon - coloured . the brown tree snake grows to an average length of 1 . 5 metres ( m ) , reaching a maximum of 2m . at night , this snake mostly forages in trees but will also hunt on the ground for small mammals , birds and their eggs , and lizards .
general : most commonly encountered snake in the region . often lives in ceilings . active day and night . large specimens can devour small pets such as dogs , cats and chickens , with smaller specimens taking caged birds .
there are several recognised subspecies of coachwhip ( 1 ) ( 5 ) ( 7 ) ( 8 ) , ranging in colour from black or red to yellow - tan and even pink ( 2 ) ( 7 ) . for instance , the western coachwhip ( masticophis flagellum testaceus ) is typically light tan ( 2 ) to dark brown ( 9 ) , with uniform colouration across its entire body ( 2 ) . this subspecies is found in three forms , one of which has virtually no markings . in the other two forms , one is marked with narrow bands , and the other with broad bands ( 9 ) .
it is also locally threatened by accidental mortality on roads , occasional persecution , and also by accidental poisoning through the use of agrochemicals . in north africa , it is increasingly captured for use by snake charmers in local markets .
no . under no circumstances can you keep a snake that you have found in the wild . all wildlife in queensland is protected under the nature conservation act 1992 . it is an offence to keep wild animals , and fines and penalties may apply . if you want to keep a snake as a pet , you can legally acquire an animal that has been bred in captivity from an authorised reptile dealer . you will also need to obtain a wildlife licence from qpws to keep the snake . even if you have a wildlife permit , it cannot be used to take additional snakes from the wild . for more information about wildlife licences and permits visit permit and licence management .
description : solidly - built snake but not as large as the coastal carpet python . fawn or pale - brown ground colour with contrasting dark , chocolatey - brown mottled and blotched pattern and colour . mostly cream on the underside .
this snake is potentially dangerous and should be treated with caution . the symptoms are usually local . if bitten , apply first aid and seek urgent medical attention . first aid procedure for any snakebite from the australian venom research unit .
see snake identification for pictures and information about these and other snakes that live near you . find out what snakes occur in your area by requesting a species list of wildlife ( including snakes ) that have been recorded in your area .
this snake is found in dry , stony areas of the sahara with sparse vegetation . it can be found in open scrubland , semi - desert , steppe areas , arable land , olive groves , dry ditches , stone walls , and old buildings ( including ruins ) . the female lays eggs . it is a fast - moving diurnal snake that basks for long periods in the morning sun , and actively hunts lizards , rodents , and occasionally birds ( trape and mané 2006 ) .
the brown tree snake is a regular visitor to aviaries and houses in both urban and bushland environments , often seen hunting for geckos around the window sills at night and taking refuge in roofs , walls and on exposed rafters during the day . the brown tree snake is not considered dangerous to people as it is weakly venomous and rear fanged . nevertheless , it can become very aggressive when disturbed and will often rear up into a series of s - shaped loops before delivering rapid and accurate strikes .
on a later solo collecting trip to this area , scenlon had his activities cut short after being bitten by a brown snake , pseudonaja spp . , that he was capturing . he was rushed to hospital after less than five minutes in the field .
the guide below outlines characteristics of the most commonly encountered snakes in queensland . this information should only be used as a general guide and should not be relied upon to provide positive snake identification . never approach snakes and never assume that they are non - venomous .
houses and yards can also be used by snakes for shelter . carpet pythons are regularly found curled up in ceilings , enjoying the security and warmth . a variety of snake species is often encountered in places such as timber piles and under sheets of corrugated iron .
many people make an erroneous distinction between tiger snake ' s ( notechis scutatus ) fangs and coastal taipan ' s ( oxyuranus scutellatus ) , saying the former differ by being grooved . the only distinction is the length , in both species they are effectively hollow .
aggregation in a number of australian snake species has been recorded , aggregation is defined here as three or more snakes being located at a single site , excluding cases where it consists of a single female and newborn young . species of australian snakes known to aggregate include ;
close the internal doors in the house and open the external doors and windows . block the gaps underneath internal doors with rolled up towels . place chairs and boxes under windows to make it easier for snakes to climb out . keep everyone well clear of the snake .
a long , slender species ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ( 5 ) , the coachwhip ( masticophis flagellum ) is one of the largest native snakes in north america ( 3 ) . the scales on the upperparts of this species are smooth ( 3 ) ( 4 ) and overlap each other ( 4 ) , and it is thought that the coachwhip gets its common name from the pattern on its tail , which resembles a braided whip ( 2 ) ( 6 ) .
the yellow - faced whip snake is found in a wide range of habitats from the coast inland to semi - arid areas , though it is largely absent from northern australia , it does reach as far north as townsville on the east coast . though it ranges well into the semi - arid zone it is mostly restricted to areas with some amount of tree cover and low vegetation , though it may opportunistically range into dry open deserts after rain boom periods . it is sun - loving and is mainly absent from very closed dark forests in which it cannot find much opportunity to bask . in this respect it is most common in open forests such as dry - sclerophyll , but will occupy any open sunny area with an abundance of its preferred prey , skinks .
i was walking at kit karson park when i saw something slither at first i thought i was imagining i saw a snake but no then i saw it was two . part of me was scared . but then they told me it isn ' t so i relaxed a little
some reptile texts , ( which i am unable to locate at present ) , state that for most snake species a male , by his wanderings during the breeding season , will hopefully find a receptive female , mate with her , and then part ways . observations by myself of wild specimens of many species , and of captive specimens , tend to refute the above idea in at least some species . i propose that for many snake species the male will ' trail ' a female for some period during the mating season , possibly mating with her more than once .
all aspects of a snake ' s life rely on this external heat to function , whether it is to feed , find a mate , fight off disease and infection , or even just to pump blood around its body . as a result , they are not very active during winter .
snake activity patterns change dramatically over the course of a year . throughout the cool months , snakes and other reptiles are relatively inactive . reptiles gain body warmth using external heat sources , either by basking in the sun or in warm places including rocks , near roads and even under the fridge !
it is rare for snakes to be found copulating in the wild . however , it is common to find pairs of snake together . snakes do not need to stay in pairs in order to survive threats from climate or predators , so it must be concluded that pairing is only for breeding purposes .
setting a good example around wildlife is also something adults can do . if a child sees an adult kill a snake , they are more likely to show the same behaviour in a similar situation . it is important that children learn to respect snakes and are taught the correct way to behave around them .
the northern and common tree snakes are active during the day , spending most of their lives in trees or shrubs , but hunt on the ground for frogs , birds , reptiles and occasionally small mammals . they are slender and agile snakes with whip - like tails , often encountered by humans in the bush and around the house , but will usually quickly retreat . these snakes are completely harmless and will only bite as a last resort . they often emit an unpleasant smell when threatened . unfortunately , they are sometimes killed when mistaken for venomous black snakes .
if this is a concern , it is important that steps are taken to minimise the chances of snakes being in your yard . see living with snakes for helpful advice . it is important that parents , teachers and childcare providers are aware of snakes and correct first aid in the event of a snake bite .
those in a position of authority perpetuate many myths unknowingly . for example , some diving instructors continue to incorrectly refer to the
small mouth and rear fangs
in sea snakes . they often comment that sea snakes can only bite between the fingers or on the ear lobes . this is far from the truth ( see limpus , 1987 pg 198 or bush ' s article on fangs ) . zimmerman ( 1988 ) relates an experience where a stokes sea snake ( astrotia stokesii ) bites both a camera ' s strobe arm and a diving flipper thrust towards it . however , there are no documented fatalities in australia from sea snake bite .
the world ' s deadliest snake , based on documented deaths , is probably the saw - scaled viper ( echis carinatus ) especially in sri lanka . the deaths of nearly fifty people per million from snakebite occur there each year . today in australia we have 0 . 13 / million deaths each year . see figure 1 .
you should not try to identify snakes by their colour alone . snakes vary greatly in their colour and patterns between species and within species . some experts can identify snakes by sight but the most accurate way is by looking at physical characteristics like the number of scales around the mid - body , types of scales on the head and the types of teeth . catching a snake to identify it can be extremely dangerous and is illegal . if a photograph can be safely taken it can be compared with the snake identification pictures on this website or by going to the queensland museum website . if this doesn ' t provide an answer , the picture can be forwarded to the queensland museum for identification .
taipans have the unenviable reputation of being australia ' s most deadly snakes . the longest venomous snake in the country , the coastal taipan reaches an average length of 2 . 5m , with a maximum length of 3 . 35m . the head of a coastal taipan is large , rectangular - shaped and distinct from its narrow neck . the eye is a reddish colour . adult coastal taipans have a uniformly light or dark - brown colouration above with a creamy - yellow belly that usually has reddish or pink spots towards the front . these spots are not as distinct as on the brown snake . they mainly eat rats and mice , and taipans are commonly encountered by humans in sheds , farm buildings and waste heaps .
pythons may coil around their eggs to protect them , aiding incubation . female pythons will even ' shiver ' to generate heat to keep the eggs warm . young snakes emerge from eggs with the use of their egg tooth—a projection on the top of the snout . the tooth is used to make slits in the shell through which the young snake can emerge .
description : variable colouring but typically shades of grey , brown or olive with irregular , broken cross - bands or flecks of darker brown and flecks of paler creamy colour . belly surfaces cream or pale rusty colour with dark scale edges . feature is each scale has a distinct raised longitudinal ridge , giving the snake an appearance of parallel ridges down the length of the body .
no mating activity was noticed in captivity between these two or other specimens of the same species held in a single cage by myself . however , on 30th may 1979 two eggs were produced , followed by two more on 6th july 1979 , and twelve more on 15th july 1979 . all were apparently hard and infertile , the snake having been ' egg - bound ' for some time .
pairing of this species has been well documented by fyfe and booth , 1984 . they reported pairing behaviour in this species , and report it as being more common to find specimens in groups of two or more , then singly . the winter ' aggregations ' averaged 3 snakes per rock ( presumably including single snake finds in the just quoted statistic ) , whilst summer aggregations averaged two snakes .
this slender bodies colubrid snake is adapted to vertical substrates , and occurs in a wide variety of arid , dry and rocky habitats . it is very adaptable to modified habitats , commonly found in scrubland , coastal plains , arable land , pastures , vineyards , almond and olive groves , rural gardens , villages and cities in and around buildings . the females lay clutches of up to 11 eggs .
pairing behaviour is defined here as
when a male and female specimen of the same species are found within close or immediate proximity
. this could be under the same piece of ground cover , or within a few metres of each other . species of snake that engage in pairing behaviour probably also aggregate in large numbers when circumstances allow , and both behavioural patterns must be regarded as essentially similar .
you can take measures to reduce the attractiveness of your yard or house to snakes . if you have a rock wall or other structure that has the potential to house frogs and rats , and in turn attract snakes , discourage these animals by blocking holes . avoid creating habitat for snakes by keeping a tidy , well - maintained yard and shed . actively discourage rats and mice , and snake - proof your aviaries and poultry pens .
as the months become warmer , particularly around september , snakes become active and are frequently encountered by people . this is the breeding and feeding season for snakes . a good guide to when a snake is likely to be active is if the species that it feeds on are active and abundant at that particular time and place . for example , frog - eating snakes are likely to be active on warm , humid nights near streams when frogs are breeding .
adult eastern brown snakes are usually uniform in colour , being light brown , orange or black , with a slender streamlined body and small head . when they hatch a young brown snake usually has a black head ( except for a brown snout ) and a black band across its neck . some hatchlings will have black bands across the entire length of their bodies . this species grows to an average length of about 1 . 5m but can reach a length of 2 . 4m .
coastal taipans occupy a wide range of habitats from tropical wet sclerophyll to dry forests and woodland . they are usually active during the day , but can be active at night during very hot weather . this is not a naturally aggressive snake and if disturbed , it will generally retreat . humans are rarely bitten but , if a taipan is cornered or attacked , it will viciously defend itself , striking repeatedly with speed and accuracy . taipans have very keen senses and are extremely alert .
when provoked , the snake curves itself into an s - shape to strike , raising its head from the ground and displaying orange spots on its belly . eastern brown snakes can strike with extreme speed and ferocity , especially if cornered , and often a series of bites are inflicted in these situations . if bitten , the initial effects of the venom appear quickly - a severe headache develops within 15 minutes . paralysis develops very slowly and the majority of patients receive antivenin before paralysis has occurred .
i have heard it said many times by people i believe should know better that this or that australian snake is
more deadly
,
more toxic
or
more venomous
than the indian cobra ( naja naja ) . this is a misrepresentation of the facts and gains little support from the evidence available concerning humans . these types of statements have no place in education if positive results are the goal . all venomous snakes have the potential to be dangerous because of the variable sensitivity between individual people to venoms . however , first a bite has to occur .
on other continents humans have existed for hundreds of thousands of years . therefore , has the cobra evolved the hood , elevated stance and , in some species , the ability to
spit
venom as a direct response to human predation ? what about the snakes that play dead ? the rinkhals ( hemachatus haemachatus ) , one of a few
cobras
capable of spitting , also plays dead . this behaviour would have little effect in deterring a predator looking for a feed , but it may deter a passing human from taking up a club and clobbering the snake into lifeless pulp .
the common tree snake is widespread along the east coast of queensland and cape york peninsula across a range of coastal , rainforest , wet and dry sclerophyll forests , and riverine environments . their colours vary in different areas from grey to olive - green through various shades of brown to almost black or even blue above . the head of lighter - coloured specimens is often grey or brown , contrasting strongly with their body colour . the belly is usually lemon - yellow , varying from white to olive , yellow , green or even bluish . the species reaches an average length of 1 . 2m but can grow to 2m .
the coachwhip is a diurnal species , meaning that it is active during the day ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ( 7 ) . it is thought to take shelter in crevices or animal burrows at night , and may also use such retreats in the winter ( 2 ) . this species is typically active from march to october , or even until november in the warmer parts of its range ( 2 ) ( 7 ) . an agile , fast - moving snake ( 2 ) ( 9 ) , the coachwhip can reach top speeds of about four miles per hour on the ground ( 2 ) , and is also reported to be an excellent climber ( 3 ) .
justification : has a limited distribution ( extent of occurrence ( eoo ) of 18 , 755 km 2 [ b1 ] ) in a region that is characterised by high levels of habitat transformation . average habitat transformation within the cape floristic region is estimated at approximately 30 % , while certain vegetation types ( e . g . renosterveld ) in which this species is known to occur have been reduced by up to 80 % in extent ( rouget et al . 2003 ) [ b1b ( iii ) ] . habitat transformation is expected to increase ( rouget et al . 2003 ) . additionally , remaining habitats within the range are likely to be severely fragmented [ b1a ] . there are very few large tracts of undisturbed habitat remaining for this species , which occurs in few protected areas . it is likely that the majority of subpopulations are isolated and although this snake is capable of long distance movement , altered habitats and roads will act as barriers .
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