Target Species: ‘Pilbara Cobra’
Location: The Pilbara, Western Australia
Director: David Wright
Location: The Pilbara is inland from Port Hedland, W.A
The Pilbara is the oldest part of the oldest land on Earth. Stockmen in the area have reported a large threatening snake that rears up and spreads a hood like a cobra. But there are no cobras in Australia. So what was it that the old stockmen saw ? Mark and Brian Bush, a Perth-based herpetologist who travels the state educating people about snakes, set out to investigate the stories and try to determine which of the many snake species living in this remote desert region of Australia could have been mistaken for a large cobra. Along the way they discover how reptiles have become integrated into the folk lore of the native Australians, the Aborigines, in the land of Song Lines and Dreamtime.
Could the King brownsnake (Pseudechis australis), a large and bold venomous snake, be the Pilbara Cobra ?
| MYOBATRACHIDAE |
SOUTHERN FROGS |
| Notadon nichollsi |
Desert spadefoot frog |
| HYLIDAE |
TREEFROGS |
| Litoria rubella |
Desert treefrog |
| GEKKONIDAE |
GECKOES |
| Gehyra pilbara |
Pilbara dtella |
| Gehyra punctata |
Spotted dtella |
| Gehyra variegata |
Tree dtella or Variegated dtella |
| Heteronotia binoei |
Bynoe’s gecko |
| Heteronotia spelea |
Desert cave gecko |
| PYGOPODIDAE |
SCALY-FEET & SNAKE LIZARDS |
| Delma borea |
Rusty-topped delma |
| Delma butleri |
Unbanded delma |
| Delma pax |
Peace delma |
| Delma tincta |
Excitable delma |
| Lialis burtonis |
Burton’s snake-lizard |
| SCINCIDAE |
SKINKS |
| Ctenotus grandis titan |
Pilbara grand ctenotus |
| Ctenotus helenae |
Clay-soil ctenotus |
| Ctenotus pantherinus ocellifer |
Ocellated panther ctenotus |
| Ctenotus saxatilis |
Stony-soil ctenotus |
| Cyclodomorphus melanops melanops |
Western black-eyed slender blue-tongue |
| Lerista bipes |
Northwestern sand slider |
| Lerista muelleri |
Wood mulch-slider |
| Morethia ruficauda exquisita |
Western lined firetail skink |
| AGAMIDAE |
DRAGONS |
| Ctenophorus caudicinctus caudicinctus |
Pilbara ring-tailed dragon |
| Ctenophorus inermis |
Unarmed sand-dragon |
| Ctenophorus isolepis isolepis |
Northern military sand-dragon |
| Lophura longirostris |
Long-snouted lashtail dragon |
| VARANIDAE |
MONITOR LIZARDS |
| Varanus acanthurus acanthurus |
Ridge-tailed monitor |
| Varanus giganteus |
Perentie |
| PYTHONIDAE |
PYTHONS |
| Antaresia stimsoni stimsoni |
Western Stimson’s python |
| Aspidites melanocephalus |
Black-headed python |
| ELAPIDAE |
COBRAS & THEIR KIN |
| Acanthophis pyrrhus |
Northern death adder |
| Acanthophis wellsi |
Desert death adder |
| Demansia psammophis cupreiceps |
Western copper-headed whipsnake |
| Furina ornata |
Moon snake |
| Pseudechis australis |
King brownsnake or Mulga snake |
| Pseudonaja nuchalis |
Western brownsnake or Gwardar |
| Rhinoplocephalus punctatus |
Spotted snake |
