Ingram's brown snake facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ingram's brown snake |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Pseudonaja
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| Species: |
ingrami
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The Ingram's brown snake (Pseudonaja ingrami) is a type of venomous snake found only in Australia. It belongs to the family called Elapidae, which includes many other venomous snakes.
About Its Name
A scientist named George Albert Boulenger first described this snake in 1908. He named it Diemenia ingrami. The second part of its name, ingrami, was chosen to honor Collingwood Ingram. He was an English expert who studied birds and plants. Later, scientists moved this snake into the group of snakes called Pseudonaja, which is where other brown snakes belong.
What It Looks Like
The Ingram's brown snake can grow to be about 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) long. Its head and neck can be grey-brown to dark brown. The rest of its body can be black-brown or golden brown.
It has special scales that help scientists identify it:
- It has 17 rows of scales along its back (called dorsal scales) in the middle of its body.
- It has between 190 and 220 scales on its belly (called ventral scales).
- It has 55 to 70 scales under its tail (called subcaudal scales), which are usually divided.
- It also has a divided scale near its vent, called an anal scale.
Where It Lives and Its Home
The Ingram's brown snake lives in a large area of inland Australia. You can find it from the northwestern part of Queensland all the way to the northeastern part of Western Australia. It likes to live in grassy areas with tall clumps of grass, especially where the soil is black. When it needs to hide, it often goes into cracks in the ground.
What It Eats
This snake is a hunter! The Ingram's brown snake eats small birds and small mammals.
Reproduction
The Ingram's brown snake lays eggs. This means it is an oviparous animal. When a female snake lays eggs, she usually lays between 12 and 18 eggs at a time.
