About Demansia torquata (Günther, 1862)
This species, Demansia torquata, has a characteristic dark nuchal collar, a band across the nape, that has a pale edge. This collar is more obscure in adult individuals than it is in juveniles. The species also has a prominent streak across the rostrum that extends to the eye, which again has pale cream streaks that are more obscure in adults. This rostral streak adjoins another pale streak behind the eye, forming a 'teardrop' marking that is characteristic of many snakes in this genus. In juveniles, the head and dorsum are dark brown, which contrasts with the paler ventrum. In adults, however, these colours are closer to olive-green, and the dorsum is a somewhat similar colour to the ventrum. Generally, adult snout-vent length (SVL) is 171–636 mm, the number of ventral scales ranges from 185–214, the number of subcaudal scales ranges from 76–106, and tail length makes up between 26.1% and 38.7% of total SVL. Collared whipsnakes are found along the coast and adjacent ranges of eastern Queensland, extending from Batavia Downs in the north to Mount Larcom in the south. They are also found on islands off the coast of Queensland, including islands within the Whitsunday group, Cumberland group and Northumberland Islands. There are recorded presences in western Queensland, as well as northern New South Wales and the Northern Territory. However, these records refer to other similar species, and their reliability is contested.
