About Pseudonaja mengdeni Wells & Wellington, 1985
Pseudonaja mengdeni, commonly known as Mengden's brown snake or western brown snake, reaches a maximum total length of 2 meters, with an average length of 1.2 meters. It has a slender body and a narrow head. This species shows high variation in color and patterning, ranging from light brown to nearly black, and occurs in two distinct forms: 'Orange with black head' and 'Pale head, grey nape'. The belly underside is most often cream, yellow, orange, or grey, and frequently marked with dark orange or grey blotches. Scales on the head typically form a black V or W shaped pattern. Western brown snakes are often confused with related species: the Eastern brown snake has a pink mouth lining, while the Northern brown snake has a purplish or blue-black mouth lining, differing from P. mengdeni. P. mengdeni has a distinctive large strap-like scale around the front of its snout. Accurate species identification requires counting scales around the mid-body and along the lips. This species has 180 to 230 ventral scales, 45 to 70 subcaudals, a divided anal scale, and 17 or 19 rows of smooth mid-body scales. Only experienced herpetologists should attempt this identification, because even a fang scratch from this species can be fatal. Confusion between this and other species is often caused by possible hybridisation among species in the Pseudonaja genus. The western brown snake is also frequently confused with other Pseudonaja (brown snake) species and the black headed python Aspidites melanocephalus. This species is distributed from the coast of Western Australia through central Australia to north-western New South Wales and western Queensland. Its northern range limits are poorly defined. It is absent from the wetter regions of eastern Australia and south-western Western Australia. P. mengdeni occurs in all dry to arid areas, including woodlands, boree woodlands, sandhill woodlands, mallee woodlands, spinifex deserts, spinifex-covered dunefields, sandplains, stony plains, croplands, grasslands, and temperate sclerophyll forests. It is often found in fallen timber, dead trees, shrubs, native grasses, and ground cavities. P. mengdeni is oviparous, and can lay more than 12 eggs per clutch.
