Acanthophis antarcticus at suppressed

Acanthophis antarcticus

3 Common Death Adder at suppressed

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Identification history

Acanthophis antarcticus

13 Jul 2021

PatrickCampbell

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User's notes

Red colour phase. Note the spine on the tip of the tail, which is wriggled to attract prey within striking distance of this ambush predator.

2 comments

AaronClausen wrote:

14 Aug 2021

OMG this is incredible!

PatrickCampbell wrote:

4 Sep 2021

Thanks Aaron. Of course the tail is typically in front of the head when it's "hunting" in the ambush position. This shot shows the spine at the tip of the tail best to illustrate this genus' unique distinguishing feature. The name of the genus derives from the Ancient Greek acanthos meaning "spine" and ophis "snake", referring to the spine on the death adder's tail.

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Species information

Not Sensitive
Local Native
Non-Invasive

Sighting information

1 Abundance
9 Mar 2008 01:11 AM Recorded on
PatrickCampbell Recorded by

Record quality

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More than one media file
Confirmed by an expert moderator
Nearby sighting(s) of same species
GPS evidence of location
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