Types and where they are found
Taipans
Black snake
Death Adders
Brown snakes
Tiger snake
Rough-scaled snake
Small-eyed snake
Taipans
There are two kinds - Coastal and Western Taipans.
The Coastal Taipan is regarded as Queensland's most dangerous snake and is found along the length of eastern, coastal Queensland in dry forests, grasslands and cultivated areas.
The Western Taipan is restricted to the ashy downs of the south-west corner. This snake has the most toxic venom of any land snake but is rated the sixth most dangerous partly because of its remote habitat.
Black snakes
The Mulga snake also known as the King Brown is the second most dangerous snake found in arid and semi-arid areas throughout Queensland. Collett's Black snake , Red-bellied Black snake and Spotted Black snake rate eighth, ninth and tenth on the risk scale. Collett's is restricted to the black soil plains of central Queensland, the Red-bellied to the east coast and the Spotted Black to the south-east corner.
Death Adders
The Common Death Adder rates as the third most dangerous. It is found across the Gulf of Carpentaria, the base of Cape York and down the eastern half of Queensland. It inhabits a range of habitats excluding rainforests. The much smaller closely related species of Death Adders inhabit the arid interior of the State and Cape York.
Brown snakes
The Eastern Brown snake ranks fourth and is the most dangerous snake commonly seen over much of Queensland. This snake is frequently found around human habitation but not in rainforests. The related Western Brown snake rates sixth and is found in arid and semi-arid regions of Queensland. Other species of Brown snake found in Queensland are the Ingram's Brown and the Speckled Brown whose bites are unlikely to prove fatal and the Ringed Brown snake from north-west Queensland is potentially dangerous because of its size and similarity to the Eastern Brown snake.
Tiger snake
The Tiger snake found in Southern Australia, rates the fifth most dangerous Queensland snake. It is restricted to the coast and near mountains of the south-east corner of Queensland and is patchily distributed through heaths, rainforests and wallum habitats.
Rough-scaled snake
The Rough-scaled snake is the eleventh most dangerous Queensland snake and is found in tall open forests, heaths and rainforests of coastal north-east and south-east Queensland.
Small-eyed snake
The Small-eyed snake is the smallest and rated the twelfth most dangerous found in forest and heath through eastern Queensland south of Cairns and commonly found in settled areas.
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