Grey Snake

Hemiaspis damelii is a small to medium-sized elapid snake, typically reaching around 60-75 centimetres in length, with a slender body, smooth scales, and colouration ranging from grey to olive-brown, often with a paler underside. Like other members of the Elapidae, it possesses a venom delivery system used primarily to subdue prey, which consists mainly of frogs and small reptiles. It is generally shy and secretive, more likely to flee than confront when disturbed.

As a mid-level predator, it contributes to controlling amphibian and small vertebrate populations within its ecosystem.

The species is endemic to inland eastern Australia, occurring across parts of New South Wales and Queensland. It favours floodplain habitats, black soil plains, and areas associated with cracking clay soils near wetlands and river systems, where it shelters in soil cracks and under surface debris.

Its primary threat is the conversion and intensification of land for annual and perennial non-timber crop production, an ongoing pressure that degrades and fragments the floodplain habitats it depends on. Agricultural expansion alters soil structure, reduces prey availability, and increases the snake's exposure to disturbance and mortality from farming activities.

Targeted conservation measures specific to this species are limited. Broader protections stem from its listing under Australian state and federal threatened species legislation, which restricts habitat destruction in some areas and supports habitat surveys and monitoring within its known range.

The population is currently assessed as decreasing, and the species is classified as Endangered. Continued agricultural land-use pressure across its restricted floodplain habitat suggests ongoing decline unless habitat protection and land management practices are strengthened within its range.