Why do death adders vary so much in colour compared with most other Australian snakes?
Death adders are cryptic, venomous snakes which rely on natural leaf litter to hide from predators and prey. In southern Australia they live in coastal dunes or inland mallee. Both of these habitats have been severely degraded or cleared for recreation and agriculture. While death adders are not listed as endangered, they have undergone extreme population declines over much of their range. This project will document fundamental aspects of the biology of death adders, focussing on why they are unusual among Australian snakes in showing an extraordinary genetically determined colour variation.
