Furina diadema^[1][2] Status: Threatened under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act

Furina diadema is commonly known as Red-naped Snake.

Furina diadema are commonly known as the Red-naped Snake. They have small black eyes a shiny black head and neck and their head appears to be partially flattened. On the upper lip is a white line . On the back of the neck there is a well defined patch of orange or red in the shape of a diamond, crescent or oval. Their belly can be either a cream colour or white. The remainder of their body is as a red-brown colour. The edges of these dorsal scales are either black (20/21) or dark brown^[3] and this makes the scales look like a net^[4].

Furina diadema have a slim body and are considered a small snake^[4]. They have been reported to reach a maximum length of 45 cm^[3]. Other sources have reported them as reaching a maximum total length of 40 cm^[4]. The males are the smaller sex. Theses snakes have between 160 and 210 ventral scales, a divided anal scale, between 35 and 70 subcaudal scales and generally the mid-body has 15 rows of scales^[4].

The Red-naped Snake is a terrestrial species^[5] that is found in many parts of eastern Australia: in dry woodlands and forests, coastal forests and heaths, tussock grasslands and shrublands^[4]. It generally stays away from wet areas, like rainforests^[6]. They shelter under rocks, fallen timber and in ant or termite nests^[5], under wood piles, leaves, old sheets of iron and in crevices^[6] and abandoned burrows^[4].

The red-naped snake is in four Australian states; Victoria, NSW, Queensland and South Australia^[1]. It is found in arid to humid parts of eastern Australia, from Port Augusta in South Australia to Cairns in northern Queensland^[6]. Some areas they have been sighted include: the Coongie Lakes Ramsar Site in South Australia^[7]; Woomargama National Park and Mullengandra in NSW Murray Catchment^[5]; in the Lower Murray darling basin, NSW^[8]; the Museum of Victoria has records of this species from the far north-west and riverine areas^[9]; 18 National Parks in Queensland^[6].

Furina diadema prey upon little skinks (12).

The Red-naped Snake is oviparious,^[5] and in between late spring and early summer is their mating time. Their clutch size varies between 1-10 , with an average of 3 (12). In subtropical regions they have more than one clutch in a year. They hatch out of their eggs in January, unless in a cooler region, where they hatch in February. The recorded lengths for snakes when they are first born vary, 12 cm and 15 cm^[3]. They become adults within a year^[4].

Red-naped Snake are a nocturnal species^[5]. Sometimes they share their space with each other^[3]. They kill their prey using their venom and by constriction^[4]. They eat more in the warmer times of the year. They hunt for food in restricted places such as burrows and fissures^[4].

They are similar in appearance to the juvenile Eastern Brown Snake. The brown snake has a lighter band between their dark hood and the neck^[5]. They can be differentiated by their behaviour as the Eastern Brown Snake is out during the day, and the Red-naped Snake is nocturnal and not often seen unless their retreat has been disturbed^[5].

Although the red-naped snake is venomous they are considered harmless for humans (12). If they are threatened they will strike out a number of times with their forebody held in the air (12). This is done most often with a closed mouth (12).They can bite however and will do so if they are provoked enough^[4].

Evidence suggests that there was a migration of Asian elapid snakes into Australia many years ago and they evolved into different genera over time including the Furina species Furina diadema^[10].