Description:

The rib-necked snake (Laimoplevras laimoplevras) is an elapid snake endemic to Australia. It is a descendant of the eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis), a common animal in Australia during the Holocene/Anthropocene. They survived by living in suburban neighborhoods and rural areas. When humanity died out at the end of the Anthropocene, these snakes remained and diversified without humans. Due to the increased number of placental predators (such as cats and dingos), many snakes have developed new threat displays. The brown snakes evolved into the diverse clade of Praesidelapinae, the "defensive snakes." These snakes evolved a variety of defensive displays around the neck region of the snake. The rib snake evolved flexible muscles around the neck that push the ribs out and make the neck look larger than it is. This structure allows them to look threatening but then run away. Other than this adpatation, they are relative basal member of the defensive snakes. They are generally brown with a lighter cream belly with very little variation in color. They are about 150 to 200 centimeter long and weight about 0.9 to 1.2 kilograms.

Distribution:

The rib-necked snakes inhabit open savanna, desert, and coastal environments. This wide range makes them adaptable to changing environmental conditions and weather.

Diet:

These snakes are generalist ambush predators. Their diet includes mice, small rabbits, small marsupials, ground-dwelling birds, lizards, and other small animals.

Venom:

The rib-necked snake still keeps the same deadly toxins as their ancestor. Their venom is both hemotoxic and neurotoxic, which creates one of the deadliest natural toxins on the planet. The venom can cause hemorrhaging, cardiac arrest, nerve tissue damage, and other symptoms. The venom is, for the most part, identical to its ancestor, so they have the same effect on mammals. Also, eastern brown snake anti-venom works to cure the effects of rib-necked snake envenomation. This venom, however, is a crucial resource in acquiring their food.

Reproduction:

These snakes usually mate year-round, but most mating happens at the beginning of spring. Males compete by wrestling with each other by wrapping around each other. The male that tires first gets to mate with the females in the local area. Females will produce a clutch of 10 to 30 eggs, which she will usually lay in a burrow. The mother will usually protect these eggs until most of them hatch. Also, snakes will often return to the same nesting site unless it is destroyed or impacted.