Austrelaps ramsayi
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
The highland copperhead (Austrelaps ramsayi), also known as Ramsay's copperhead, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae endemic to Australia. Gerard Krefft described the highland copperhead in 1864 as Hoplocephalus ramsayi from a specimen collected in Braidwood, New South Wales. The specific name, ramsayi, is in honour of Edward Pierson Ramsay, who was an Australian ornithologist, herpetologist, and who collected the holotype specimen.
Austrelaps ramsayi has an average total length (including tail) of 130 cm (51 inches). Variable in colour, ranging from pale to dark grey, through reddish-brown or chocolate brown to almost black above but always low gloss or matt sheen; noticeably enlarged lateral scales may be cream, yellow or reddish-brown (typically yellow paraventral scales bordered above by reddish-brown); while the supralabial (upper lip) scales are strongly barred, the pale, triangular lower front corner of each labial strongly contrasting with the remainder of the scale, which is dark brown. Belly cream to pale yellow or sometimes leaden-coloured.
The highlands copperhead inhabits the Alpine regions... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Highlands Copperhead sighting in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 125 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 6th most-seen of the 44 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, September and November–December
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Highlands Copperhead in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June, the lowest month.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Highlands Copperhead sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Highlands Copperhead sightings, Blue Mountains National Park ranks 2nd at about 30%. The best odds are in Kosciuszko National Park (Australia, about 60%).
Same family: Elapidae
The closest relatives of the Highlands Copperhead that you can see in Blue Mountains National Park (family Elapidae, Elapid Snakes) are Red-bellied Black Snake (about 30%), Eastern Tiger Snake (about 20%) and Mustard-bellied Snake (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Highlands Copperhead is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Blue Mountains National Park (125 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
