Austrelaps superbus
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The lowland copperhead or lowlands copperhead (Austrelaps superbus) is a venomous snake species in the family Elapidae, found in southeastern Australia, including Tasmania. It is commonly referred to as the copperhead, but is not closely related to the American copperhead, Agkistrodon contortrix. If provoked, the lowland copperhead is a dangerous snake with neurotoxic venom, which can kill an adult human if correct first aid is not applied promptly.
The lowland copperhead is generally 1-1.5 m (3–5 feet) long. Their colour varies a great deal, from a coppery mid-brown to yellowish, reddish, grey or black. The copper head colouring that gave rise to the common name is not always present. Its venom has been measured at 0.5 mg/kg subcutaneous.
It is found in southeastern Australia, including Tasmania. A. superbus has a preference for areas of low vegetation near water bodies where it hunts for frogs, lizards and snakes, including smaller specimens of its own species. It has been found in sandstone ridgetop woodland in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, where it is becoming rare, due to increasing fires and the spread of urban settlements... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melbourne | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Lowlands Copperhead sighting in Wilsons Promontory National Park on a given day, based on 59 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 4th most-seen of the 14 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Lowlands Copperhead in Wilsons Promontory National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May, the lowest month.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lowlands 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.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Lowlands Copperhead sightings, Wilsons Promontory National Park has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Great Otway National Park (Australia, about 20%) and Grampians National Park (Australia, about 10%).
Same family: Elapidae
The closest relatives of the Lowlands Copperhead that you can see in Wilsons Promontory National Park (family Elapidae, Elapid Snakes) are Eastern Tiger Snake (about 50%) and White-lipped Snake (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lowlands Copperhead is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Wilsons Promontory National Park (59 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.
