Snakes, Skinks and Legless Lizards: Understanding Reptiles Commonly Found in Urban Australia
Snakes, Skinks and Legless Lizards: Understanding Reptiles Commonly Found in Urban Australia
Snakes are among the most misunderstood animals encountered in urban Australia. Their secretive behaviour, silent movement and sudden appearances often cause alarm, particularly when seen in backyards, sheds or near homes. However, not everything that looks like a snake is dangerous — or even a snake at all. In many cases, harmless lizards are mistaken for snakes, leading to unnecessary fear and, too often, harm to wildlife.
Understanding the differences between snakes, skinks and legless lizards is essential for safe coexistence and appropriate reptile removal.
What Makes a Snake a Snake?
Snakes are highly specialised reptiles that evolved to be efficient, stealthy predators. Their legless bodies allow them to move through narrow crevices, dense vegetation and complex urban environments with ease. By spreading their weight across branches or uneven ground, snakes can access areas that many other animals cannot.
Unlike lizards, snakes have no eyelids. Their eyes are protected by a clear, fixed scale known as a spectacle, giving them a constant, unblinking appearance. They also lack external or middle ear structures, instead detecting vibrations through the ground — one reason snakes often seem to “sense” people before being seen.
Other key anatomical features of snakes include:
A highly flexible skull made up of many movable bones
Significantly more vertebrae and ribs than lizards
Extra spinal structures (hypapophyses) that provide rigidity and strength
A single functional lung in most species (except pythons)
Offset internal organs to suit a long, narrow body shape
Paired reproductive organs (hemipenes), often with hooks or spines
All snakes are carnivorous. In Australia, most species feed on other vertebrates such as frogs, lizards, birds or mammals. The only exception is the blind snake group, which feeds primarily on insects.
Are Snakes Just Lizards Without Legs?
From a scientific perspective, snakes belong to the same order as lizards (Squamata), and are often described as “lizards without legs.” However, this definition is overly simplistic. Many lizards share snake-like traits, and some snakes retain remnants of their lizard ancestry.
Primitive snakes such as pythons and boas still possess small external spurs — vestiges of a pelvic girdle. Similarly, some legless lizards retain tiny, hidden limb remnants. These shared features can make identification difficult without experience.
Importantly, all lizards have a pectoral girdle, whereas snakes do not — a key anatomical distinction not visible without close examination.
Why Snakes Thrive in Urban Areas
Snakes are highly adaptable and have lived in many suburban areas long before houses were built. Urban environments often provide ideal conditions, including:
Shelter under buildings, retaining walls and debris
Abundant prey such as rodents, frogs and skinks
Gardens, mulch and leaf litter that mimic natural habitat
Snakes regulate their body temperature by coiling or stretching out, adjusting how much surface area is exposed to the sun. This behaviour is often seen on paths, driveways or lawn edges, especially during warmer months.
Common Reptiles Mistaken for Snakes
Blue-tongue Skinks
Blue-tongue skinks are among the most frequently misidentified reptiles in urban Australia. Their broad, banded bodies and slow movement can resemble a snake at a glance, particularly when seen briefly or in poor light.
They are completely harmless and play a valuable role in controlling pests such as snails and insects. Unfortunately, many blue-tongues are injured or killed each year after being mistaken for snakes.
Reduced-limb and Legless Skinks
Some skinks have extremely small limbs that are difficult to see, and they move in a snake-like manner. Species such as garden skinks (Lampropholis) are common in suburban areas and entirely harmless.
In southern regions, species like Hemiergis may appear even more
