The common name refers to the prominent yellow and black cross-bands typical of some populations of tiger snakes, however not all have this pattern. Notechis scutatus scutatus – Eastern Tiger Snake (southeastern mainland Australia).ater occidentalis) – Western Tiger Snake (southwest corner of Western Australia) Notechis scutatus occidentalis (sometimes N.Notechis ater serventyi – Chappell Island Tiger Snake (Furneaux Group, Bass Strait).Notechis ater niger – Peninsular Tiger Snake (lower Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas, offshore islands of South Australia).Notechis ater humphreysi – Tasmanian Tiger Snake (King Is.Notechis ater ater – Krefft’s Tiger Snake (Flinders Ranges, South Australia).scutatus to be genetically similar, hence it would seem that there is now just one wide-ranging species that varies greatly in size and colouration – Notechis scutatus.ĭespite this recent revision, the old classification is still in popular use and a number of subspecies are also recognised: However, morphological differences between the two appear inconsistent, and recent molecular studies have shown N. In the past, two species of tiger snakes were commonly recognised: the Eastern Tiger Snake Notechis scutatus, and the so-called Black Tiger Snake Notechis ater. Unfortunately this species is much maligned because of its aggressive nature and toxic venom however the tiger snake should be recognised as a great survivor, superbly adapted to some of the most inhospitable environments in Australia. You can read more about the other titles here.Most Australians know of tiger snakes and are aware of their fearsome reputation, though few people will ever encounter one. It is one of the books in Maverick’s new junior readers range which will be published in October. Thank you to Maverick Books for sending us a copy of Grandma Bendy and the Great Snake Escape. It would make a great addition to a Key Stage One classroom or library. If you’re looking for a book to bridge the gap between a picture book and a first chapter book this is definitely one that we would recommend. This fun first chapter book has lots of humorous action, amusing events and funny illustrations which keep a young reader turning the pages. Grandma Bendy, ‘a super, stretchy, twisty, bendy grandma’, is joined by her dog, Spag Bol, Mr Brain Freeze, Suzy Valentine who works for The Pumperton Paper, shopkeeper Val Crowe and Lucy and Max among others. Every page of the book is covered in illustrations that add to the enjoyment of the story and we like the way that each character is introduced at the beginning of the book with a short biography. The text in the book is printed in an easy to read font and the paragraphs are short which makes the layout of the page look less threatening to a young reader. The Pumperton Paper’s headlines help add chaos to the situation and we found the contents of the village shop especially funny (Grandma Bendy’s bizarre purchase came in handy when they got into trouble on the second day of the search!). The story takes us to a village shop that sells items that nobody would really want to buy, an ice cream shop, a churchyard and a park and amusing, sometimes slightly scary, incidents take place in them all. Thus begins a mad search, led by Grandma Bendy, to find the snake and absolve Lucy of any wrongdoing. Lucy’s show and tell session goes horribly wrong after Mike sneaks the snake into her bag and poor Lucy gets the blame and has to explain herself to Sergeant Nevil Rodent. On the second day, desperate to clear Lucy’s name, Grandma Bendy and the children resort to bizarre measures to find the snake which is eventually found in… (we don’t want to spoil the ending!). The whole village is in a state of panic, which isn’t helped by a scaremongering headline in The Pumperton Paper, but by the end of the day there is still no sign of the snake. The snake escapes so Lucy, her brother Max and Grandma Bendy set out to find it. The Story: On the first day of school Mike, the school bully, puts a snake in Lucy’s school bag. It’s a very funny first chapter book to encourage independent reading. As a snake lover my daughter particularly enjoyed this very funny story and the humorous pictures supporting the text made us laugh. We giggled our way through Grandma Bendy and the Great Snake Escape.
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