An Australian snake named Shazza has become the largest living death adder ever documented, measuring 3 feet 7.3 inches and 3.42 pounds (110 centimeters and 1.55 kilograms).
Here's what to know
The Australian Museum announced the news on Oct. 9. The keepers at the Australian Reptile Park called the oversized snake a "monster," and they said she may not be finished growing yet.
Shazza has been a part of the Australian Reptile Park's venom program to make antivenom for 9 years after being caught in the Mid North Coast region.
According to Australian Reptile Park manager Billy Collett, Shazza stood out to keepers from the start. Common death adders in southeast Australia are usually far smaller, with the Australian Museum listing average adult snout-vent lengths at about 16.5 inches (42 centimeters) for males and 21.7 inches (55 centimeters) for females. Her recorded snout-vent length was 37.4 inches (95 centimeters).
Shazza's growth has been observed during her time at the Australian Reptile Park. Collett invited Dane Trembath, the Australian Museum Research Institute's collection manager of herpetology, to help confirm her size.
Trembath, who has measured thousands of snake specimens over his career, said, "She's a big death adder, way bigger than I thought she would be. I'd say she's almost double the size of a normal death adder."
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More background
At about 15 years old, Shazza is already nearing the biggest death adder specimen ever recorded — a 3-foot-10.1-inch snake (117 centimeters) with a 39.8-inch snout-vent length (101 centimeters) that now resides in the Australian Museum Collection of more than 180,000 herpetological specimens.
Collett said Shazza is past the species' early rapid-growth stage, so her size increases should start to slow down. Even so, he said she could still go on to exceed the overall record.
What's being done?
Shazza produces the largest venom yields of any death adder in the Australian Reptile Park's program, giving up to 0.01 ounces (270 milligrams) in a single milking. That venom helps produce lifesaving death adder antivenom. The program has supplied terrestrial snake venom for antivenom production since the 1950s.
More than 200 venomous snakes are part of the program at the Weigel Venom Centre, where they are milked every fortnight. The program is estimated to help save around 300 Australian lives each year. The effort has contributed to saving more than 25,000 people, making Shazza's oversized venom yield medical contributions equally as significant as her size.
"Her venom yields are literally twice the size of the average Common Death Adder so there's no doubt she's saving more human lives with the venom she's producing," said Collett.
Where can I learn more?
Not all venomous snake stories carry the same importance, and many encounters pose serious danger.
• On an Australian beach, a woman spotted a vivid banded sea krait resting near shore.
• In Moreton Bay, Australia, a large brown snake turned a shower into a tense standoff.
• In southern Africa, the perfectly camouflaged puff adder is blamed for countless bites.
• During an Australian police raid, officers discovered a cobra and crocodile inside a bedroom zoo.
• In Southeast Asia, scientists said a newly discovered species may belong to a new genus.
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