There are three species of Death Adder but this is probably Acanthophis praelongus. They are ambush predators, and like to lie curled up in leaf litter with only their tail exposed ("caudal luring"), waiting for an incautious frog or rodent to investigate. Unlike most snakes, they don't move out of the way when a large animal such as a human gallumphs through the bush, but they rarely bite unless actually touched. They are no relation to the European adder (there are no Viperids in Australia).
By Australian snake standards the venom is not particularly potent - LD50 is 0.6 mg/kg - but by global standards it is a dangerous snake (the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake is 1.2 mg/kg). They venom blocks the neuro-muscular junction of skeletal muscle - no haemolytic or myolytic effects - and death is caused by respiratory failure. Before intensive care units and anti-venom Death Adders caused a lot of deaths, but the venom is quite slow acting, with paralysis developing over 12 to 24 hours, so with helicopters able to transport anti-venom and mechanical ventilators deaths are now very rare even in remote areas. Nevertheless, if anyone was wondering when they might be glad of a DX camera, this was an occasion. Z50II + 28-400 at 310mm.
