The little whip snake does not belong to the group of other snakes known as whip snakes, but is in fact more closely related to the curl snake. It is distributed from southwest Victoria through the northeast and into southeast New South Wales. It is found in eucalypt scrub and nearby grassland, especially on rocky hills. While its bite was once thought to produce only local effects, a death in 2007 has been attributed to this species. The possibilities still exist that the cause was actually a juvenile brown snake, or that the death was caused by an allergic reaction rather than the direct effects of the venom. Nevertheless, this snake should be regarded as potentially dangerous.