The specific epithet nigrostriatus (“black-striped”) refers to its body markings.

[2] The snake is slender and grows to an average of about 50 cm in length.

The upper body is reddish-brown to pink, with a black, full-length vertebral stripe and dark head.

[2] The species is viviparous, with an average litter size of six.

[2] The species occurs in the southern Western Province of Papua New Guinea, and in Australia from the northern Cape York Peninsula south-eastwards through eastern Queensland to Rockhampton.