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Australia and the Pacific Islands
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Genus/Species

 

Various Australian elapid genera

Species

  • 1. Antaioserpens spp.
  • 2. Aspidomorphus spp.
  • 3. Brachyurophis spp.
  • 4. Cacophis spp.
  • 5. Cryptophis spp.
  • 6. Demansia spp.
  • 7. Denisonia spp.
  • 8. Drysdalia spp.
  • 9. Echiopsis curta
  • 10. Elapognathus spp.
  • 11. Furina spp.
  • 12. Hemiaspis spp.
  • 13. Loveridgelaps elapoides
  • 14. Micropechis ikaheca
  • 15. Neelaps calonotus
  • 16. Ogmodon vitianus
  • 17. Parapistocalamus hedigeri
  • 18. Parasuta spp.
  • 19. Paroplocephalus atriceps
  • 20. Rhinoplocephalus bicolor
  • 21. Salomonelaps par
  • 22. Simoselaps spp.
  • 23. Suta spp.
  • 24. Toxicocalamus spp.
  • 25. Vermicella spp.

 

Former genus Unechis is integrated in the genus Suta

Former genus Glyphodon is integrated in the genus Furina, Cacophis respectively

Some species which wehre belonging to Suta are now put into the genus Parasuta


Most genera comprise only one or a few species. Brachyurophis comprises 8, Cryptophis 5, Demansia 14,  Furina 5, Parasuta 6, Simoselaps 5, Toxicocalamus 14 and Vermicella 6 species.

Taxonomy

Serpentes; Elapidae; Elapinae/Hydrophiinae

Common names

  • 1. Burrowing snakes
  • 2. Crowned snakes
  • 3. Shovel-nosed snakes
  • 4. Crowned sakes
  • 6. Whip snakes
  • 7. Banded snake, Ornamental snake
  • 9. Bardick
  • 10. Crowned snake
  • 11. Naped snakes
  • 12. Grey snake, Swamp snake
  • 13. Solomon’s small-eyed snake
  • 14. New Guinea small-eyed, Ikaheka snake
  • 15. Black striped burrowing snake, Western black striped snake
  • 16. Fiji Cobra, Fijian ground snake
  • 17. Bougainville coral snake, Hediger’s coral snake
  • 19. Lake Cronin snake
  • 20. Square nosed snake, Muller's snake
  • 21. Solomons coral snake
  • 22. Banded snakes, Burrowing snakes, Shovel-nosed snakes
  • 24. Forest snakes
  • 25. Bandy-bandy

Distribution

 

See link "Distribution" at the top of the page for detailed information.

 

  Map 41 Micropechis ikaheca

 

Biology

The genera listed here comprise a group of mostly smaller Australian elapids. Demansia sp. and Mikropechis ikaheca are amongst the largest in this group, with a length of up to 2 m. Most of the other members of this group are rarely more than 60 cm long.

Most are nocturnal, in contrast to the medically more significant Australian elapids. Many of them are rarely seen. Some spend most of their time as burrowing snakes under the ground (Neelaps calonotus, Simoselaps sp., Vermicella sp. and Suta sp.).

 

Risk

Some species are considered potentially dangerous. According to Cogger (1987) the genera Cryptophis, Demansia, Denisonia, Echiopsis, Glyphodon, Hemiaspis and Suta can cause serious but not fatal envenoming. Nevertheless Furtado and Lester (1968) describe a single fatal case by Cryptophis nigrescens.

 

Micropechis ikaheca is known to have caused serious or even fatal envenomings in Papua New Guinea (Warrell et al. 1972).

 

Bites caused by Demansia psammophis are common, but generally have a mild course with minor local reactions.

 

The genera Cacophis, Drysdalia, Elapognathus, Furina, Neelaps, Rhinoplocephalus, Simoselaps and Vermicella are likely to cause asymptomatic or mild envenoming.

 

 

Literature (biological)

Cogger 1986, De Haas 1950, Hutchinson 1990, Keogh et al. 2000, McCoy 1980, O'Shea 1990, 1996, 2005, Shea and Scanlon 2007

The Reptile Database

The Australian Reptile Online Database