calamaria is a large genus of dwarf burrowing snakes of the family colubridae .

it contains 60 recognized species .

they are found in asia .

calamaria

calamaria gervaisii duméril , bibron & duméril 1854 : 76 calamaria gervaisi — jan 1865 calamaria mindorensis boulenger 1895 : 4481 calamaria gervaisii iridescens taylor 1917 calamaria tropica taylor 1922 calamaria polillensis taylor 1923 calamaria hollandi taylor 1923 calamaria gervaisi hollandi — leviton 1963 calamaria gervaisii — inger & marx 1965 : 106 calamaria gervaisii — manthey & grossmann 1997 : 328 calamaria gervaisii — inger & voris 2001 calamaria gervaisi iridescens — alcala et al . 2004 calamaria gervaisii — gaulke 2011 : 254 calamaria gervaisii — wallach et al . 2014 : 136
calamaria lovii boulenger 1887 : 169 calamaria lovii — manthey & grossmann 1997 : 329 calamaria lovii — chan - ard et al . 1999 : 31 calamaria lovi — inger & voris 2001 calamaria lowi — malkmus et al . 2002 : 317 calamaria lovii — wallach et al . 2014 : 139 calamaria lovii lovii boulenger 1887 calamaria lowi — mocquard 1890 calamaria ventralis cochran 1923 calamaria javanica lineata brongerma 1928 calamaria lovii lovii — grismer et al . 2004 calamaria lovii lovii — sang et al . 2009 calamaria lovii gimletti boulenger 1905 calamaria gimletti boulenger 1905 : 456 calamaria doerianense brongersma 1928 : 255 calamaria pavimentata sclater 1891 ( non duméril & bibron ) calamaria javanica wall 1921 ( non boulenger ) calamaria melanota chasen & smedley 1927 ( non jan ) calamaria gimletti — smedley 1931 : 53 calamaria gimletti — tweedie 1940 calamaria gimletti — tweedie 1954 calamaria fraseri taylor 1962 calamaria lovii gimletti — grismer et al . 2004 calamaria lovii gimletti — orlov 2009 calamaria gimletti — wallach et al . 2014 : 137 calamaria lovii ingermarxorum darevsky & orlov 1992 calamaria lovii ingermarxi darevsky & orlov 1992 calamaria lovii ingermarxorum — michels & bauer 2004 calamaria lovii wermuthi inger & marx 1965 calamaria lovii wermuthi — grismer et al . 2004 calamaria lovii wermuthi — sang et al . 2009
calamaria lumbricoidea h . boie in f . boie 1827 : 540 calamaria vermiformis duméril , bibron & duméril 1854 : 85 calamaria temmincki duméril , bibron & duméril 1854 : 87 calamaria lumbricoidea — duméril & bibron 1854 : 89 calamaria melanorhynchos bleeker 1860 calamaria alkeni bleeker 1860 calamaria lumbricoidea — jan 1865 calamaria vermiformis — jan 1865 calamaria stahlknechtii stoliczka 1873 calamaria stahlknechtii — boulenger 1885 : 388 calamaria vermiformis var . sumatranus lidth de jeude 1890 calamaria bungaroides werner 1901 : 300 calamaria vermiformis — lidth de jeude 1922 : 247 calamaria bruegeli mertens 1924 ( fide manthey 1983 ) calamaria göringi vogt 1925 : 64 calamaria vermiformis — tweedie 1950 calamaria vermiformis — tweedie 1954 calamaria lumbricoidea — inger & marx 1965 : 77 calamaria vermiformis — hendrickson 1966 : 67 calamaria lumbricoidea — grandison 1972 : 86 calamaria lumbricoidea — manthey & grossmann 1997 : 326 calamaria lumbricoidea — cox et al . 1998 : 36 calamaria lumbricoidea — inger & voris 2001 calamaria lumbricoidea — wallach et al . 2014 : 139
calamaria butonensis howard & gillespie 2007 calamaria butonensis — wallach et al . 2014 : 135
calamaria ingeri grismer , kaiser & yaakob 2004 calamaria ingeri — wallach et al . 2014 : 137
cyclophis calamaria günther 1858 cyclophis calamaria — günther 1859 : 231 homalosoma baliolum jan 1862 ( fide smith 1943 ) cyclophis nasalis günther 1864 ( fide smith 1943 ) ablabes calamaria — boulenger 1890 liopeltis calamaria — wall 1921 : 251 liopeltis calamaria — smith 1943 : 184 liopeltis calamaria — das 1996 : 57 liopeltis calamaria — karunarathna & amarasinghe 2011 liopeltis calamarius — wallach et al . 2014 : 385
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information on calamaria ingeri is currently being researched and written and will appear here shortly .
synonymy mostly after david & vogel 1996 . type species : calamaria lumbricoidea h . boie in f . boie 1827 has been considered as the type species of the genus calamaria boie 1827 ( here calamaria linnaei is considered the type species , following wallach et al . 2014 ) .
calamaria ingeri is classified as critically endangered ( cr ) on the iucn red list ( 1 ) .
vogt , theodor 1925 . beitrag zur kenntnis der schlangengattung calamaria . zool . anz . 62 ( 3 / 4 ) : 64 - 65
cochran , d . m . 1923 . two new species of calamaria from borneo . proc . biol . soc . washington 36 : 91 - 92 - get paper here
marx , h . & r . f . inger 1955 . notes on the snakes of the genus calamaria . fieldiana : zoology 37 : 167 - 209 - get paper here
boulenger , george a . 1895 . description of two new snakes of the genus calamaria . ann . mag . nat . hist . ( 6 ) 16 : 481 - get paper here
inger , r . f . ; marx , h . 1962 . variation of hemipenis and cloaca in the colubrid snake calamaria lumbricoidea . systematic zoology 11 ( 1 ) : 32 - 38
batuwita s . ( 2001 ) liopeltis calamaria ( günther , 1858 ) ( serpentes : colubridae ) first record from the galle district , southern sri lanka . loris , vol . 22 ( 6 )
inger , r . f . & h . marx 1965 . the systematics and evolution of the oriental colubrid snakes of the genus calamaria . fieldiana : zoology 49 : 1 - 304 . - get paper here
howard , s . d . & gillespie , g . r . 2007 . two new calamaria ( serpentes ) species from sulawesi , indonesia . journal of herpetology 41 ( 2 ) : 237 - get paper here
boulenger , g . a . 1887 . description of a new snake , of the genus calamaria , from borneo . ann . mag . nat . hist . ( 5 ) 19 : 169 - 170 - get paper here
ziegler , thomas ; nguyen van sang , nguyen quang truong 2009 . a new reed snake of the genus calamaria boie ( squamata : colubridae ) from vietnam . current herpetology 27 ( 2 ) : 71 - 80 [ 2008 ] - get paper here
justification : calamaria lumbricoidea has been assessed as least concern in view of its moderately wide distribution from southern thailand to java and the philippines , its tolerance of a variety of habitats , including human - affected environments and because no major widespread threats have been identified .
bhattarai , santosh , chalise , lina , gurung , ashish , pokheral , chiranjibi pd , subedi , naresh and sharma , vivek 2017 . geographic distribution : liopeltis calamaria ( lined stripe - necked snake ) herpetological review 48 ( 1 ) : 129 - get paper here
darevsky , i . s . & orlov , n . l . 1992 . a new subspecies of the dwarf snake calamaria lowi ingermarxi ssp . nov . ( serpentes , colubridae ) from southern vietnam . asiatic herpetological research 4 : 13 - 17 - get paper here
grismer , l . l . , h . kaiser & n . s . yaakob 2004 . a new species of reed snake of the genus calamaria h . boie , 1827 , from pulau tioman , pahang , west malaysia . hamadryad 28 ( 1 & 2 ) : 1 - 6
no population data is available for this rare snake . despite numerous surveys in lam dong and ha tinh , this species has very rarely been found since its original description , although other species of calamaria have been commonly reported from the same region ( q . t . nguyen pers . comm . august 2011 ) .
karunarathna d . m . s . s . , perera w . p . n . ( 2010 ) new distribution records for liopeltis calamaria ( günther , 1858 ) ( reptilia : serpentes : colubridae ) , with notes on its bioecology and threats in sri lanka . sauria , berlin , 32 ( 2 ) : 49–55
orlov , nikolai l . 2009 . a new species of the genus calamaria ( squamata : ophidia : colubridae ) from the central highlands ( ngoc linh nature reserve , ngoc linh mountain , kon tum province ) , vietnam . russ . j . herpetol . 16 ( 2 ) : 146 - 154 - get paper here
( of asterias calamaria gray , 1840 ) gray , j . e . ( 1840 ) . xxii . a synopsis of the genera and species of the class hypostoma ( asterias , linnaeus ) . annals and magazine of natural history . 6 : 175 - 184 . , available online at urltoken page ( s ) : 179 [ details ]
karunarathna , d . m . s . suranjan & w . p . naalin perera 2010 . new distribution records for liopeltis calamaria ( günther , 1858 ) ( reptilia : serpentes : colubridae ) , with notes on its bioecology and threats in sri lanka . [ in german ] . sauria 32 ( 2 ) : 49 - 55 - get paper here
( of asterias ( stolasterias ) calamaria gray , 1840 ) gray , j . e . ( 1840 ) . xxii . a synopsis of the genera and species of the class hypostoma ( asterias , linnaeus ) . annals and magazine of natural history . 6 : 175 - 184 . , available online at urltoken page ( s ) : 179 [ details ]
koch , a . ; arida , e . ; mcguire , j . a . ; iskandar , d . t . & böhme , w . 2009 . a new species of calamaria ( squamata : colubridae ) similar to c . ceramensis de rooij , 1913 , from the banggai islands , east of sulawesi , indonesia . zootaxa 2196 : 19–30 - get paper here
( of asteracanthion calamaria ( gray , 1840 ) ) dujardin , m . f . and hupe , m . h . ( 1862 ) . histoire naturelle des zoophytes échinodermes : comprenant la description des crinoïdes , des ophiurides , des astérides , des échinides et des holothurides . paris : libraire encyclopedique de roret . 627 pages , 10 plates . , available online at urltoken page ( s ) : 339 [ details ]
note : tdwg regions are generated automatically from the text in the distribution field and not in every cases it works well . we are working on it .
type : bmnh 1946 . 1 . 5 . 60 ( and possibly additional specimens ) .
beddome , richard henry 1863 . further notes upon the snakes of the madras presidency ; with descriptions of new species . madras quart . j . med . sci . , 6 : 41 - 48 [ reprint : j . soc . bibliogr . nat . sci . , london , 1 ( 10 ) : 306 - 314 , 1940 ]
bhupathy , subramanian & n . sathishkumar 2013 . status of reptiles in meghamalai and its environs , western ghats , tamil nadu , india . journal of threatened taxa 5 ( 15 ) : 4953 - 4961 - get paper here
boulenger , george a . 1890 . the fauna of british india , including ceylon and burma . reptilia and batrachia . taylor & francis , london , xviii , 541 pp . - get paper here
boulenger , george a . 1894 . catalogue of the snakes in the british museum ( natural history ) . volume ii . , containing the conclusion of the colubridæ aglyphæ . british mus . ( nat . hist . ) , london , xi , 382 pp . - get paper here
günther , a . 1858 . catalogue of colubrine snakes of the british museum . london , i - xvi , 1 - 281
günther , a . 1859 . on the geographical distribution of reptiles . ann . mag . nat . hist . ( 3 ) 3 : 221 - 237 - get paper here
jan , g . 1865 . iconographie générale des ophidiens . 13 . livraison . [ homalosoma mite ] . j . b . bailière et fils , paris - get paper here
karunarathna , suranjan ; d . m . s . and a . a . thasun amarasinghe 2011 . a preliminary survey of the reptile fauna in nilgala forest and its vicinity , monaragala district , sri lanka . taprobanica 3 ( 02 ) : 69 - 76
lenz , norbert 2012 . von schmetterlingen und donnerdrachen - natur und kultur in bhutan . karlsruher naturhefte 4 , naturkundemuseum karlsruhe , 124 pp .
palot , m . j . 2015 . a checklist of reptiles of kerala , india . journal of threatened taxa 7 ( 13 ) : 8010–8022 - get paper here
sharma , r . c . 2004 . handbook indian snakes . akhil books , new delhi , 292 pp .
smith , m . a . 1943 . the fauna of british india , ceylon and burma , including the whole of the indo - chinese sub - region . reptilia and amphibia . 3 ( serpentes ) . taylor and francis , london . 583 pp .
taylor , edward h . 1950 . the snakes of ceylon . univ . kansas sci . bull . 33 ( 14 ) : 519 - 603 - get paper here
wall , frank 1921 . ophidia taprobanica or the snakes of ceylon . colombo mus . ( h . r . cottle , govt . printer ) , colombo . xxii , 581 pages - get paper here
wallach , van ; kenneth l . williams , jeff boundy 2014 . snakes of the world : a catalogue of living and extinct species . taylor and francis , crc press , 1237 pp .
this database is maintained by peter uetz ( database content ) and jakob hallermann , zoological museum hamburg ( new species and updates ) .
synonymy after inger & marx 1965 . the type locality of c . gervaisii is “java” which is erroneous according to marx 1955 . he thinks that it came from luzon .
alcala , e . l . ; alcala , a . c . & dolino , c . n . 2004 . amphibians and reptiles in tropical rainforest fragments on negros island , the philippines . env . cons . 31 ( 3 ) : 254 - 261 - get paper here
beolens , bo ; michael watkins , and michael grayson 2011 . the eponym dictionary of reptiles . johns hopkins university press , baltimore , usa - get paper here
beukema , w . 2011 . herpetofauna of disturbed forest fragments on the lower mt . kitanglad rnage , mindanao isand , philippines . salamandra 47 ( 2 ) : 90 - 98 - get paper here
brown , r . m . ; mcguire , j . a . ; ferner , j . w . ; icarangal jr . , n . & kennedy , r . s . 2000 . amphibians and reptiles of luzon island , ii : preliminary report on the herptofauna of aurora memorial national park , philippines . hamadryad 25 ( 2 ) : 175 - 195
brown ; rafe ; cameron siler , carl oliveros , luke welton , ashley rock , john swab , merlijn van weerd , jonah van beijnen , dominic rodriguez , edmund jose , arvin diesmos 2013 . the amphibians and reptiles of luzon island , philippines , viii : the herpetofauna of cagayan and isabela provinces , northern sierra madre mountain range . zookeys 266 ( 2013 ) special issue : 1 - 120 < br / > doi : 10 . 3897 / zookeys . 266 . 3982 - get paper here
das , i . & yaakob , n . 2007 . status of knowledge of the malaysian herpetofauna . in status of biological diversity in malaysia & threat assessment of plant species in malaysia . in : l . s . l . chua , l . g . kirton & l . g . saw ( eds . ) , status of biological diversity in malaysia & threat assessment of plant species in malaysia . forest research institute malaysia , kepong , pp . 31 - 81
duméril , a . m . c . , g . bibron & a . h . a . duméril 1854 . erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles . vol . 7 ( partie 1 ) . paris , xvi + 780 s . - get paper here
ferner , john w . , rafe m . brown , rogelio v . sison and robert s . kennedy 2000 . the amphibians and reptiles of panay island , philippines . asiatic herpetological research 9 : 1 - 37 - get paper here
gaulke , m . 2011 . the herpetofauna of panay island , philippines . edition chimaira , 390 pp .
inger , r . f . & voris , h . k . 2001 . the biogeographical relations of the frogs and snakes of sundaland . journal of biogeography 28 : 863 - 89 1
jan , g . 1865 . iconographie générale des ophidiens . 10 . livraison . j . b . bailière et fils , paris - get paper here
leviton , a . e . , 1963 . remarks on the zoogeography of philippine terrestrial snakes . proc . cal . acad . sci . ( 4 ) 31 : 369 - 416 . - get paper here
manthey , u . & grossmann , w . 1997 . amphibien & reptilien südostasiens . natur und tier verlag ( münster ) , 512 pp . - get paper here
mcleod , david s . ; cameron d . siler , arvin c . diesmos , mae l . diesmos , vhon s . garcia , angela o . arkonceo , kelvin l . balaquit , charlene c . uy , mariden m . villaseran , earle c . yarra , rafe m . brown 2011 . amphibians and reptiles of luzon island , v : the herpetofauna of angat dam watershed , bulacan province , luzon island , philippines . asian herpetological research 2 ( 4 ) : 177–198 - get paper here
relox , richel e . ; emmanuel p . leańo , and fritzie b . ates - camino 2011 . herpetofaunal endemism and diversity in tropical forests of mt . hamiguitan in the philippines . herp . cons . biol . 6 ( 1 ) : 107−113 - get paper here
sanguila mb , cobb ka , siler cd , diesmos ac , alcala ac , brown rm 2016 . the amphibians and reptiles of mindanao island , southern philippines , ii : the herpetofauna of northeast mindanao and adjacent islands . zookeys 624 : 1–132 , doi : 10 . 3897 / zookeys . 624 . 9814 - get paper here
smith , brian e . 1993 . notes on a collection of squamate reptiles from eastern mindanao , philippine islands part 2 : serpentes . asiatic herpetological research 5 : 96 - 102 - get paper here
supsup , christian e . ; nevong m . puna , augusto a . asis , bernard r . redoblado , maria fatima g . panaguinit , faith m . guinto , edmund b . rico , arvin c . diesmos , rafe m . brown and neil aldrin d . mallari 2016 . amphibians and reptiles of cebu , philippines : the poorly understood herpetofauna of an island with very little remaining natural habitat asian herpetological research 2016 , 7 ( 3 ) : 151–179 doi : 10 . 16373 / j . cnki . ahr . 150049 - get paper here
taylor , e . h . 1923 . additions to the herpetological fauna of the philippine islands , iii . philippine journal of science , 22 : 515—557 - get paper here
boie , f . 1827 . bemerkungen über merrem ' s versuch eines systems der amphibien , 1 . lieferung : ophidier . isis van oken 20 : 508 - 566 . - get paper here
boulenger , g . a . 1885 . a list of reptiles and batrachians from the island of nias . ann . mag . nat . hist . ( 5 ) 16 : 388 - 389 - get paper here
chan - ard , t . , parr , j . w . k . & nabhitabhata , j . 2015 . a field guide to the reptiles of thailand . oxford university press , ny , 352 pp . [ see book reviews by pauwels & grismer 2015 and hikida 2015 for corrections ] - get paper here
cox , merel j . ; van dijk , peter paul ; jarujin nabhitabhata & thirakhupt , kumthorn 1998 . a photographic guide to snakes and other reptiles of peninsular malaysia , singapore and thailand . ralph curtis publishing , 144 pp .
das , i . 2012 . a naturalist ' s guide to the snakes of south - east asia : malaysia , singapore , thailand , myanmar , borneo , sumatra , java and bali . oxford j , ohn beaufoy publishing - get paper here
david , p . & vogel , g . 1996 . the snakes of sumatra . an annotated checklist and key with natural history notes . bücher kreth , frankfurt / m .
grandison , a . g . c . 1972 . the gunong benom expedition 1967 . 5 . reptiles and amphibians of gunong benom with a description of a new species of macrocalamus . bull . br . mus . nat . hist . ( zool . ) , london , 23 : 45 - 101 .
grismer , l . lee ; chan k . onn , jesse l . grismer , perry l . wood , jr . , and a . norhayati 2010 . a checklist of the herpetofauna of the banjaran bintang , peninsular malaysia . russ . j . herpetol . 17 ( 2 ) : 147 - 160 - get paper here
grismer , l . l . 2011 . amphibians and reptiles of the seribuat archipelago . edition chimaira , frankfurt , 239 pp .
hendrickson , j . r . 1966 . observations on the fauna of pulau tioman and pulau tulai . 5 . the reptiles . bull . nat . mus . singapore 34 : 53 - 71
lidth de jeude , t . w . van 1922 . snakes from sumatra . zoologische mededelingen 6 : 239 - 253 . - get paper here
lim , k . k . p . & ng , h . h . 1999 . the terrestrial herpetofauna of pulau tioman , peninsular malaysia . raffles bull . zool . , suppl . no . 6 : 131 - 155 - get paper here
malkmus , r . ; manthey , u . ; vogel , g . hoffmann , p . & kosuch , j . 2002 . amphibians and reptiles of mount kinabalu ( north borneo ) . a . r . g . ganther verlag , rugell , 404 pp .
manthey , u . 1983 . exkursion am mt . kinabalu ( 4101 m ) , nordborneo , teil 3 : checkliste der herpetofauna oberhalb 600 m ü . nn . herpetofauna 5 ( 23 ) : 20 - 31 - get paper here
nur - amalina m . i . ; azhari , m . , norshaqinah , a . , nor azrin , n . a . , shukor , m . n . , aisah , m . s . , amirrudin , a . , grismer , l . l . and norhayati , a . 2017 . species composition of amphibians and reptiles in tembat forest reserve , hulu terengganu , terengganu , peninsular malaysia . malays . appl . biol . 46 ( 4 ) : 119–129 - get paper here
onn , chan kin ; l . lee . grismer , dionysius s . sharma , daicus belabut , and norhayati ahma 2009 . new herpetofaunal records for perlis state park and adjacent areas . malayan nature journal 61 ( 4 ) : 255 - 262
rooijen , j . van & myriam van rooijen . 2007 . the land snakes of the santubong peninsula , sarawak , borneo : a preliminary list of species with natural history notes . russ . j . herpetol . 14 ( 1 ) : 27 - 38 - get paper here
rooijen , j . van & van rooijen , m . 2002 . einige ergänzungen , berichtigungen und neue beobachtungen zur herpetofauna von pulau tioman , west - malaysia . sauria 24 ( 3 ) : 3 - 12 [ erratum in 24 ( 4 ) : 34 ] - get paper here
smedley , n . 1932 . amphibians and reptiles from the cameron highlands , malay peninsula . bull . raffles mus . 6 : 105 - 123 [ 1931 ] - get paper here
stoliczka , f . 1873 . notes on some species of malayan amphibia and reptilia . j . asiat . soc . bengal 42 : 111 - 126 - get paper here
teo , r . c . h . & rajathurai , s . 1997 . mammals , reptiles and amphibians in the nature reserves of singapore - diversity , abundance and distribution . proc . nature reserves survey seminar . gardens’ bulletin singapore 49 : 353 - 425
teynié , alexandre ; patrick david , & annemarie ohler 2010 . note on a collection of amphibians and reptiles from western sumatra ( indonesia ) , with the description of a new species of the genus bufo . zootaxa 2416 : 1–43 - get paper here
tweedie , m . w . f . 1950 . notes on malayan reptiles , no . 2 . bull . raffles mus . no 23 : 191 - 199
tweedie , m . w . f . 1954 . notes on malayan reptiles , no . 3 . bull . raffles mus . no 25 : 107 - 117
werner , f . 1901 . neue reptilien des königsberger zoologischen museums . zool . anz . 24 : 297 - 301 - get paper here
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this very well known snake has as many as 17 synonyms ( inger and marx 1965 ) .
grismer , l . , chan - ard , t . & inger , r . f .
de silva , r . , milligan , ht , wearn , o . r . , wren , s . , zamin , t . , sears , j . , wilson , p . , lewis , s . , lintott , p . , powney , g . , diesmos , a . c . & diesmos , m .
this widespread snake is found throughout much of southeast asia . it has been recorded from southern thailand , peninsular malaysia ( and the island of pulau tioman ) , singapore , indonesia , borneo and the philippines ( occurring on basilan , mindanao , camiguin sur , negros , possibly panay , bohol , leyte , samar , dinagat and siargao ) ( ross and lazell jr 1990 , cox
2002 , das 2007 , a . diesmos and a . demegillo pers . comm . ) . it can be found from lowland areas to around 1 , 400m asl ( cox
1998 ) . in indonesia it is known from the mentawai and nasuna besar archipelagos , and nias ( david and vogel 1996 ) , sumatra , java ( inger and voris 2001 ) and sulawesi . the snake is known from fifteen localities on the island of borneo ( r . inger pers . comm . ) , where it is found in all political territories .
david and vogel ( 1996 ) caution that , although this species is apparently widespread , it is uncommon and seldom seen ; however it is generally a common species in the philippines .
this oviparous species mainly inhabits lowland and montane moist forests . it probably also occurs in plantations and in the vicinity of rice paddies ( david and vogel 1996 ) . arcbc ( 2006 ) also state that this species can tolerate
degraded , secondary forest and scrub
and r . inger ( pers . comm . ) notes it is also found in thin wooded areas at the edge of cities . it is a ground - dwelling or semi - fossorial snake , mainly active at night and often found among litter or under stones , fallen trees and decaying vegetation .
it is unlikely that any major threat is impacting this species across its range , as it is widespread and tolerant of habitat modification . as with many snakes , it is occasionally killed when encountered .
this species is present within many protected areas . there is a need for further taxonomic study of this wide ranging species . no direct conservation measures are currently needed for this species as a whole .
grismer , l . , chan - ard , t . & inger , r . f . 2012 .
to make use of this information , please check the < terms of use > .
de silva , r . , milligan , ht , wearn , o . r . , wren , s . , zamin , t . , sears , j . , wilson , p . , lewis , s . , lintott , p . & powney , g .
justification : this species is listed as least concern because it is widely distributed , is common , is likely to occur in protected areas , and there are no known major threats affecting it .
the species occurs in sumatra , borneo and malaysia . in sumatra , the species has been recorded from ampat lawang , south sumatra and from deli , north sumatra . in borneo the species has been recorded from sarawak and sabah , as well as from east and central kalimantan . its presence in southern thailand is uncertain . there is one doubtful record from java , considered to be in error . it occurs at elevations between 300 and 1 , 200 m .
numerous records of this species exist from sarawak and sabah , suggesting that this species is common .
species , it is assumed that this species is fossorial and occurs in forests . most records are from lowlands around 300 - 600 m asl , but there are two records from mt . kinabalu ( 900 - 1 , 200 m asl )
there are no known major threats to this species , which is common and widespread .
as this species is rather common and widespread , it is very likely to occur in protected areas in borneo as well as in sumatra . there are no conservation measures or actions in place for this species .
the species is known from the type series of six specimens and one doubtful record from singapore ( grandison 1978 ) . this uncertain record has not been included in the current assessment .
justification : this species was described in 1983 and is only known from the type locality in sandakan bay , sabah , malaysia . the original lowland forest where the species was found has disappeared due to deforestation for urban development and tourism . there has therefore been an inferred population decline of close to 100 % over the past 10 years ( and therefore also within the longer of ten years or three generations ) . the species is listed as critically endangered and considered to be possibly extinct .
the species is only known from sandakan bay , sabah , malaysia , from an area close to sea level .
there is no information about the population of this species . however , population decline and possible extinction has been inferred from the observed decline in the amount of suitable habitat left for the species to survive due to human activities .
deforestation of lowland forest for urbanisation and tourist development is known to have completely wiped out the forest from where this species was recorded ; only one nearby , small fragment remains where this species might persist ( i . das pers . obs . 2011 ) . survey work conducted by r . inger in this area failed to locate the species ( r . inger pers . comm . 2011 ) .
survey work is needed to confirm if the species is still present in the area where it was found or in nearby forest .
this species is a widespread endemic of the philippines . it has been recorded from the islands of luzon , polillo , mindoro , tablas , panay , negros , cebu , catanduanes , mindanao lubang , and basilan . it has a wide elevational range , being found from close to sea level to around 1 , 000 m asl .
this snake may be found burrowing in humus under rotting logs , under flat rocks , and between tree buttresses ( brown et al . 2000 , ferner et al . 2000 ) . it has been recorded from disturbed habitats ( for instance under logs in coconut plantations ) on luzon and catanduanes .
in view of the species wide distribution , it seems likely that it is present within a number of protected areas . no direct conservation measures are currently needed for this widespread species .
justification : this species is listed as endangered because its extent of occurrence is less than 2 , 000 km 2 , all individuals are in a single location , and there is a continuing decline of the species ' habitat outside of protected areas .
this species is only known from the middle section of wuliang mountain which belongs to jingdong county and nanjian county , yunnan province , china . it was recorded at 1 , 100 - 1 , 200 m asl ( zhao and adler 1993 ) .
this species lives in mid - level mountains and hills . it has been found at the edge of montane forest along the side of a road in the evening ( rao ding - qi pers . comm . 2011 ) . there is no information available on its diet or reproduction ( zhao 2006 ) .
there is a decline in the habitat of this species outside of protected areas owing to conversion of land to agricultural use ( cropland ) .
part of the range of this species is within the wuliang mountain protected area . further studies are needed into the ecology and habitat preferences of this species .
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urltoken
nostril very small , single nasal . supralabial 6 or 7 ; 3rd & 4th in contact with eyes ; loreal united with nasal ; preocular 1 or 2 ; postocular 2 ; temporal 1 + 2 . anterior genial slightly longer than posterior . maxillary teeth 24 - 26 .
126 - 142 ( male ) , 130 - 154 ( female ) ; rounded ; anal divided .
68 - 78 ( male ) , 53 - 72 ( female ) ; paired .
boulenger g . a . ( 1890 ) the fauna of british india including ceylon and burma , reptilia and batrachia . london : taylor and francis .
boulenger g . a . ( 1894 ) catalogue of the snakes in the british museum ( natural history ) . vol . 2 , london : taylor and francis .
chikane s . , bhosale h . ( 2012 ) reptiles of kaas , northern western ghats , maharashtra , india , with notes on habitat preferences , abundances and threats . sauria , berlin , 34 ( 3 ) : 3–15
ganesh s . r . , bhupathy s . , david p . , sathishkumar n . , srinivas g . ( 2014 ) snake fauna of high wavy mountains , western ghats , india : species richness , status , and distribution pattern . russian journal of herpetology . vol . 21 ( 1 ) , pp . 53 – 64
dutta s . k . , acharjyo l . n . ( 1995 ) herpetofaunal resources and their conservation in orissa , india . zoos’ print , vol . 10 ( 7 ) , pp . 5 - 8
günther a . ( 1864 ) the reptiles of british india . london : published for the ray society by robert hardwicke
murthy t . s . n . ( 1990 ) illustrated guide to the snakes of the western ghats , india . records of the zoological survey of india , occasional paper no . 114
smith m . a . ( 1943 ) the fauna of british india , ceylon and burma including the whole of the indo - chinese sub - region , reptilia and amphibia . vol 3 serpentes . taylor & francis , london .
srinivasulu c . , das i . ( 2008 ) the herpetofauna of nallamala hills , eastern ghats , india : an annotated checklist , with remarks on nomenclature , taxonomy , habitat use , adaptive types and biogeography . asiatic herpetological research , vol . 11 , pp . 110–131
this information is awaiting authentication by a species expert , and will be updated as soon as possible . if you are able to help please contact : arkive @ urltoken
hinrich kaiser associate professor | biology victor valley college 18422 bear valley road victorville , ca 92395 office : sl24 tel : 760 - 245 - 4271 ext 2772 hinrich . kaiser @ urltoken
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note ' isle de france ' ( mauritius ) ; new holland . . .
type locality ' isle de france ' ( mauritius ) ; new holland ( australia ) ' . [ details ]
description according to clark & rowe ( 11971 ) , known from mauritius ( and east africa ) and from temperate but not tropical australia . . . .
description according to clark & rowe ( 11971 ) , known from mauritius ( and east africa ) and from temperate but not tropical australia . the british museum record from the south pacific is based on the ' challenge ' specimen determined as asterias gemmifera ( a south american species ) by sladen . [ details ]
( of asterias jehennesi valenciennes ( ms ) in perrier , 1875 ) perrier , e . ( 1875 ) . révision de la collection de stellérides du museum d’histoire naturelle de paris . paris , reinwald . 384 p . , available online at urltoken ; _ esc = y page ( s ) : 47 ; note : although listed as cuvier in a . m . clark ' s list , this species is listed as valenciennes in perrier ( 1875 ) [ details ]
( of asteracanthion jehennesi valenciennes ( ms ) in perrier , 1875 ) perrier , e . ( 1875 ) . révision de la collection de stellérides du museum d’histoire naturelle de paris . paris , reinwald . 384 p . , available online at urltoken ; _ esc = y page ( s ) : 47 [ details ]
clark , a . m . ; downey , m . e . ( 1992 ) . starfishes of the atlantic . chapman & hall identification guides , 3 . chapman & hall . london , uk . isbn 0 - 412 - 43280 - 3 . xxvi , 794 pp . ( look up in imis ) [ details ]
clark , a . m . ; rowe , f . w . e . ( 1971 ) . monograph of shallow - water indo - west pacific echinoderms . trustees of the british museum ( natural history ) . london . x + 238 p . + 30 pls . , available online at urltoken [ details ]
justification : listed as data deficient because this poorly - known species has been rarely recorded , nothing is known of its distribution or population status , and its response to forest degradation from selective logging is unclear .
this species is currently known only from viet nam , where records exist from dalat and bao loc in lam dong province , and from huong son in ha tinh province . it has an estimated extent of occurrence , based on the combined area of the known sites , of around 5 , 250 km 2 .
this oviparous snake is fossorial in forest leaf litter , and has only been found in evergreen forest ( q . t . nguyen pers . comm . august 2011 ) . forest in ha tinh is pristine , and so this snake may rely on good - quality forest ( q . t . nguyen pers . comm . august 2011 ) it is nocturnal ( orlov
in ha tinh and lam dong the main pressure on forest comes from selective logging ( q . t . nguyen pers . comm . august 2011 ) ; the extent to which this activity threatens the snake is unknown .
no conservation measures are in place for this species . it has not been recorded from any protected areas . more information is needed on its distribution , population status and its sensitivity to threats .
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description : body cylindrical , head hardly distinct from body , tail relatively short , dorsal scales smooth . body uniformly dark brown above with a white or yellow stripe along the side . underside with black and yellowish white bands . hatchlings have a pink head and may be confused with the pink - headed reed snake . however , they have narrow whitish bands over the back , and the underside is banded .
baker , n . & lim , k . 2012 . wild animals of singapore . singapore : draco publishing and distribution pte ltd . 180pp
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type locality : kakenauwe reserve at 5°11’0’’s , 122°53’40’’e , and 150 m elevation , buton island , sulawesi , indonesia .
holotype : mbz 3125 , adult male , collected on 21 june , 2002 .
koch , a . 2011 . the amphibians and reptiles of sulawesi : underestimated diversity in a dynamic environment . in : f . e . zachos and j . c . habel ( eds . ) , biodiversity hotspots . springer , berlin , p . 383 - 404
koch , a . 2012 . discovery , diversity , and distribution of the amphibians and reptiles of sulawesi and its offshore islands . edition chimaira , 374 pp . [ isbn 978 - 3 - 89973 - 432 - 4 ] - get paper here
west malaysia ( pullau tioman , pahang ) type locality : pulau tioman , pahang , west malaysia .
grossmann , w . & tillack , f . 2004 . pulau tioman - perle im südchinesischen meer , teil 1 . reptilia ( münster ) 9 ( 50 ) : 42 - 49 - get paper here
indonesia ( java , borneo ) , malaysia ( sarawak , sabah ) ; type locality : rejang river , sarawak , malaysia .
ingermarxi : vietnam ; type locality : “buoenloy , gilai - contum province , vietnam ; 750 m” elevation .
named in honor of brooke low who gave the specimen to the london natural history museum .
boulenger , george a . 1905 . descriptions of new snakes in the collection of the british museum . ann . mag . nat . hist . ( 7 ) 15 ( 89 ) : 453 - 456 - get paper here
brongersma , l . d . 1928 . neue reptilien aus dem zoologischen museum amsterdam . zool . anz . 75 : 251 - 257 .
daan , s . & hillenius , d . 1966 . catalogue of the type specimens of amphibians and reptiles in the zoological museum , amsterdam . beaufortia 13 : 117 - 144
david , p . & vogel , g . 2010 . venomous snakes of europe , northern , central and western asia ( terralog 16 ) ( english and german edition ) . edition chimaira , terralog 16 , 160 pp . - get paper here
grandison , a . g . c . 1978 . snakes of west malaysia and singapore . annalen des naturhistorischen museums in wien 81 [ 1977 ] : 283 - 303 - get paper here
michels , j . p . & a . m . bauer 2004 . some corrections to the scientific names of amphibians and reptiles . bonner zoologische beiträge 52 : 83–94 [ 2005 ] - get paper here
sang , nguyen van ; ho thu cuc , nguyen , quang truong 2009 . herpetofauna of vietnam . chimaira , frankfurt , 768 pp .
smedley , n . 1931 . notes on some malaysian snakes . bull . raffles mus . no 5 : 49 - 54
taylor , e . h . 1962 . new oriental reptiles . univ . kansas sci . bull . 43 : 209 - 263 - get paper here
tweedie , m . w . f . 1940 . notes on malayan reptiles . bull . raffles mus . , singapore 16 : 83 - 87


acanthophis is a genus of elapid snakes .

commonly called death adders , they are native to australia , new guinea and nearby islands , and are among the most venomous snakes in the world .

the name of the genus derives from the ancient greek acanthos/ἄκανθος " spine " and ophis/ὄφις " snake " , referring to the spine on the death adder 's tail .

seven species are listed by itis , though it remains unclear how many species this genus includes , with figures ranging from 4 to 15 species being quoted .

acanthophis

acanthophis hawkei wells & wellington 1985 : 43 acanthophis cummingi hoser 1998 acanthophis cummingi — wells 2002 acanthophis hawkei — wells 2002 acanthophis lancasteri — wells 2002 acanthophis hawkei — fry et al . 2002 acanthophis hawkei — wüster et al . 2004 acanthophis hawkei — wallach et al . 2014 : 4
acanthophis praelongus ramsay 1877 : 72 acanthophis praelongus — cogger 2000 : 634 acanthophis praelongus — schmidt & kunz 2005 : 75 acanthophis praelongus — wallach et al . 2014 : 4
acanthophis wellsei hoser 1998 acanthophis wellsi — aplin & donnellan 1999 ( emendation ) acanthophis wellsi — fry et al . 2002 aggressiserpens wellsi — wells 2002 acanthophis wellsei donnellani hoser 2002 acanthophis wellsi — wilson & swan 2010 acanthophis wellsi — wallach et al . 2014 : 4 acanthophis wellsei — cogger 2014 : 859
acanthophis pyrrhus boulenger 1898 : 75 acanthophis antarcticus pyrrhus acanthophis pyrrhus — cogger 2000 : 634 aggressiserpens pyrrhus — wells 2002 acanthophis pyrrhus armstrongi wells & wellington 1985 aggressiserpens armstrongi — wells 2002 acanthophis pyrrhus — wilson & swan 2010 acanthophis pyrrhus — wallach et al . 2014 : 4
boa antarctica shaw & nodder 1802 : pl . 535 acanthophis cerastinus daudin 1803 : 289 acanthophis brownii leach 1814 : 12 boa ambigua leach 1814 : 12 ( nomen nudum ) ophryas acanthophis merrem 1820 : 147 vipera acanthophis schlegel 1837 : 605 vipera sorda salvado 1851 : 48 acanthophis cerastinus — duméril & bibron 1854 : 1389 acanthophis cerastinus — günther 1863 : 398 boa aculeata boulenger 1896 : 356 ( nomen nudum ) acanthophis antarcticus — werner 1899 acanthophis antarcticus — de rooij 1917 : 272 acanthophis antarcticus — cogger 1983 : 217 acanthophis antarcticus — cogger 2000 : 632 acanthophis antarcticus cliffrosswellingtoni hoser 2002 ( see comment ) acanthophis antarcticus — wallach et al . 2014 : 3 acanthophis antarcticus schistos wells & wellington 1985 acanthophis schistos wells & wellington 1985 : 44 acanthophis schistos — wells 2002
clinical differences in envenomation characteristics among the races of death adder : common ( acanthophis antarcticus antarcticus ) , eastern ( acanthophis antarcticus laevis ) , desert ( acanthophis pyrrhus ) have not been reported .
click here for a more recent paper naming further species and subspecies of acanthophis .
he’s published over 140 papers and five books . his principal research interest is acanthophis .
the kimberley death adder ( acanthophis cryptamydros ) . image credit : ryan j . ellis .
death adders acanthophis : an overview , including descriptions of five new species and one subspecies .
the death adder ( acanthophis antarcticus ) : the effect of its bite and its treatment .
costs of venom production in the common death adder ( acanthophis antarcticus ) . - pubmed - ncbi
for numerous other papers that deal dominantly or substantially with death adders ( acanthophis spp . ) .
acanthophis cryptamydros maddodk , ellis , doughty , a . smith and wüster , 2015 – kimberley death adder
photos of acanthophis antarcticus cliffrosswellingtoni subsp . nov . in life are found in hoser ( 1989 ) .
a new species of death adder ( acanthophis : serpentes : elapidae ) from north - western australia .
a new species of death adder ( acanthophis : serpentes : elapidae ) from north - western australia .
ecology of the australian death adder acanthophis antarcticus ( elapidae ) : evidence for convergence with the viperidae .
death adders ( genus acanthophis ) : an overview , including descriptions of five new species and one subspecies .
acanthophis woolfi sp . nov . to view a photo of a specimen of this species - click here .
reptilia , australian monsoonal tropics , mtdna , ndna , systematics , taxonomy , acanthophis cryptamydros sp . nov .
type locality : from sydney ( as port jackson ) , n . s . w . [ acanthophis brownii ]
biology : little known , but presumed to be similar to that of other acanthophis . worrell ( 1972 ) records this species as being most active at the end of the wet season which roughly parallels the activities of acanthophis in northern australia by the author’s own investigations and what was said by o’shea ( 1996 ) in his summary of new guinea acanthophis . lindgren ( 1975 ) states acanthophis in png range up to nearly 2000 metres . it is assumed that these high altitude acanthophis are probably a . laevis , at least in the highland areas west of goroka and into irian jaya .
the dorsal colouration of the type specimen is typical for acanthophis in that dorsally it has alternating darker and lighter crossbands .
the viper - like acanthophis cryptamydros has a diamond - shaped head and stout body . ryan ellis / western australian museum
the original description of the subspecies acanthophis pyrrhus armstrongi by wells and wellington from 1985 ( as a full species ) .
biology : little known , but presumed to be similar to that of other acanthophis . worrell ( 1972 ) records this species as being most active at the end of the wet season which roughly parallels the activities of acanthophis in northern australia by the author ' s own investigations and what was said by o ' shea ( 1996 ) in his summary of new guinea acanthophis . lindgren ( 1975 ) states acanthophis in png range up to nearly 2000 metres . it is assumed that these high altitude acanthophis are probably a . laevis , at least in the highland areas west of goroka and into irian jaya .
until a formal naming of this taxon , it should be referred to as either praelongus , or as acanthophis sp .
a new species of death adder ( acanthophis : serpentes : elapidae ) from north - western australia . - pubmed - ncbi
the northern death adder ( acanthophis praelongus ) . this image shows flattening behaviour to enlarge the body and evade predators . ©cnzdenek
death adders ( genus acanthophis ) : an updated overview , including descriptions of 3 new island species and 2 new australian subspecies .
keys that differentiate different species of acanthophis have not been presented here . all keys seen by this author for the genus acanthophis appear to break down with substantial regularity due to variability within each species , even though a number of species divisions are widely acknowledged .
biology : not known . assumed to be similar for other acanthophis . likewise for captivity , although to date nothing is recorded .
in 2001 this author saw a specimen in a jar labelled as
acanthophis hawkei
, which was in fact this species .
the complete amino acid sequence of a post - synaptic neurotoxin isolated from the venom of the australian death adder snake acanthophis antarcticus .
death adders ( genus : acanthophis ) : an updated overview , including descriptions of 3 new island species and 2 new australian subspecies .
upon viewing the acanthophis at the australian museum spirit house , the animal r147655 was immediately retrieved as being like no other acanthophis in the collection . that it’s collection locality data matched that of specimen number 22812 at the museum of comparative zoology ( the type ) came as no surprise .
in more recent times a number of herpetologists , including curators at the queensland museum have confused this species with the better - known acanthophis hawkei .
notwithstanding this , potential keepers of acanthophis species should confirm their legal positions and options with the relevant legal authorities before embarking on such a course .
death adders are harvested and bred in captivity for the pet trade . no figures are available for the number of acanthophis rugosus in commercial trade .
what made you want to look up acanthophis ? please tell us where you read or heard it ( including the quote , if possible ) .
the systematics of this genus requires urgent revision . several undescribed species are likely to be present , particularly in new guinea . type species : acanthophis cerastinus daudin 1803 is the type species of the genus acanthophis daudin 1803 . subspecies : acanthophis antarcticus laevis ( macleay 1878 ) and acanthophis antarcticus rugosus loveridge 1948 have been elevated to species status . synonymy mostly after cogger 1983 . acanthophis antarcticus cliffrosswelingtoni hoser 2002 maybe synonymous to a . antarcticus ( w . wüster , pers . comm . , 15 dec 2010 ) . kaiser et al . 2013 considered the subpecies acanthophis antarcticus cliffrosswelingtoni hoser 2002 and the genus aggressiserpens wells 2002 invalid and rejected them . note that the date of shaw & nodder’s publication ( 1794 ) cited by boulenger ( 1896 ) and subsequent authors is in error fide sherborn ( 1895 ) [ cited in cogger 1983 ] . the correct publication year is 1802 . venomous !
kim , h . s . and tamiya , n . 1981 . isolation , properties and amino acid sequence of a long chain neurotoxin , acanthophis antarcticus b , from the venom of and australian snake ( the common death adder acanthophis antarcticus ) , biochemical journal , 193 : 899 - 906 .
upon viewing the acanthophis at the australian museum spirit house , the animal r147655 was immediately retrieved as being like no other acanthophis in the collection . that it ' s collection locality data matched that of specimen number 22812 at the museum of comparative zoology ( the type ) came as no surprise .
photographic comparison of a common death adder ( acanthophis antarcticus ) with a terciopelo viper ( bothrops asper ) , illustrating morphological similarities ( e . g . thin tail , triangular head , thick and short body ) between acanthophis sp . and viperidae snakes ( photos : cnzdenek ; dinoanimals . com )
named the kimberley death adder ( acanthophis cryptamydros ) , the snake is roughly 24 inches ( 60 cm ) long and has a diamond - shaped head .
wells , richard w . 2002 . taxonomy the genus acanthophis ( reptilia : elapidae ) in australia . australian biodiversity record ( 5 ) : 1 - 16
distribution : as mentioned already acanthophis antarcticus cliffrosswellingtoni subsp . nov . appears to be distributed on the eyre peninsula of south australia and nearby places to the east and west in south australia . the status of acanthophis populations near eucla near the sa / wa border and those on nearby offshore islands is not entirely certain .
17 / desert death adder ( a . pyrrhus ) , male , from the tits , wa . in flattened defensive posture which is typical of all acanthophis .
hay , m . 1972 . notes on the growth and breeding of acanthophis antarcticus’ , the australian herpetological society journal , 4 ( 4 ) : 14 - 15 .
hoser , raymond 1998 . colour change in death adders ( acanthophis antarcticus ) and other reptiles . monitor 10 ( 1 ) : 4 ; 31 - get paper here
it was suggested that perhaps a . groenveldi and a . macgregori should be treated as subspecific to a . laevis , however due to the physical distance of seram and tanimbar from new guinea and the time it is assumed that populations of acanthophis from these places have had their populations genetically isolated , it was decided to treat the three groups of acanthophis as being of separate species unless and until compelling evidence to the contrary arises . all species of acanthophis as identified here can be separated via dna analysis .
there may also be an undescribed subspecies in inland south - eastern queensland ( see under the discussion for the newly described subspecies acanthophis antarcticus cliffrosswellingtoni subsp . nov . ) .
trade : hoser ( 1991 , 1993 , 1996 ) discusses the legal and illegal trade of australian reptiles , including acanthophis , as well as conservation of these snakes . persons within australia contemplating trapping , studying or keeping these snakes , or any other acanthophis and complying with the relevant state laws are referred to hoser ( 1993 , 1996 ) .
fyfe , g . and munday , b . 1988 . captive breeding of the desert death adder ( acanthophis pyrrhus ) , herpetofauna , 18 ( 2 ) : 21 .
mirtschin , p . j . 1982 . further notes on breeding death adders ( acanthophis antarcticus ) in captivity . herpetofauna , 13 ( 2 ) : 14 - 17 .
hay , m . 1972 . notes on the growth and breeding of acanthophis antarcticus ' , the australian herpetological society journal , 4 ( 4 ) : 14 - 15 .
storr , g . m . ( 1981 ) the genus acanthophis ( serpentes : elapidae ) in western australia . records of the western australian museum , 9 , 203–210 .
hoser , r . t . 1987 . notes on the breeding of death adders ( acanthophis antarcticus ) ’ , herptile , 12 ( 2 ) : 56 - 61 . *
hoser , r . t . 1987 . notes on the breeding of death adders ( acanthophis antarcticus ) ' , herptile , 12 ( 2 ) : 56 - 61 . *
shine , r . ( 1980 ) ecology of the australian death adder , acanthophis antarcticus ( elapidae ) : evidence for convergence with the viperidae . herpetologica , 36 , 281–289 .
schulz , k . - d . & w . grossmann 1990 . das portrait : acanthophis pyrrhus boulenger . sauria 12 ( 2 ) : 1 - 2 - get paper here
although acanthophis will readily eat frogs ( see shine , ( 1980 ) for a detailed analysis of what wild death adders will eat ) , these are not recommended due to the heavy parasite burden carried by these animals . although i never had parasite problems with my acanthophis , taronga zoo in sydney reported ascarid ( blood parasite ) problems with some of it ' s desert death adders . on ( extremely ) rare occasions that acanthophis have had to be force or
assist
- fed , this has not posed any problems .
boulenger , g . a . 1898 . description of a new death adder ( acanthophis ) from central australia . annals magazine of natural history , 7 ( 2 ) : 75 .
hoser , r . t . 1982 , frequency of sloughing in captive morelia , liasis and acanthophis ( serpentes ) , herptile , 7 ( 3 ) : 20 - 26 . *
snakes - death adders - genus acanthophis - the definitive paper - by raymond hoser , published in the reptilian magazine ( uk ) in 1995 - . . . the full text .
barnett , brian f . & graeme f . gow 1994 . the berkly tableland death adder acanthophis antarcticus . litteratura serpentium 14 ( 3 ) : 80 - 85 - get paper here
the genus name , acanthophis , derives from the ancient greek acanthos meaning
spine
and ophis witch means
snake
, and refers to the spine found in its tail .
campbell , c . h . : the death adder ( acanthophis antarcticus ) : the effect of its bite and its treatment . med j aust . 2 : 922 , 1966 .
so i was going to make a long video of my acanthophis feeding but interesting things happened so i ended up making a short but interesting video . in the first part , you can see my acanthophis hawkei using her tail as a lure . this is called caudal luring and is a very common hunting method for several snake species . acanthophis genus in general uses caudal luring very often for hunting . the second part of the video is the unusual part . i was trying to remove my yearling female acanthophis hawkei and she went into feeding mode immediately . when she saw movement , she attacked and bit the little cactus plant , which is planted in the cage . you don ' t see a vegetarian death adder everyday so enjoy : )
as of 1998 , there have been no records of sympatry in the wild between different species of acanthophis , a point noted by mcdowall ( 1984 ) . although there is no dispute in the fact that all acanthophis are closely related , it is uncertain if given similarities between different species reflect immediate relationships or are instead due to convergence in evolution to cope with localised conditions .
hoser , r . t . 1981 . note on an unsuitable food item taken by a death adder ( acanthophis antarcticus ) ( shaw ) herpetofauna 13 ( 1 ) : 31 . *
hoser , r . t . 1983 . mating behavior in australian death adders , genus acanthophis ( serpentes elapidae ) , herptile ( 8 ) 1 , 1983 : 25 - 33 . *
valentic , r . 1998 . notes on rearing australian death adders genus acanthophis , monitor - journal of the victorian herpetological society , 9 ( 2 ) : 32 , 42 - 47 .
hoser , r . t . 1983 . mating behavior in australian death adders , genus acanthophis ( serpentes elapidae ) , herptile ( 8 ) 1 , 1983 : 25 - 33 . *
hoser , r . t . 1985 . on melanistic tendencies in death adders , acanthophis antarcticus ( shaw ) . litteratura serpentium 5 ( 4 ) : 157 - 159 - get paper here
hoser , raymond t . 1990 . literature : notes on the breeding of death adders ( acanthophis antarcticus ) . litteratura serpentium 10 ( 6 ) : 271 - 272 - get paper here
shine , r . 1980 . ecology of the australian death adder acanthophis antarcticus ( elapidae ) : evidence for convergence with the viperidae . herpetologica 36 : 281 - 289 - get paper here
ramsay , e . p . ( 1877 ) description of a supposed new species of acanthophis from north australia . proceedings of the linnean society of new south wales , 2 , 72–74 .
ramsay , e . p . 1877 . description of a supposed new species of acanthophis from north australia , proceedings of the linnean society of new south wales , 2 : 72 - 74 .
shine , r . 1980 , ecology of the australian death adder acanthophis antarcticus ( elapidae ) : evidence for convergence with the viperidae . herpetologica , 36 ( 4 ) : 281 - 289 .
storr , g . m . 1981 . the genus acanthophis ( serpentes : elapidae ) in western australia , records of the western australian museum , 9 ( 2 ) : 203 - 210 .
dobiey , maik ; frank weinsheimer , guido westhoff 2008 . cannibalism in two species of death adders ( acanthophis rugosus and a . antarcticus ) . ophidia 2 ( 2 ) - get paper here
johnston , g . 1996 . genetic and seasonal variation in body colour of the australian death adder , acanthophis antarcticus ( squamata : elapidae ) . journal of zoology 239 ( 1 ) : 187
longmore ( 1986 ) records no acanthophis ( of any species ) in a distinct area of the gulf of carpentaria running several hundred kilometers south from the southern most part of the gulf , although acanthophis are known from the islands of the gulf , including groote ( lancasteri ) and mornington ( species not known ) . this apparent gap separates a . lancasteri from a . praelongus in north queensland .
the acanthophis names as used by hoser ( 1998 ) have become adopted by some , but not all wildlife authorities and within this ambit , some names are recognised by some and others are not .
gow , g . f . 1981 . notes on the desert death adder ( acanthophis pyrrhus ) boulenger 1898 , with the first reproductive record . northern territory naturalist , 4 : 21 - 22 .
hoser , r . t . 1985a . genetic composition of death adders ( acanthophis antarcticus : serpentes : elapidae ) in the west head area , herptile , 10 ( 3 ) : 96 . *
hoser , r . t . 1985b . on melanistic tendencies in death adders acanthophis antarcticus ( shaw ) . litteratura serpentium ( english edition ) , 5 ( 4 ) : 157 - 159 . *
storr , g . m . 1981 . the genus acanthophis ( serpentes : elapidae ) in western australia . rec . west . austr . mus . 9 : 203 - 210 - get paper here
boulenger , g . a . ( 1898 ) description of a new death adder ( acanthophis ) from central australia . annals and magazine of natural history , series 7 , 2 , 75 . urltoken
johnston , g . ( 1996 ) genetic and seasonal variation in body colour of the australian death adder , acanthophis antarcticus ( squamata : elapidae ) . journal of zoology , 239 , 187–196 . urltoken
an extended description of the pilbara death adder , acanthophis wellsi hoser ( serpentes elapidae ) , with notes on the desert death adder , a . pyrrhus boulenger , and identification of a possible hybrid zone
hay , m . ( 1972 ) , ' notes on the growth and breeding of acanthophis antarcticus ' , the australian herpetological society journal , 4 ( 4 ) , pp . 14 - 15 .
hoser , r . t . ( 1987 ) , ' notes on the breeding of death adders ( acanthophis antarcticus ) ' , herptile , 12 ( 2 ) , pp . 56 - 61 .
death adders ( genus acanthophis ) : an updated overview , including descriptions of three new species and two subspecies . a 2002 paper published in crocodilian - journal of the victorian association of amateur herpetologists .
acanthophis from near camooweal , queensland , tend to have heavy white markings on the lower supralabials , ( upper lips ) but unlike in a . hawkei from anthony ' s lagoon , nt , they do not quite form a distinct
white - lipped
appearance . some reptile keepers have classified these snakes as
barkly adders
( = a . hawkei ) and it is probably with these snakes that the camooweal acanthophis have closest affinity , noting that camooweal is situated roughly on the edge of the black soil part of the barkly tableland . this author regards camooweal acanthophis as a . hawkei .
size : despite the variations within the literature , it is generally thought that a . antarcticus , a . hawkei and a . woolfi are the three largest species of acanthophis - at least within australia .
in acanthophis antarcticus cliffrosswellingtoni subsp . nov . the lighter triangles on the front upper labials are generally either less distinct than in a . antarcticus schistos or even absent , instead being replaced by dark pigment .
diagnosis : known at this stage only from the island of seram to the west of new guinea . this is also diagnostic for this species . a . groenveldi is the only acanthophis found on seram .
a pilot genetic analysis of a small number of individuals suggests that all of the species of acanthophis are closely related . acanthophis wellsi appears to be closest genetically to a . pyrrhus , but this may not denote a special cladistic affinity . a cladistic analysis of morphological characters identifies a . wellsi as a relatively plesiomorphic species , perhaps ' closest in overall body form to the common ancestor of all acanthaphis species .
fyfe , g . and munday , b . ( 1988 ) , ' captive breeding of the desert death adder ( acanthophis pyrrhus ) ' , herpetofauna , 18 ( 2 ) , p . 21 .
mirtschin , p . j . ( 1982 ) , ' further notes on breeding death adders ( acanthophis antarcticus ) in captivity . ' herpetofauna , 13 ( 2 ) , pp . 14 - 17 .
the west australian specimens of a . antarcticus schistos are separated from acanthophis antarcticus cliffrosswellingtoni subsp . nov . by dna properties , venom properties and colouration , particularly in terms of usual markings around the labial scales .
hoser , r . t . 1995 . australia’s death adders , genus acanthophis , the reptilian 3 ( 4 ) pp . 7 - 21 and cover , 3 ( 5 ) : 27 - 34 . *
hoser , r . 1998 . death adders ( genus acanthophis ) : an overview , including descriptions of five new species and one subspecies . monitor 9 ( 2 ) : 20 - 41 - get paper here
boulenger , g . a . 1898 . description of a new death adder ( acanthophis ) from central australia . ann . mag . nat . hist . ( 7 ) 2 : 75 - get paper here
shine ( 1981 ) found that in the wild , male acanthophis mature at about 24 months , while females mature at about 42 months . this was based on museum dissections of various species ( all lumped together ) . local populations may vary slightly on this basic pattern . captive acanthophis tend to mature much earlier , the exact rate dependent on feeding and temperature of the young snake . it is common to have both sexes mature within 24 months in a captive environment . as a snake , acanthophis lend themselves to being kept and bred in large numbers . hopefully in the future they will be more commonly seen in captivity .
hoser , r . t . ( 1982 ) , ' frequency of sloughing in captive morelia , liasis and acanthophis ( serpentes ) ' , herptile , 7 ( 3 ) , pp . 20 - 26 .
death adders ( genus acanthophis ) : an overview , including descriptions of five new species and one subspecies an 11 , 000 word paper in monitor - journal of the victorian herpetological society published in april 1998 .
the newly - discovered species belongs to acanthophis ( australian death adders ) , a genus of highly venomous snakes found in australia and new guinea , and also on several indonesian islands to the west of new guinea .
in 1985 , wells and wellington assigned all western australian a . pyrrhus to a new species , namely
a . armstrongi
. that they intended placing all a . pyrrhus from western australia into the new species is confirmed by their statement ‘storr ( 1981 : 207 - 208 ) provided a description of a species from north - western australia that he regarded as acanthophis pyrrhus . however , we consider that this is really an undescribed species , herein named acanthophis armstrongi , and that the species acanthophis pyrrhus is confined to central australia . acanthophis armstrongi is believed confined to the pilbara and kimberley regions of western australia and can be identified by referring to the illustrations in storr ( 1981 : fig 3 ) and gow ( 1983 : plate 15 , ( upper ) , specimen from port hedland , western australia vide gow , pers . comm . ) . ’
ramsay , e . p . 1877 . description of a supposed new species of acanthophis from north australia . proceedings of the linnean society of new south wales , 2 : 72 - 74 . - get paper here
hoser , r . t . ( 1983 ) , ' mating behaviour in australian death adders , genus acanthophis ( serpentes elapidae ) ' , herptile ( 8 ) 1 , 1983 , pp . 25 - 33 .
in 1985 , wells and wellington assigned all western australian a . pyrrhus to a new species , namely
a . armstrongi
. that they intended placing all a . pyrrhus from western australia into the new species is confirmed by their statement ' storr ( 1981 : 207 - 208 ) provided a description of a species from north - western australia that he regarded as acanthophis pyrrhus . however , we consider that this is really an undescribed species , herein named acanthophis armstrongi , and that the species acanthophis pyrrhus is confined to central australia . acanthophis armstrongi is believed confined to the pilbara and kimberley regions of western australia and can be identified by referring to the illustrations in storr ( 1981 : fig 3 ) and gow ( 1983 : plate 15 , ( upper ) , specimen from port hedland , western australia vide gow , pers . comm . ) . '
common death adder ( acanthophis antarcticus ) * family : elapidae , * genus : acanthophis , * species : a . antarcticus , * phylum : chordata , * class : reptilia , * order : squamata , * suborder : serpentes , * type : reptile , * diet : carnivore , * avarege life span in the wild : averages 15 - - 20 years , * size : reaching a length of 70 - 100 centimeters , * weight : no data , * * acanthophis antarcticus , is a species of death adder native to australia . it is one of the most venomous land snakes in australia and the world . more info : urltoken
in 1997 - 8 when doing a taxonomic review of acanthophis , this author obtained a copy of the wells and wellington paper and noted that they had in fact described
a . armstrongi
as a pilbara death adder . however what had apparently been overlooked was that the snake described by wells and wellington had not been the undescribed form of acanthophis , but rather the local variant of what is commonly known as a . pyrrhus .
hoser , r . t . 1995 . australia ' s death adders , genus acanthophis , the reptilian 3 ( 4 ) pp . 7 - 21 and cover , 3 ( 5 ) : 27 - 34 . *
an extended description of the pilbara death adder , acanthophis wellsi hoser ( serpentes elapidae ) , with notes on the desert death adder , a . pyrrhus boulenger , and identification of a possible hybrid zone | western australian museum
hoser , r . t . ( 1981 ) , ' note on an unsuitable food item taken by a death adder ( acanthophis antarcticus ) ( shaw ) ' , herpetofauna 13 ( 1 ) , p . 31 .
hoser , r . t . ( 1985b ) ' on melanistic tendancies in death adders acanthophis antarcticus ( shaw ) . ' litteratura serpentium ( english edition ) , 5 ( 4 ) , pp . 157 - 159 .
shine , r . ( 1980 ) , ecology of the australian death adder acanthophis antarcticus ( elapidae ) : evidence for convergence with the viperidae . ' herpetologica , 36 ( 4 ) , pp . 281 - 289 .
death adders ( genus acanthophis ) are found in most parts of australia , new guinea and adjacent islands . they are unusual among the elapids in that they have evolved to become viperine in appearance and habit . all species are characterised by a broad somewhat flattened , triangular head , short stout body and a thin rat - like body ending in a curved spine . the spine and the presence of subocular scales separates acanthophis from all other australasian elapids .
barnett , b . f . and gow , g . f . 1992 . the barkly tableland death adder , acanthophis antarcticus , monitor , bulletin of the victorian herpetological society , 4 ( 1 ) : 13 - 23 .
gow , g . f . ( 1981 ) ' notes on the desert death adder ( acanthophis pyrrhus ) boulenger 1898 , with the first reproductive record . ' northern territory naturalist , 4 , pp . 21 - 22 .
hoser , r . t . ( 1985a ) , ' genetic composition of death adders ( acanthophis antarcticus : serpentes : elapidae ) in the west head area ' , herptile , 10 ( 3 ) , p . 96 .
my own acanthophis didn ' t seem to object to being photographed while mating . on one occasion ( 8th may 1981 ) , two mating death adders ( a . antarcticus ) were free handled by thieves ( while connected ) , had cigarettes ashed on them and yet they still continued to mate without attempting to break up ! although males of all species of acanthophis will mate other species of acanthophis , they do tend to prefer mating their own species and will do so if offered a choice ( in a captive situation ) . extremely highly sexed males will attempt to mount other males if no females are present in the same cage . this even applies with acanthophis of different species . it is not rare for a male acanthophis to run down condition fairly sharply when mating over a period extending up to two months . overfed males tend not to be as sexually active as leaner ( not necessarily thin ) males . this situation also occurs for other types of reptile . in spite of a warning to readers to watch the condition of males when mating , i have never had a male run itself down beyond the point of recovery .
furthermore this subspecies has ( on average ) less neurotoxic venom than all other variants of a . antarcticus known , including a . antarcticus antarcticus from eastern australia and the south - west west australian population , herein referred to as a . antarcticus schistos ( see the taxonomic note near the end of this paper ) . acanthophis antarcticus cliffrosswellingtoni subsp . nov . is separated from all other acanthophis ( all species and subspecies ) by dna and venom properties and distribution .
johnston , g . r . 1987 . reproduction and growth in captive death adders acanthophis antarcticus ( squamata : elapidae ) . transactions of the royal society of south australia , 11 ( 1 - 2 ) : 123 - 125 .
stettler , p . h . 1985 . australian death adders - remarks concerning the post - embryonic development of acanthophis antarcticus ( shaw , 1794 ) , litteratura serpentium , english edition , 5 ( 5 ) : 170 - 190 .
storr , g . m . ( 1981 ) , ' the genus acanthophis ( serpentes : elapidae ) in western australia . ' , records of the western australian museum , 9 ( 2 ) , pp . 203 - 210 .
diagnosis : similar in most respects to acanthophis antarcticus , the type subspecies being defined here as coming from sydney new south wales , from which they differ in their slightly smaller average size and generally different ground colouration . notwithstanding the high degree of variability in a . antarcticus in general , dorsally the grey specimens of acanthophis antarcticus cliffrosswellingtoni subsp . nov . are never as silvery , steely - grey as the grey morph of a . antarcticus typified by sydney specimens . likewise the red specimens are rarely if ever the same brick - red colour , those of acanthophis antarcticus cliffrosswellingtoni subsp . nov . tending slightly more towards an orangeish , rather than a salmon or reddish pink as in a . antarcticus .
synonymy after cogger 1983 , who also listed acanthophis antarcticus rugosus loveridge 1948 as a synonym of a . praelongus . closely related to a . antarcticus according to wüster ( 2004 ) . see also entry of a . laevis . venomous !
stettler , p . - h . 1985 . australian death adders - remarks concerning the post - embryonic developement of acanthophis antarcticus antarcticus ( shaw , 1794 ) . litteratura serpentium 5 ( 5 ) : 170 - 180 - get paper here
hoser , r . t . ( 1998 ) death adders ( genus acanthophis ) : an overview , including descriptions of five new species and one subspecies . monitor , journal of the victorian herpetological society , 9 , 20–30 , 33–41 .
hoser , r . t . 1997a the mating behavior and breeding of australian death adders , genus : acanthophis ( serpentes : elapidae ) , monitor - journal of the victorian herpetological society 8 ( 3 ) : 135 - 144 and cover .
mackay , w . j . 1889 . the osteology and myology of the death adder ( acanthophis antarctica ) . proc . linn . soc . n . s . w . ( 2 ) 4 : 896 - 986 - get paper here
common death adder ( acanthophis antarcticus ) . note the scale colours matches either the top or underneath of leaves remarkably well . the caudal lure is adjacent the head , probably to ensure the protection of this precious , modified body part . ©cnzdenek
the type specimen of a . laevis has not been inspected by this author , however an inspection of acanthophis from the same locality and nearby areas conform with macleay’s description and this author has assigned all those snakes to a . laevis . the snake in question is substantially different to the a . praelongus described by ramsay , which is presumably based on a north queensland acanthophis , from near somerset , ( cape york ) queensland . acanthophis laevis has smooth scales , while a . praelongus tends to have slightly keeled scales . head patterning of both species is also usually radically different . for example compare the photo of a . praelongus from north queensland ( plate 380 , hoser , 1989 ) with the a . laevis shown here .
captivity : breeding data for captive specimens is provided by barnett and gow ( 1992 ) . barnett quoted snout - vent lengths of offspring in a litter ranging from 193 - 207 mm , which is far in excess that recorded for any other species of acanthophis , including a . antarcticus , lending weight to claims that this is the largest form of acanthophis . the species has been bred in captivity in recent years by brian barnett in victoria ( again ) and roland burrell in south australia .
hoser , r . t . 1998 . death adders ( genus acanthophis ) : an overview , including descriptions of five new species and one subspecies . monitor - journal of the victorian herpetological society 9 ( 2 ) : 20 - 41 . *
the type specimen of a . laevis has not been inspected by this author , however an inspection of acanthophis from the same locality and nearby areas conform with macleay ' s description and this author has assigned all those snakes to a . laevis . the snake in question is substantially different to the a . praelongus described by ramsay , which is presumably based on a north queensland acanthophis , from near somerset , ( cape york ) queensland . acanthophis laevis has smooth scales , while a . praelongus tends to have slightly keeled scales . head patterning of both species is also usually radically different . for example compare the photo of a . praelongus from north queensland ( plate 380 , hoser , 1989 ) with the a . laevis shown here .
valentic , r . 1997 . notes on the capture and captive husbandry of a female death adder acanthophis antarcticus fromthe upper eyre peninsula , sth . aust . monitor : journal of the victorian herpetological society . 9 ( 1 ) : 13 - 17
shine , r . , spencer , c . l . & keogh , j . s . ( 2014 ) morphology , reproduction and diet in australian and papuan death adders ( acanthophis , elapidae ) . plos one , 9 , e94216 . urltoken
acanthophis usually slough in one piece , and repeated failure by a captive snake to do so may indicate a health problem that needs to be addressed . i have never observed acanthophis soaking prior to sloughing or heard of captive specimens having difficulty in doing so . this is except for some minor problems experienced by mirtschin , who had snakes which had piecemeal sloughs . he thought this was due to excessive dryness in his cages which tended to lack cover . when feeding snakes in group cages i often had snakes bite and chew one another , with no adverse effects on one another ( hoser 1985c ) . that appeared to indicate immunity to venom by these snakes . stettler ( 1985 ) and van woerkom ( 1985 ) documented a case involving apparent non - immunity to venom in acanthophis from unknown locality whereby two apparently healthy snakes died from bites from a fellow acanthophis that was part of the same litter . although the cause of death may have been something other than venom , this whole area needs further investigation .
diagnosis : for the colouration in life , see this magazine depicting a specimen from just south of darwin , nt . it should be noted that in line with other acanthophis , a . cummingi is extremely variable in colour , even within a single locality .
sheumack , d . d . , howden , m . e . h . and spence , i . 1979 . isolation and partial characterisation of a lethal neurotoxin from the venom of the australian death adder ( acanthophis antarcticus ) , toxicon 17 : 609 .
keys that differentiate different species of acanthophis have not been presented here . all keys seen by this author for the genus acathophis appear to break down with susbstantial regularity due to veriablity within each species , even though a number of species divisons are widely acknowledged .
barnett , b . f . and gow , g . f . ( 1992 ) , ' the barkly tableland death adder , acanthophis antarcticus ' , monitor , bulletin of the victorian herpetological society , 4 ( 1 ) , pp . 13 - 23 .
stettler , p . h . ( 1985 ) , australian death adders - remarks concerning the post - embryonic development of acanthophis antarcticus ( shaw , 1794 ) ' , litteratura serpentium , english edition , 5 ( 5 ) , pp . 170 - 190 .
i am unaware of records of captive breeding of acanthophis outside of australia , but see no difficulties in such taking place . most acanthophis ( all species ) breed only every second year . this is genetically pre - determined and contrary to popular belief is not influenced by food intake or general condition of the female prior to a given breeding season . occasional individuals ( females ) are able to breed every year , and will do so in captivity . following successful mating in autumn or spring , all acanthophis give birth in summer and early autumn ( late january to early may ) . for a . antarcticus the number of young born are known to range up to 33 . based on dissections of museum specimens , shine found the average litter size for the species of 8 .
johnston , g . r . ( 1987 ) , ' reproduction and growth in captive death adders acanthophis antarcticus ( squamata : elapidae ) . ' transactions of the royal society of south australia , 11 ( 1 - 2 ) , pp . 123 - 125 .
lindgren ( 1975 ) , plate 88 depicts a head photo of a snake this author believes is probably a . laevis in life . however it’s facial markings are not like the a . laevis at the australian museum . it is believed that the non - black dark pigment tends to fade faster than the black pigment in preserved animals ; this trait is believed to be common to all acanthophis . the point is noted here as a lack of black pigment in a . laevis , may make specimens fade more than other acanthophis species .
paratype : a specimen held in the museum of zoology , bogor from tanimbar , lat : 7°30’ long : 131°30’ , specimen number mzb 2056 . the dorsal colouration of the paratype specimen is also typical for acanthophis in that dorsally it has alternating darker and lighter crossbands .
herein restricted to the cape york region of queensland and adjacent areas . refer to above descriptions of a . laevis and a . lancasteri . populations of acanthophis from western australia and the northern territory formerly referred to as this species are now classified as a . lancasteri . populations of acanthophis from new guinea and other islands north of australia that may have been referred to as this species are no longer regarded as such ( see for a . barnetti , a . crotalusei , a . laevis , above and a . rugosus below ) .
carpenter , c . c . , murphy , j . b . and carpenter , g . c . 1978 . caudal luring in the death adder ( acanthophis antarcticus ( reptilia , serpentes , elapidae ) ) , journal of herpetology , 12 : 574 - 577 .
unless otherwise stated , i shall here treat new guinea acanthophis and those from adjacent islands as a variant of a . praelongus . a trait common to many a . praelongus , in particular new guinea specimens is a raised suracilliary scale above the eye . this feature is often particularly pronounced in immature specimens . it is occasionally seen to a limited degree in young a . antarcticus . a similar trait ( often even more exaggerated ) is seen in some of the true vipers . no acanthophis species are rare or endangered . all are widely distributed and common in their preferred habitats . their preferred habitats vary , but are essentially undisturbed bushland with some form of ground cover . the cover doesn ' t have to be leaf litter , but can be rocks , native grasses or almost anything else . however any disturbed habitat or grazed areas tend not to have acanthophis . acanthophis are most vulnerable to any form of human disturbance and therefore only occur in virgin bush . the construction of a road through such a habitat ( with no other development ) is not counted as disturbance .
due to the steady removal of bushland throughout australia , all acanthophis are in decline . for a number of reasons , the death adder ( a . antarcticus ) , often called
the southern variety
never is found in the same numbers as the other two species . it is for this reason that the name
common
death adder really is a misnomer . all acanthophis are mainly nocturnal and are highly secretive snakes . they spend most of their time half buried in ground litter waiting in an ambush position for food , or simply sheltering . unlike most other australian snakes , they tend not to flee when approached , relying instead on their cryptic colouration and camoflague to avoid detection . that this works is indicated by the fact that most bites from acanthophis seem to occur when they are trodden on .
diagnosis : this acanthophis is separated from all others in the genus by distribution , being the only species to occur on the island of tanimbar . it is separated from all other acanthophis species except laevis and groenveldi by it’s ventral scalation , which is usually under 118 . ventral scale counts for two specimens of a . macgregori came to 113 . the relationship of a . macgregori to those acanthophis from adjacent islands is uncertain . specimens of the species observed by this author appear to be different from a . laevis and a . groenveldi in that the supra - ocular is not quite as raised . however this may not be a consistent diagnostic trait . this species appears to be quite unlike a . rugosa and a . lancasteri found to the mainland areas north and south of tanimbar in adjacent new guinea and australia .
simon t . maddock et al . 2015 . a new species of death adder ( acanthophis : serpentes : elapidae ) from north - western australia . zootaxa 4007 ( 3 ) : 301 – 326 ; doi : 10 . 11646 / zootaxa . 4007 . 3 . 1
this jagged
white - lipped
appearance is relatively unusual in a . antarcticus and has never been seen to the same degree as is typical for a . hawkei . excluding a . antarcticus , adult a . hawkei could not be confused with any other australian acanthophis .
lindgren ( 1975 ) , plate 88 depicts a head photo of a snake this author believes is probably a . laevis in life . however it ' s facial markings are not like the a . laevis at the australian museum . it is believed that the non - black dark pigment tends to fade faster than the black pigment in preserved animals ; this trait is believed to be common to all acanthophis . the point is noted here as a lack of black pigment in a . laevis , may make specimens fade more than other acanthophis species .
a new species of viper - like snake discovered in the kimberley region of northwestern australia is highly venomous and expertly camouflaged . called acanthophis cryptamydros , the kimberley death adder is a sit - and - wait predator – ambushing frogs , lizards , and small mammals passing by .
this author has been in regular contact with the western australian museum staff for many years and received correspondences from them implying that they may undertake and publish a second review of the genus acanthophis ( e . g . smith 1997 ) , the first review being that of storr ( 1981 ) . it is noted that a time frame of over 6 years has elapsed since the undescribed pilbara acanthophis was originally found by scientists and staff at the western australian museum . it is noted that to date they have chosen not to describe it as a new species .
synonymy : not listed by cogger 2000 . the name was emended to wellsi as the species was described in honor of richard wells . acanthophis wellsi donnellani hoser 2002 may be a synonym of a . wellsi ( wüster , pers . comm . 15 dec 2010 ) . venomous !
maddock , simon t . ; ryan j . ellis , paul doughty , lawrence a . smith & wolfgang wüster 2015 . a new species of death adder ( acanthophis : serpentes : elapidae ) from north - western australia zootaxa 4007 ( 3 ) : 301–326 - get paper here
let me have a little guess at what is going on . while i do not have the wa musem publications at hand , i will hazard a guess that these august publications use one single one of the numerous names you have been throwing around in recent years : acanthophis wellsi
acanthophis have highly varied diets , including frogs , birds , small mammals and lizards . captive a . antarcticus and a . pyrrhus have been known to take live goldfish placed writhing in their cages . diet obviously also varies with locality . west head adders ( a . antarcticus ) , have been known to disgorge frogs ( crinia signifera ) , while such prey would be absent from areas where other acanthophis may occur . one 86 . 5 cm female death adder ( a . antarcticus ) was caught in the wild , having just fed on a large 80 cm water dragon lizard ( physignathus lesueurii ) . the snake died shortly after due to the lizard ' s spines penetrating the digestive tract ( see hoser 1981 ) . acanthophis attempt to capture prey by wriggling their tails ( caudal luring ) , ( carpenter , murphy and carpenter , 1978 ) . when the prey animal ( such as a native mouse ) goes for the tail , the snake strikes at the animal with great accuracy . even if the animal struggles aggressively , acanthophis will tend to hang on until the animal is totally subdued ( dead ) .
copulation usually appears to be terminated by the female . this is usually done when she crawls off , dragging the male along behind her by his still joined hemipenis . mating behaviour is most likely during times of outside temperature and air - pressure changes . in a captive situation , it is best to plan matings around these conditions . although acanthophis that are housed together will mate readily , separation of sexes strongly increases the eagerness of males to mate . not all matings will result in pregnancies . acanthophis will mate at any time of year , although most activity seems to be concentrated around autumn and spring , which is also when most successful matings also occur . although it is thought that at least some acanthophis have some sperm storage capabilities , no investigation of this has yet been done . in hay ' s ( hay , 1972 ) case , his female hadn ' t mated for 12 months before giving birth . gow and barnett ( 1992 ) quote a
gestation
period for barkly adders of , 142 , 147 and 161 days in three cases . the figures quoted by gow and barnett tend towards the shorter end of the spectrum for successful matings in acanthophis ( those
gestations
at the short end of the spectrum are also the most commonly quoted ) . for my own breedings , the successful matings ( that resulted in young being born ) were deduced to have taken place some 6 - 9 months earlier , ( there were either no other matings or possibilities in all cases ) . assuming that young death adders develop in a similar manner in all cases , sperm storage is indicated in acanthophis by the experiences of hay and myself . further research into sperm storage capabilities of acanthophis is required .
specimens of acanthophis from islands in the torres strait region north of cape york in the australian museum have been seen by this author . while being tentatively assigned to this species ( a . praelongus ) by this author , do have intermediate characteristics between this species and a . laevis , the most notable being reduced ventral scale counts . noting that aplin and donnellan ( 1999 ) identified a zone of hybridization between a . wellsei and a . pyrrhus in western australia , it is likely that such may in fact occur between another two acanthophis species in the torres strait area .


psychomastatix deserticola is a species of grasshopper in the family eumastacidae .

it is endemic to the united states .

it is known commonly as the desert monkey grasshopper .

psychomastatix deserticola

iucn red list of threatened species . version 2012 . 1 ( 18650 ) psychomastatix deserticola
iucn red list of threatened species . version 2012 . 2 ( 18650 ) psychomastatix deserticola
wikipedia article copyright notice : this article is licensed under the gnu free documentation license . it uses material from the wikipedia article
psychomastatix deserticola
.
facts summary : the desert monkey grasshopper ( psychomastatix deserticola ) is a species of concern belonging in the species group
insects
and found in the following area ( s ) : united states .
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glenn , c . r . 2006 .
earth ' s endangered creatures - desert monkey grasshopper facts
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