The spectacled hooded snake (Suta spectabilis), also known commonly as the Port Lincoln snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to central-southern Australia.[1] There are three recognized subspecies.
Spectacled hooded snake | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Elapidae |
Genus: | Suta |
Species: | S. spectabilis
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Binomial name | |
Suta spectabilis (Krefft, 1869)
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Synonyms[2][3] | |
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Geographic range
editS. spectabilis is found in the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.[1][2]
Habitat
editThe preferred natural habitats of S. spectabilis are grassland and shrubland.[1]
Description
editAdults of S. spectabilis have an average snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 26.5 cm (10.4 in), and the length of the tail is on average 12.5% SVL. The maximum recorded SVL is 35.6 centimetres (14.0 in).[3]
Reproduction
editS. spectabilis is viviparous.[2]
Subspecies
editIncluding the nominotypical subspecies, three subspecies are recognized as being valid.[2]
- Suta spectabilis bushi (Storr, 1988)
- Suta spectabilis nullarbor (Storr, 1981)
- Suta spectabilis spectabilis (Krefft, 1869)
Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Parasuta.
Etymology
editThe subspecific name, bushi, is in honor of Australian herpetologist Brian Gordon Bush (born 1947).[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Ellis R, Shea G, Cogger H (2017). "Parasuta spectabilis ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T102719807A102719969. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T102719807A102719969.en. Downloaded on 23 January 2020
- ^ a b c d Species Suta spectabilis at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ a b Storr (1981).
- ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Suta spectabilis bushi, p. 44).
Further reading
edit- Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. ISBN 978-0643100350.
- Krefft G (1869). The Snakes of Australia; an Illustrative and Descriptive Catalogue of All the Known Species. Sydney: Thomas Richards, Government Printer. xxv + 100 pp. + Plates I-XII. (Hoplocephalus spectabilis, new species, p. 61 + Plate XII, figure 4).
- Storr GM (1981). "The Denisonia gouldii species-group (Serpentes, Elapidae) in Western Australia". Records of the Western Australian Museum 8 (4): 501–515. (Denisonia spectabilis nullarbor, new subspecies, pp. 512–513, Figure 6).
- Storr GM (1988). "A new Rhinoplocephalus (Serpentes: Elapidae) from Western Australia". Rec. Western Australian Mus. 14 (1): 137–138. (Rhinoplocephalus spectabilis bushi, new subspecies).
- Wilson, Steve; Swan, Gerry (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. ISBN 978-1921517280.