Biology:White-lipped snake

From HandWiki
Short description: Species of snake

White-lipped snake
CSIRO ScienceImage 7486 Whitelipped Snake.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Genus: Drysdalia
Species:
D. coronoides
Binomial name
Drysdalia coronoides
(Günther, 1858)
Synonyms[1]
  • Hoplocephalus coronoides
    Günther, 1858
  • Alecto labialis
    Jan & Sordelli, 1873
  • Denisonia coronoides
    — Boulenger, 1896
  • Denisonia nigra
    De Vis, 1905
  • Denisonia coronoides
    — Kinghorn, 1924
  • Drysdalia coronoides
    — Worrell, 1961
  • Notechis coronoides
    — Storr, 1982
  • Drysdalia coronoides
    — Cogger, 1983

The white-lipped snake (Drysdalia coronoides) is a small species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to south-eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania.

Description

It is the smallest of three species of snake found in Tasmania and is Australia's most cold-tolerant snake, even inhabiting areas on Mount Kosciuszko above the snow line. Growing to only about 40 cm (16 in) in total length (including tail), this snake feeds almost exclusively on skinks. It belongs to the genus Drysdalia, and is often referred to as the whip snake in Tasmania (true whip snakes from Australia are from the genus Demansia and are only found on the mainland). This species gets its common name from a thin, white line bordered above by a narrow black line that runs along the upper lip.[2] D. coronoides is viviparous.[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Species Drysdalia coronoides at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
  2. "White-lipped snake". Tasmania Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment. https://dpipwe.tas.gov.au/wildlife-management/fauna-of-tasmania/reptiles-and-frogs/tasmanian-snakes/white-lipped-snake. Retrieved 2018-12-26. 

Further reading

  • Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Denisonia coronoides, new combination, pp. 336–337).
  • Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. ISBN:978-0643100350.
  • Günther A (1858). Catalogue of the Colubrine Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xvi + 281 pp. (Hoplocephalus coronoides, new species, pp. 215–216).
  • Wilson, Steve; Swan, Gerry (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. ISBN:978-1921517280.

External links

  • Drysdalia coronoides. The Encyclopedia of Life. EOL.org

Wikidata ☰ Q2382442 entry