Drysdalia

Drysdalia is a genus of snakes, commonly known as crowned snakes, belonging to the family Elapidae. The three species in this genus are venomous snakes, but not considered deadly.

Drysdalia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Subfamily: Hydrophiinae
Genus: Drysdalia
Worrell, 1961

Geographic range

Species of the genus Drysdalia are endemic to parts of southern and eastern Australia.

Species

Three species are recognized as being valid.[1]

  • Drysdalia coronoides (Günther, 1858) – white-lipped snake
  • Drysdalia mastersii (Krefft, 1866) – Masters' snake
  • Drysdalia rhodogaster (Jan & Sordelli, 1873) – mustard-bellied snake

Etymology

The generic name, Drysdalia, is in honour of Australian artist George Russell Drysdale.[2]

The specific name, mastersii, is in honour English-born Australian zoologist George Masters.[3]

Taxonomy

The species formerly known as Drysdalia coronata (Schlegel, 1837), commonly known as the crowned snake, was assigned to the genus Elapognathus Boulenger, 1896, by Keogh et al. in 2000. Its current correct scientific name is Elapognathus coronatus (Schlegel, 1837).

Description

Crowned snakes are small snakes, averaging about 50 cm (20 inches) in total length (including tail) but can be as small as 18 cm (7 inches). They are normally brown in colour.

Habitat

Crowned snakes inhabit woodlands, swamps, and heathland.

Diet

Drysdalia feed on frogs and lizards.

References
  1. Genus Drysdalia at The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. Worrell (1961).
  3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Drysdalia mastersii, p. 171).

Further reading
  • Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. ISBN 978-0643100350.
  • Keogh JS, Scott IA, Scanlon JD (2000). "Molecullar phylogeny of viviparous Australian elapid snakes: affinities of Echiopus atriceps (Storr, 1980) and Drysdalia coronata (Schlegel, 1837) with description of a new genus". Journal of Zoology 252: 317–326. ("Elapognathus coronata [sic, ex errore]", new combination).
  • Swan, Gerry (1995). A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Australia. Sydney: New Holland. 144 pp. ISBN 1-85368-585-2
  • Wilson, Steve; Swan, Gerry (2013). A Compete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. ISBN 978-1921517280.
  • Worrell E (1961). "Herpetological Name Changes". West Australian Naturalist 8: 18–27. (Drysdalia, new genus).


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