Simoselaps
Simoselaps, or Australian coral snakes, is a genus composed of 12 species of venomous elapid snakes.
Geographic range
Species of the genus Simoselaps are found throughout Australia.
Description
Australian coral snakes are small snakes. They have smooth and polished scales, shovel-shaped snouts, and are brightly marked with bands or annuli.
Habitat and behavior
Species of Simoselaps are found mainly in arid regions. They are burrowing snakes which move beneath the surface through loose sand or soil. At night they come to the surface to feed on small lizards and reptile eggs.
Reproduction
All species of Australian coral snakes are oviparous and lay clutches of three to five eggs.
Species
| Species | Authority | Subsp. | Common name | Geographic range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S. anomalus | (Sternfeld, 1919) | None | northern desert banded snake | Australia (Northern Territory, South and Western Australia) |
| S. approximans | (Glauert, 1954) | None | north-western shovel-nosed snake | Western Australia |
| S. australis | (Krefft, 1864) | None | Australian coral snake | South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria |
| S. bertholdi | (Jan, 1864) | None | desert banded snake | Australia |
| S. calonotus | (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854) | None | black-striped burrowing snake | Western Australia |
| S. fasciolatus | (Günther, 1872) | 2 | narrow-banded shovel-nosed snake | South and Western Australia, New South Wales, Northern Territory and Queensland |
| S. incinctus | (Storr, 1968) | None | unbanded shovel-nosed snake | Australia: Northern Territory and Queensland |
| S. littoralis | (Storr, 1968) | None | west-coast banded snake | Western Australia |
| S. minimus | (Worrell, 1960) | None | Dampierland burrowing snake | Western Australia |
| S. morrisi | Horner, 1998 | None | Arnhem shovel-nosed snake | Australia:Northern Territory |
| S. roperi | (Kinghorn, 1931) | None | northern shovel-nosed snake | Western Australia, Kimberley Region and Northern Territory |
| S. semifasciatus | (Günther, 1863) | 3 | southern shovel-nosed snake, half-girdled snake | Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland |
Several of the above species are sometimes placed in the genera Brachyurophis or Neelaps.
References
Further reading
- Cogger HG (2000). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Sixth Edition. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Publishing. 808 pp.
- Horner P (1998). "Simoselaps morrisi sp. nov. (Elapidae), a new species of snake of the Northern Territory". The Beagle 14: 63–70.
- Jan [G] (1859). "Plan d'une Iconographie descriptive des Ophidiens et Description sommaire de nouvelles espèces de Serpents ". Revue et Magasin de Zoologie Pure et Apliquée, Paris, Series 2, 11: 122–130. (Simoselaps, new subgenus, p. 123). (in French).
- Storr GM (1978). "Taxonomic notes on the reptiles of the Shark Bay region, Western Australia". Records of the Western Australian Museum 6 (3): 303–318.
External links
- Genus Brachyurophis at The Reptile Database
- Genus Simoselaps at The Reptile Database
- "Simoselaps". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.