Genus Acanthophis Daudin, 1803

Museums

Regional Maps

• Acanthophis Daudin, F.M. 1803. Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière des Reptiles. Paris : Dufart Vol. 5 365 pp. [287].

  Type species:

   Acanthophis cerastinus Daudin, 1803 (= Boa antarcticus Shaw & Nodder, 1802) by monotypy.
• Ophryas Merrem, B. 1820. Versuch eines Systems Amphibien. Tentamen Systematis Amphibiorum. Marburg : Krieger xv 199 pp. [146].

  Type species:

   Ophryas acantophis Merrem, 1820 by monotypy.
• Acanthopis Gray, J.E. 1825. A synopsis of the genera of Reptiles and Amphibia, with a description of some new species. Annals of Philosophy 2 10: 193-217 [205] [emend. pro Acanthophis Daudin, 1803].
• Acantophis Berthold, A.A. 1827. Anmerkungen und Zusatzen. In Latreille, P.A. Natürliche Familien des Thierreichs. Weimar : Landes-Industrie-Comptoirs. 604 pp. [100] [errore pro Acanthophis Daudin, 1803].
• Ophrias Cuvier, G. 1829. Le Règne Animal, distribué d'après son organisation, pour servir de base à l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction à l'anatomie comparée. Paris : Déterville Vol. 2, Edn 2, i-xv + pp. 1-406. [95] [non Rafinesque, 1815; nom. nud.].
• Aggressiserpens Wells, R.W. 2002. Taxonomy of the genus Acanthophis (Reptilia: Elapidae) in Australia. Australian Biological Records 2002(5): 1-18.

  Type species:

   Acanthophis pyrrhus Boulenger, 1898 by original designation.

 

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Cogger, H.G., in Cogger, H.G., Cameron, E.E. & Cogger, H.M. 1983. Amphibia and Reptilia. 313 pp. in Walton, D.W. (ed.). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 1 vi + 313 pp. [217]

 

Introduction

The systematics of Acanthophis have long been debated with species limits in the genus poorly understood, partly due to extensive polymorphism within many species and even populations. The majority of authors have adopted a conservative approach in terms of recognized species (e.g., Cogger et al. 1983; Cogger 1992), while others have considered the genus quite speciose (Wells & Wellington 1985; Hoser 1998, 2002). Recent developments in molecular taxonomy have helped elucidate species boundaries and relationships, and confirmed a degree of cryptic speciation (Wüster et al. 2005; Maddock et al. 2015). See Maddock et al. (2015) and Ellis et al. (2021) for further details.

 

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Eastern Indonesia.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Vic, WA: Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Esperance Plains (ESP), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Nandewar (NAN), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Nullarbor (NUL), Sydney Basin (SB), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Wet Tropics (WT) ; NT, Qld: Sturt Plateau (STU) ; NT, Qld, SA, WA: Burt Plain (BRT), Carnarvon (CAR), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Finke (FIN), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), MacDonnell Ranges (MAC), Murchison (MUR), Pilbara (PIL), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP) ; NT, Qld, WA: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Central Arnhem (CA), Central Kimberley (CK), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Northern Kimberley (NK), Pine Creek (PCK), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB) ; WA: Ord Victoria Plain (OVP)

General References

Cogger, H.G. 1992. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Sydney : Reed Books 5, 775 pp. [with revised Appendix] [632]

Cogger, H.G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Collingwood : CSIRO publishing 7th edition, pp. xxx+1033. [854]

Cogger, H.G., Cameron, E.E. & Cogger, H.M. 1983. Amphibia and Reptilia. In, Walton, D.W. (ed.). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 1 vi + 313 pp. [217]

Hoser, R. 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): 20-30, 33-41

Hoser, R. 2002. Death Adders (Genus Acanthophis): An Updated overview, including descriptions of 3 New Island species and 2 New Australian subspecies. Crocodilian — Journal of the Victorian Association of Amateur Herpetologists 2002 (September): 5-11, 16-22, 24-30, front and back cover

Wells, R.W. & Wellington, C.R. 1985. A classification of the Amphibia and Reptilia of Australia. Australian Journal of Herpetology Supplementary Series 1: 1-61 [Date published September, 1985]

Wüster, W., Dumbrell, A.J., Hay, C., Pook, C.E., Williams, D.J. and Grieg, B. 2005. Snakes across the strait: trans-torresian phylogeographic relationships in three genera of Australasian snakes (Serpentes: Elapidae: Acanthophis, Oxyuranus and Pseudechis). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 34(1): 1-14

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
04-Feb-2023	ELAPIDAE Boie, 1827	15-Mar-2023	MODIFIED
03-Sep-2015	Acanthophis Daudin, 1803	01-Sep-2015	MODIFIED
07-Feb-2024		19-Mar-2013	MODIFIED
08-Mar-2011		08-Mar-2011	MODIFIED
		12-Feb-2010	(import)