Species Acanthophis antarcticus (Shaw & Nodder, 1802)
Common Death Adder
- Boa antarctica Shaw, G. & Nodder, F.P. 1802. Boa antarctica. Naturalist's Miscellany 13: pl. 535. [pl. 535] [the date of publication '1794' initially cited by Boulenger (1896) and reprised by subsequent authors (e.g. Worrell 1963; Klemmer 1963) is in error (Sherborn 1895)].
Type data:
Status unknown, presumed lost, 'native of Australasia'.Secondary source:
Sherborn, C.D. 1895. On the dates of Shaw and Nodder's "Naturalist's Miscellany". Annals and Magazine of Natural History 6 15: 375-376; Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). 3. London : British Museum xiv 727 pp. 25 pls. [355]; Klemmer, K. 1963. Liste der rezenten Giftschlangen. Elapidae, Hydrophiidae, Viperidae und Crotalidae. Marburg : N.G. Elwert Universitäts- U. Verlagsbuchhand 253-464 pp. [272]; Worrell, E. 1963. Reptiles of Australia; Crocodiles, Turtles, Tortoises, Lizards, Snakes. Sydney : Angus & Robertson xv 207 pp. [190]. - Boa palpebrosa Shaw, G. 1802. General Zoology, or Systematic Natural History. Pt. 2. Amphibia. London : Kearsley Vol. 3 pp. vii 313-615. [362] [nomen oblitum; as vol. 3 of Shaw's Gen. Zool. was acknowledged in Phil. Trans. on Feb. 4 1802, the date of publication must have been prior to Feb. 4 of that year].
Type data:
Status unknown, presumed lost, locality unknown. - Acanthophis cerastinus Daudin, F.M. 1803. Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière des Reptiles. Paris : Dufart Vol. 5 365 pp. [289].
Type data:
Status unknown, presumed lost, locality unknown. - Acanthophis brownii Leach, W.E. 1814. The Zoological Miscellany; being descriptions of new or interesting animals. London : E. Nodder & Son Vol. 1 144 pp. 60 pls. [12, pl. 3].
Type data:
Holotype whereabouts unknown (presumed lost), Sydney (as Port Jackson), NSW. - Boa ambigua Leach, W.E. 1814. The Zoological Miscellany; being descriptions of new or interesting animals. London : E. Nodder & Son Vol. 1 144 pp. 60 pls. [12] [nom. nud., name introduced in synonymy; ex Brown ms].
- Ophryas acantophis Merrem, B. 1820. Versuch eines Systems Amphibien. Tentamen Systematis Amphibiorum. Marburg : Krieger xv 199 pp. [147].
Type data:
Holotype whereabouts unknown (presumed lost), Australia. - Vipera sorda Salvado, R. 1851. Memorie Stariche dell'Australia. Rome : S. Congreg. de Propaganda Fide xii 389 pp. [48].
Type data:
Status unknown, Australia. - Boa aculeata Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). 3. London : British Museum xiv 727 pp. 25 pls. [356] [nomen nudum].
- Acanthophis schistos 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] [44] [nomen nudum].
Type data:
Holotype WAM R64698, Canning Dam, WA.
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]
- Ellis, R.J., Kaiser, H., Maddock,S.T., Doughty, P. & Wuster, W. 2021. An evaluation of the nomina for death adders (Acanthophis Daudin, 1803) proposed by Wells & Wellington (1985), and confirmation of A. cryptamydros Maddock et al., 2015 as the valid name for the Kimberley death adder. Zootaxa 4995: 161-172 [168]
Generic Combinations
- Acanthophis antarcticus (Shaw & Nodder, 1802). —
Werner, F. 1899. Ueber Reptilien und Batrachier aus Togoland, Kamerun und Deutsch-Neu-Guinea grösstentheils aus dem k. Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 49: 132-157 [153]
Distribution
States
Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia
Extra Distribution Information
Australian Endemic.
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)
Ecological Descriptors
Low open shrubland, low open woodland, low shrubland, nocturnal, open forest, predator, tall forest, terrestrial, tussock grassland, woodland.
Extra Ecological Information
Viviparous, general carnivore.
General References
Carpenter, C.C., Murphy, J.B. & Carpenter, G.C. 1978. Tail luring in the death adder, Acanthophis antarcticuster, (Reptilia, Serpentes, Elapidae). Journal of Herpetology 12: 574-577 (tail luring)
Hudson, P. 1979. On the birth and breeding of death adders in captivity. Herpetofauna 11: 11-13 (reproduction)
Kim, H.S. & Tamiya, N. 1981. Isolation, properties and amino acid sequence of a long-chain neurotoxin, Acanthophis antarcticus B, from the venom of an Australian snake (the common death adder, Acanthophis antarcticus). Biochemical Journal 193: 899-906 (venom)
Lillywhite, H.B. 1980. Behavioral thermoregulation in Australian elapid snakes. Copeia 1980: 452-458 (thermoregulation)
Mackay, R.D. 1959. Reptiles of Lion Island, New South Wales. The Australian Zoologist 12: 896-986 (morphology)
Shine, R. 1980. Ecology of the Australian death adder Acanthophis antarcticus (Elapidae): evidence for convergence with the Viperidae. Herpetologica 36: 281-289 (ecology)
Storr, G.M. 1981. The genus Acanthophis (Serpentes: Elapidae) in Western Austalia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 9(2): 203-210 (taxonomy)
Common Name References
Clayton, M., Wombey, J.C., Mason, I.J., Chesser, R.T. & Wells, A. 2006. CSIRO List of Australian Vertebrates: A Reference with Conservation Status. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing iv 162 pp. [43] (Common Death Adder)
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04-Feb-2023 | ELAPIDAE Boie, 1827 | 15-Mar-2023 | MODIFIED | |
| 07-Feb-2024 | 22-Aug-2013 | MODIFIED | ||
| 08-Mar-2011 | 08-Mar-2011 | MODIFIED | ||
| 12-Feb-2010 | (import) |