Species Demansia olivacea (Gray, 1842)
Marble-headed Whipsnake, Olive Whipsnake
- Lycodon olivaceus Gray, J.E. 1842. Description of some hitherto unrecorded species of Australian reptiles and batrachians. pp. 51-57 in Gray, J.E. (ed.). The Zoological Miscellany. London : Treuttel, Würz & Co. [54].
Type data:
Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown (presumed lost, 2 syntypes listed by Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). 3. London : British Museum xiv 727 pp. 25 pls cannot be Gray's specimens, as locality and other collection data do not correspond, see Cogger, H.G. & Lindner, D.A. 1974. Frogs and reptiles in fauna survey of the Port Essington District, Cobourg Peninsula, Northern Territory of Australia. In Frith, H.J. & Calaby, J.H. (eds) CSIRO Div. Wildl. Res. Tech. Pap. 28: 63–107), Port Essington, NT. - Elapocephalus ornaticeps Macleay, W. 1878. Notes on a collection of snakes from Port Darwin. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 2: 219-222 [221].
Type data:
Holotype AM R31918, Port Darwin, NT.
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. [221]
Generic Combinations
- Demansia olivacea (Gray, 1842). —
Günther, A. 1858. Catalogue of Colubrine Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum. London : British Museum xvi 281 pp. [212] (new combination)
Distribution
States
Northern Territory, Western Australia
Extra Distribution Information
Australian Endemic.
IBRA
NT, WA: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Central Arnhem (CA), Central Kimberley (CK), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Northern Kimberley (NK), Pine Creek (PCK), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB)
Ecological Descriptors
Amphibious, diurnal, low open woodland, open forest, oviparous, predator, terrestrial.
Extra Ecological Information
Lacertiphagous.
General References
Shea, G.M. & Scanlon, J.D. 2007. Revision of the Small Tropical Whipsnakes previously referred to Demansia oliviacea (Gray, 1842) and Demansia torquata (Günther, 1862) (Squamata: Elapidae). Records of the Australian Museum 59(2): 117-142 [125] (redescription, revision of species, restriction of distribution to Kimberley Region and Top End of NT, including Melville Is. and Groot Eylandt)
Shine, R. 1980. Ecology of eastern Australian whipsnakes of the genus Demansia. Journal of Herpetology 14: 381-389 (ecology)
Storr, G.M. 1978. Whip snakes Demansia (Elapidae) of Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 6: 287-301 (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. [44] (Olive Whipsnake)
History of changes
Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
07-Feb-2024 | SQUAMATA | 31-Jan-2024 | MODIFIED | |
07-Feb-2024 | 26-Aug-2013 | MODIFIED | ||
08-Mar-2011 | 08-Mar-2011 | MODIFIED | ||
12-Feb-2010 | (import) |