Species Suta spectabilis (Krefft, 1869)

Museums

Regional Maps

• Hoplocephalus spectabilis Krefft, G. 1869. The Snakes of Australia; an Illustrated and Descriptive Catalogue of all the Known Species. Sydney : Govt. Printer xxv 100 pp. [61, pl. 12 fig. 4].

  Type data:

   Lectotype AM R.131135 ♀, Port Lincoln, SA [34°44′S 135°55′E].
  Paralectotype(s) AM 131133‒34 2 ♂, Port Lincoln, SA [34º43′S 135º52′E]; AM 131137, 131139 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Port Lincoln, SA [34º43′S 135º52′E]; BMNH 66.6.13.1 ♂, Flinders Ranges, SA [31º49′S 138º48′E].

  Subsequent designation references:

  Maryan, B., Brennan, I.G., Hutchinson, M.N. & Geidans, L.S 2020. What’s under the hood? Phylogeny and taxonomy of the snake genera Parasuta Worrell and Suta Worrell (Squamata: Elapidae), with a description of a new species from the Pilbara, Western Australia. Zootaxa 4778(1): 1-47 [16].

 

Generic Combinations

• Unechis spectabilis (Krefft, 1869). —
  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. [239]
• Parasuta spectabilis (Krefft, 1869). —
  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] [47]
• Suta spectabilis (Krefft, 1869). —
  Maryan, B., Brennan, I.G., Hutchinson, M.N. & Geidans, L.S 2020. What’s under the hood? Phylogeny and taxonomy of the snake genera Parasuta Worrell and Suta Worrell (Squamata: Elapidae), with a description of a new species from the Pilbara, Western Australia. Zootaxa 4778(1): 1-47 [16]
• Denisonia spectabilis spectabilis (Krefft, 1869). —
  Storr, G.M. 1981. The Denisonia gouldii species-group (Serpentes: Elapidae) in Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 8: 501-515 [513]
• Rhinoplocephalus spectabilis (Krefft, 1869). —
  Storr, G.M. 1985. Phylogenetic relationships of Australian elapid snakes: external morphology with an emphasis on species in Western Australia. pp. 221-222 in Grigg, G., Shine, R. & Ehmann, H. (Eds.). Biology of Australasian Frogs and Reptiles. Sydney : Surrey Beatty & Sons pp.x, 527. [222]

 

Distribution

States

New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Temperate to semiarid areas of central southern and eastern South Australia to far western Victoria and New South Wales

Australian Endemic.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

NSW, SA, Vic: Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Gawler (GAW), Kanmantoo (KAN), Murray Darling Depression (MDD)

Distribution References

Ecological Descriptors

Low open woodland, low shrubland, nocturnal, open heath, open scrub, predator, tall shrubland, terrestrial.

Extra Ecological Information

Viviparous.

 

General References

Cogger, H.G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Collingwood : CSIRO publishing 7th edition, pp. xxx+1033. [913] (as Parasuta spectabilis)

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. [239] (subspecies not identified in Cogger et al. (1983: 239), in which Unechis spectabilis was recognised as the valid name and Cogger listed synonyms)

Maryan, B., Brennan, I.G., Hutchinson, M.N. & Geidans, L.S 2020. What’s under the hood? Phylogeny and taxonomy of the snake genera Parasuta Worrell and Suta Worrell (Squamata: Elapidae), with a description of a new species from the Pilbara, Western Australia. Zootaxa 4778(1): 1-47 [16]

Shine, R. 1979. Activity patterns in Australian elapid snakes (Squamata: Serpentes: Elapidae). Herpetologica 35: 1-11 (behaviour, as Unechis gouldii)

Storr, G.M. 1981. The Denisonia gouldii species-group (Serpentes: Elapidae) in Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 8: 501-515 (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. [45] (Mallee Black-headed Snake)

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
25-Feb-2022	Hydrophiinae Fitzinger, 1843	27-Sep-2020	MODIFIED
25-Feb-2022	ELAPIDAE Boie, 1827	25-Sep-2020	MOVED
07-Feb-2024		26-Aug-2013	MODIFIED
08-Mar-2011		08-Mar-2011	MODIFIED
		12-Feb-2010	(import)