''Brachyurophis campbelli'', also known as the Cape York shovel-nosed snake or Einasliegh shovel-nosed snake, is a species of venomous burrowing snake that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''campbelli'' honours a Mr W.D. Campbell who collected the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...

in 1928 in the vicinity of

Almaden, Queensland Almaden is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Almaden had a population of 71 people. Geography Almaden is on the Mareeba-to-Chillagoe railway line (part of the Tablelands railw ...

Description

The species grows to an average of about 40 cm in length. There are dark brown to black bands along the length of the orange to reddish-brown body, the dark bands similar in width to the spaces separating them. The belly is whitish.

Behaviour

The species is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

. It is presumed to feed on reptile eggs.

Distribution and habitat

The species occurs in northern Queensland, including the

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

, its range extending as far south as Longreach, in woodland habitats.

References

campbelli Snakes of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Reptiles of Queensland Taxa named by James Roy Kinghorn Reptiles described in 1929 {{Elapidae-stub