The mud adder (''Denisonia devisi''), also known commonly as De Vis' banded snake or Devis's banded snake, is a species of

venomous snake Venomous snakes are Species (biology), species of the Suborder (biology), suborder Snake, Serpentes that are capable of producing Snake venom, venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The v ...

in the family

Elapidae Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids ; grc, ἔλλοψ ''éllops'' "sea-fish") is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus Emydoceph ...

. The species 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 ...

to certain regions of eastern Australia, including

South West Queensland South West Queensland is a remote region in the Australian state of Queensland which covers . The region lies to the south of Central West Queensland and west of the Darling Downs and includes the Maranoa district and parts of the Channel Countr ...

, northern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, north-west

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, and (more recently)

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. Its scientific and common names refer to

Charles Walter De Vis Charles Walter de Vis (Birmingham, England, 9 May 1829 – Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 30 April 1915),

Taxonomy

This species was first described by

Charles Walter De Vis Charles Walter de Vis (Birmingham, England, 9 May 1829 – Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 30 April 1915),

, first director of the

Queensland Museum The Queensland Museum is the state museum of Queensland, dedicated to natural history, cultural heritage, science and human achievement. The museum currently operates from its headquarters and general museum in South Brisbane with specialist mu ...

, from whom both the scientific name and one of its common names are derived. In 1884 he described it as ''Hoplocephalus ornatus''. In 1920 Waite and

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

decided to place it in the genus ''Denisonia''. However, since

Krefft Johann Ludwig (Louis) Gerard Krefft (17 February 1830 – 19 February 1881), a talented artist and draughtsman, and the Curator of the Australian Museum for 13 years (1861-1874), was one of Australia's first and most influential zoologists and ...

in 1869 had named a different species ''Denisonia ornata'', that name could not be used. Waite and Longman therefore created the new name ''Denisonia maculata'' var. ''devisi''. Subsequently, Cogger in 1983 raised it to full species status as ''Denisonia devisi''.

Description

''Denisonia devisi'' is short, thick, and slightly flat. The eyes are set at the top of the head and have a conspicuous

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

. The

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

surface of the body is yellowish-brown to olive-green in colour, broken by irregular, ragged-edged, narrow, dark bands running across the body. De Vis' banded snake is sometimes confused with death adders, as both have thick, banded bodies. The main difference is that the De Vis' banded snake's tail does not taper abruptly and its head is not broad and triangular.

Distribution and habitat

The De Vis' banded snake was thought to be confined to alluvial flats in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and

. However, when

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

expert Peter Menkhorst reported a death adder in north-west Victoria, an expedition was carried out in November 2005 to survey the Wallpolla Islands. Instead of finding a death adder, the survey identified a De Vis' banded snake for the first time in Victoria. Further confirmation of the species' new habitat came with a report on the results of raising water levels for environmental purposes at several sites along the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest r ...

at the Victoria - New South Wales border, making special note of the snake. The snake was found in Wallpolla Island Park, a area consisting of

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

vegetation in the extreme North West, on the Victoria-New South Wales border. It was a designated “Icon Site”, an area of high ecological value within the Murray-Darling basin. The new addition to Victorian snakes was probably carried south during a period of flooding in the

Darling River The Darling River ( Paakantyi: ''Baaka'' or ''Barka'') is the third-longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its conflu ence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales. Including its longes ...

. The usually dry habitat had become more suitable over the years as water and biodiversity increased due to environmental water. In late 2021, sightings of several of the snakes at Chowilla Game Reserve, near Renmark, in the

Riverland The Riverland is a region of South Australia. It covers an area of along the Murray River, River Murray from where it flows into South Australia from New South Wales and Victoria (Australia), Victoria downstream to Blanchetown, South Australia ...

region of

were confirmed by the

South Australian Museum The South Australian Museum is a natural history museum and research institution in Adelaide, South Australia, founded in 1856 and owned by the Government of South Australia. It occupies a complex of buildings on North Terrace in the cultu ...

to be the first seen in South Australia.

Behaviour

The mud adder inhabits low-lying areas, particularly near sites subjected to seasonal flooding. It feeds mainly on frogs, and ambush their prey. They are nocturnal in warm weather, and inhabit soil cracks. The mud adder gives birth to fully formed young with an average total length (including tail) of . A litter consists of three to 11, five on average, baby snakes.

Conservation status

The mud adder's conservation status is that of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

and under Queensland's ''

Nature Conservation Act 1992 The ''Nature Conservation Act 1992'' is an act of the Parliament of Queensland, Australia, that, together with subordinate legislation, provides for the legislative protection of Queensland's threatened biota. As originally published, it prov ...

''.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3011070 Denisonia Snakes of Australia Reptiles of New South Wales Reptiles of Queensland Reptiles of Victoria (Australia) Endemic fauna of Australia Reptiles described in 1920 Taxa named by Albert Heber Longman Taxa named by Edgar Ravenswood Waite