The short-nosed snake (''Elapognathus minor'') is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
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
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
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
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 ...
. Short-nosed snakes are endemic to swamplands and coastlands in the
southwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
of
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, where they shelter in nests of stick ants (
Iridomyrmex conifer
''Iridomyrmex conifer'' is a species of ant in the genus ''Iridomyrmex''. Endemic to Australia, it was described by Auguste-Henri Forel
Auguste-Henri Forel (1 September 1848 – 27 July 1931) was a Swiss myrmecologist, neuroanatomist, psychia ...
), as well as dense rushes and reed tussocks. Short-nosed snakes are known to prey on small skinks mainly from the skink genus
hemiergis, and small species of frogs.
References
Further reading
*
Boulenger GA. 1896. ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History).Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (''Elapognathus minor'', new combination, pp. 356–357 + Plate XIX, figure 2).
*
Günther A. 1863. "Third Account of new Species of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum". ''Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Third Series'' 12: 348–365. (''Hoplocephalus minor'', new species, pp. 362–363).
External links
Keogh JS, Scott IA, Scanlon JD. 2000. "Molecular phylogeny of viviparous Australian elapid snakes: affinities of ''Echiopsis atriceps'' (Storr, 1980) and ''Drysdalia coronata'' (Schlegel, 1837), with description of a new genus". ''J. Zool.'' 252: 317-326.
Elapognathus
Reptiles of Western Australia
Reptiles described in 1863
Taxa named by Albert Günther
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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