''Myron richardsonii'', also known as Richardson's mangrove snake, is a species of venomous homalopsid snake native to the marine waters of eastern

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and northern

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 ...

''richardsonii'' honours Sir John Richardson, collector of the original specimen.

Description

The snake grows to an average of about 40 cm in length, and to a maximum of 60 cm.

Behaviour

The species is

viviparous Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. This is opposed to oviparity which is a reproductive mode in which females lay developing eggs that complete their development and hatch externally from the m ...

, with an average litter size of six. It feeds on fishes.

Distribution and habitat

The species’ distribution encompasses the coasts around the Arafura Sea, including the Aru Islands and southern

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

as well as northern Australia from the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

eastwards to the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

. Habitat includes coasts, estuaries and tidal rivers.

References

richardsonii Snakes of Australia Reptiles of Western Australia Reptiles of the Northern Territory Reptiles of Queensland Snakes of New Guinea Reptiles of Indonesia Taxa named by John Edward Gray Reptiles described in 1849 {{Snake-stub