The speckled brown snake or spotted brown snake (''Pseudonaja guttata'') is a species of venomous elapid snake native to northeastern Australia.

Taxonomy

English zoologist Hampton Wildman Parker described the speckled brown snake as ''Demansia guttata'' in 1926 from a specimen collected in Winton, Queensland. The brown snakes were moved to ''Pseudonaja'' by Australian naturalist

Eric Worrell Eric Arthur Frederic Worrell (MBE), (27 October 1924 – 13 July 1987) was an Australian naturalist, herpetologist and writer whose collection of snake venom was essential in the production of snake anti-venom in Australia. History Eric was b ...

in the early 1960s on the basis of skull morphology, and reinforced by American herpetologist

Samuel Booker McDowell Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...

in 1967 on the basis of the muscles of the venom glands. This classification has been followed by subsequent authors. A 2005 analysis using

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

found that the speckled brown snake was an early offshoot of the genus, with the taipans as more distantly related. A 2016 genetic analysis showed that the speckled brown snake was an early offshoot of a lineage giving rise to the

taipan Taipans are snakes of the genus ''Oxyuranus'' in the elapid family. They are large, fast-moving, highly venomous, and endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Three species are recognised, one of which, the coastal taipan, has two subspecies. Taipan ...

s, rather than the other brown snakes.

Description

The speckled brown snake grows to long. It has a small head, straw-yellow to orange upper parts, white throat and lips, and cream, yellow, or white under parts blotched with orange. Its scales have black edges that become visible when the snake bends or moves. Some snakes have wide, darker bands. It has 19–21 rows of

dorsal scales In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...

at midbody, 190 to 220 ventral scales, 44 to 70 divided

subcaudal scales In snakes, the subcaudal scales are the enlarged plates on the underside of the tail.Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . These scales may be either single or divided (pair ...

(occasionally some of the anterior ones are undivided), and a divided

anal scale Anal may refer to: Related to the anus *Related to the anus of animals: ** Anal fin, in fish anatomy ** Anal vein, in insect anatomy ** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy *Related to the human anus: ** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involving s ...

. It is found in the eastern Northern Territory, western Queensland, and far northern South Australia. It lays a clutch of six eggs on average.

Distribution

The speckled brown snake occurs in the Channel Country,

Mitchell Grass Downs The Mitchell Grass Downs is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion in northeastern Australia. It is a mostly treeless grassland, characterised by Mitchell grasses (''Astrebla'' spp.). Location and descrip ...

, and

Mount Isa Inlier Mount Isa Inlier, an interim Australian bioregion, is located in the Queensland,IBRA Versio ...

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

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

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 ...

Trophic relations

Frogs and lizards make up a large proportion of its diet, though it also eats small birds and mammals. Its venom is 1.6 times as toxic as that of the

Indian cobra The Indian cobra (''Naja naja''), also known as the spectacled cobra, Asian cobra, or binocellate cobra, is a species of cobra found in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan, and a member of the "big four" species that are ...

(''Naja naja''). The curl snake (''

Suta suta The curl snake (''Suta suta'') is a species of venomous, heavily built snake in the family Elapidae. The species, which is native to Australia, is also known more commonly in Western Australia as the myall snake. The curl snake is often confused ...

'') has been reported preying on speckled brown snakes at

Goyder Lagoon __NOTOC__ The Goyder Lagoon is a large ephemeral swamp in the Australia, Australian state of South Australia in the state's Far North (South Australia), Far North region. The lake is part of the Diamantina River floodplain, lying beside the Bird ...

in South Australia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3409784 Pseudonaja Endemic fauna of Australia Snakes of Australia Reptiles of the Northern Territory Reptiles of South Australia Reptiles of Queensland Reptiles described in 1926 Taxa named by Hampton Wildman Parker