''Toxicocalamus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

s 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. The genus 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 ...

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 ...

Description

Most species of ''Toxicocalamus'' are relatively small, the largest specimen known being the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

of the recently described ''Toxicocalamus ernstmayri'', which measures snout-to-vent length (SVL) and in total length (TTL). The second longest is the holotype of ''T. grandis'', which measures SVL, TTL. Most species are under TTL, and several are the thickness of bootlaces. In general females have longer bodies than males, but much shorter tails.

Venom

Members of genus ''Toxicocalamus'' are venomous, with fixed front-fangs (a dental arrangement known as proteroglyphous), but are not known to be a threat to humans, being unaggressive, of modest size, and secretive. However, the venom of ''T. longissimus'' is believed to be fairly toxic, since it contains three-finger toxins (3FTx), Type-I

phospholipase A Phospholipase A can refer to: * Phospholipase A1 * Phospholipase A2 * Outer membrane phospholipase A1 An enzyme that displays both phospholipase A1 and phospholipase A2 activities is called a Phospholipase B (see main article on phospholipase ...

(PLA) and snake venom metalloproteinase (SVMP), while ''T. buergersi'' possesses long venom glands than extend backwards into the body cavity.

Behaviour

Although most species of ''Toxicocalamous'' are believed to be diurnal, they are

fossorial A fossorial () animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily, but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, meerkats, and mole salamanders, as well as many beetles, wasps, and bees. Prehistoric eviden ...

, or semi-fossorial, in habit and rarely encountered. O'Shea, M. (1996). ''A Guide to the Snakes of Papua New Guinea''. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: Independent Publishing. vii + 239 pp. ..

Geographic range

Many species of ''Toxicocalamus'' are localised in their distribution and associated with particular islands or mountain ranges. Several species are poorly known, with four known only from their holotypes. ''Toxicocalamus'' is probably not closely related to the Australian Elapidae, being endemic to the island of

, northern coastal offshore islands, i.e. Seleo Is. (

Sandaun Province Sandaun Province (formerly West Sepik Province) is the northwesternmost mainland province of Papua New Guinea. It covers an area of 35,920 km2 (13868 m2) and has a population of 248,411 (2011 census). The capital is Vanimo. In July 1998 the a ...

, PNG); Walis Is. and Tarawai Is. ( East Sepik Province, PNG), and Karkar Is. ( Madang Province, PNG), and the archipelagoes of

Milne Bay Province Milne Bay is a province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Alotau. The province covers 14,345 km² of land and 252,990 km² of sea, within the province there are more than 600 islands, about 160 of which are inhabited. The province has a ...

to the southeast, i.e.

d'Entrecasteaux Archipelago D'Entrecasteaux Islands () are situated near the eastern tip of New Guinea in the Solomon Sea in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. The group spans a distance of , has a total land area of approximately and is separated from the Papua New G ...

( Goodenough Is., Fergusson Is., and Normanby Is.), Woodlark Is., and the

Louisiade Archipelago The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands in Papua New Guinea. It is located 200 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching over more than and spread ...

( Misima Is., Sudest Is., and Rossel Is.).

Diet

The

prey Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

of snakes in the genus ''Toxicocalamus'' appears to consist almost entirely of

earthworm An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. Th ...

s, particularly the giant earthworms of the

Megascolecidae The Megascolecidae is a taxonomic family of earthworms which is native to Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand and both South East Asia and North America. All species of Megascolecidae belong to the Clitellata class. Megascolecidae are a large fami ...

, hence the adoption of the term "worm-eating snakes" for species within this genus.

Reproduction

In common with other tropical elapids, ''Toxicocalamus'' is believed to reproduce by

oviparity 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 m ...

, with clutch sizes of 3–7 recorded, dependent on species and size of the female.

Natural history

The natural history of many species of ''Toxicocalamus'' is almost entirely undocumented, due to a paucity of specimens and the infrequence of their encounter in the field.

Species

The following 17 species, one of which has two

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

, are currently recognised as being valid in the genus ''Toxicocalamus'': * '' Toxicocalamus buergersi'' ( Sternfeld, 1913) (in German). – Buergers' forest snake,

Torricelli Mountains The Torricelli Mountains are a mountain range in Sandaun Province, north-western Papua New Guinea. The highest peak in the range is Mount Sulen at 1650 meters. The Bewani Mountains are located to the west, and the Prince Alexander Mountains are ...

snake * '' Toxicocalamus cratermontanus'' Kraus, 2017 – Crater Mountain snake * ''

Toxicocalamus ernstmayri ''Toxicocalamus'' is a genus of snakes in the family Elapidae. The genus is endemic to New Guinea. Description Most species of ''Toxicocalamus'' are relatively small, the largest specimen known being the holotype of the recently described ''T ...

'' O'Shea,

Parker Parker may refer to: Persons * Parker (given name) * Parker (surname) Places Place names in the United States *Parker, Arizona *Parker, Colorado * Parker, Florida * Parker, Idaho * Parker, Kansas * Parker, Missouri * Parker, North Carolina *Park ...

Kaiser ''Kaiser'' is the German word for "emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly ap ...

, 2015 –

Star Mountains The Star Mountains (Dutch (colonial)'': Sterrengebergte''; Indonesian'': Pegunungan Bintang'') are a mountain range in western Papua New Guinea and the eastern end of Highland Papua, Indonesia, stretching from the eastern end of Indonesia to the ...

snake, Star Mountains worm-eating snake * ''

Toxicocalamus goodenoughensis ''Toxicocalamus'' is a genus of snakes in the family (biology), family Elapidae. The genus is Endemism, endemic to New Guinea. Description Most species of ''Toxicocalamus'' are relatively small, the largest specimen known being the holotype of ...

'' J.R. Roberts & C. Austin, 2020 * '' Toxicocalamus grandis'' (

Boulenger Boulenger is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Benjamin Boulenger (born 1990), French footballer * Edward George Boulenger (1888–1946), British zoologist, director of aquarium at London Zoo * George Albert Boulenger (1858–1 ...

, 1914) – Setakwa River snake, Setekwa River forest snake * ''

Toxicocalamus holopelturus ''Toxicocalamus'' is a genus of snakes in the family Elapidae. The genus is endemic to New Guinea. Description Most species of ''Toxicocalamus'' are relatively small, the largest specimen known being the holotype of the recently described ''T ...

'' McDowell, 1969 – Mt. Rossel forest snake, Rossel Island snake * ''

Toxicocalamus longissimus ''Toxicocalamus'' is a genus of snakes in the family Elapidae. The genus is endemic to New Guinea. Description Most species of ''Toxicocalamus'' are relatively small, the largest specimen known being the holotype of the recently described ''T ...

'' Boulenger, 1896 – Fergusson Island forest snake, Woodlark forest snake, Woodlark Island snake * ''

Toxicocalamus loriae ''Toxicocalamus loriae'', also known commonly as the Loria forest snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to New Guinea (including some outlying islands) and occurs in both Western New Guinea (Indone ...

'' (Boulenger, 1898) – common worm-eating snake, Loria forest snake *''

Toxicocalamus mattisoni ''Toxicocalamus'' is a genus of snakes in the family Elapidae. The genus is endemic to New Guinea. Description Most species of ''Toxicocalamus'' are relatively small, the largest specimen known being the holotype of the recently described ''T ...

'' Kraus, 2020 * ''

Toxicocalamus mintoni ''Toxicocalamus'' is a genus of snakes in the family Elapidae. The genus is endemic to New Guinea. Description Most species of ''Toxicocalamus'' are relatively small, the largest specimen known being the holotype of the recently described ''T ...

'' Kraus, 2009 – Minton's forest snake,

Sudest Island Vanatinai Island (also called Tagula and Sudest, for the names of the extreme capes of the island) is a volcanic island in the south-east of the Louisiade Archipelago within Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. The reef-fringed island is approxi ...

snake * ''

Toxicocalamus misimae ''Toxicocalamus'' is a genus of snakes in the family Elapidae. The genus is endemic to New Guinea. Description Most species of ''Toxicocalamus'' are relatively small, the largest specimen known being the holotype of the recently described ''T ...

'' McDowell, 1969 – Misima Island forest snake,

Misima Island Misima (formerly called St. Aignan) is a volcanic island in the northwest of Louisiade Archipelago within Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. History Misima Island was inhabited by Austronesians since about 1500 BC. The island was sig ...

snake * '' Toxicocalamus nigrescens'' Kraus, 2017 –

Fergusson Island Fergusson Island is the largest island of the D'Entrecasteaux Islands, in Papua New Guinea. It has an area of , and mostly consists of mountainous regions, covered by rain forests. There are three large volcanoes on the island. Fergusson Island ...

worm-eating snake * '' Toxicocalamus pachysomus'' Kraus, 2009 – Cloudy Mountains worm-eating snake * ''

Toxicocalamus preussi ''Toxicocalamus'' is a genus of snakes in the family Elapidae. The genus is endemic to New Guinea. Description Most species of ''Toxicocalamus'' are relatively small, the largest specimen known being the holotype of the recently described ''T ...

'' (Sternfeld, 1913) – Preuss's forest snake, Preuss' slender worm-eating snake :* '' Toxicocalamus preussi preussi'' (Sternfeld, 1913) – Preuss's Sepek forest snake, Preuss' slender worm-eating snake :* ''

Toxicocalamus preussi angusticinctus ''Toxicocalamus'' is a genus of snakes in the family Elapidae. The genus is endemic to New Guinea. Description Most species of ''Toxicocalamus'' are relatively small, the largest specimen known being the holotype of the recently described ''T ...

'' Bogert & Matalas, 1945 – Fly River forest snake, Fly River slender worm-eating snake * ''

Toxicocalamus pumehanae ''Toxicocalamus'' is a genus of snakes in the family (biology), family Elapidae. The genus is Endemism, endemic to New Guinea. Description Most species of ''Toxicocalamus'' are relatively small, the largest specimen known being the holotype of ...

'' O'Shea, Allison & Kaiser, 2018 – Managalas Plateau snake * ''

Toxicocalamus spilolepidotus ''Toxicocalamus'' is a genus of snakes in the family Elapidae. The genus is endemic to New Guinea. Description Most species of ''Toxicocalamus'' are relatively small, the largest specimen known being the holotype of the recently described ''T ...

'' McDowell, 1969 – Krakte Mountains spotted snake, spotted forest snake * '' Toxicocalamus stanleyanus'' Boulenger, 1903 –

Owen Stanley Mountains Owen Stanley Range is the south-eastern part of the central mountain-chain in Papua New Guinea. Its highest point is Mount Victoria at , while its most prominent peak is Mount Suckling. History Owen Stanley Range was seen in 1849 by Captain Ow ...

snake, Owen Stanley Range forest snake ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...

'': A

binomial authority 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 ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Toxicocalamus''. These former genera, ''Apistocalamus, Apisthocalamus, Pseudapistocalamus, Pseudapisthocalamus, Ultrocalamus,'' and ''Vanapina'', are now

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of ''Toxicocalamus''.

Taxonomy

The former species ''Pseudapisthocalamus nymani'' Lönnberg, 1900; ''Apisthocalamus pratti'' Boulenger, 1904; ''A. loennbergii'' Boulenger, 1908; and ''A. lamingtoni''

Kinghorn Kinghorn (; gd, Ceann Gronna) is a town and parish in Fife, Scotland. A seaside resort with two beaches, Kinghorn Beach and Pettycur Bay, plus a fishing port, it stands on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, opposite Edinburgh. According ...

, 1928; are synonyms of ''T. loriae'', ''Vanapina lineata'' De Vis, 1905 is a synonym of ''T. longissimus'', and ''Ultrocalamus latisquamatus'' Schüz, 1929 is a synonym of ''T. preussi''. Most of the described species are poorly known and rarely encountered. The most widely distributed, and most commonly encountered, species is ''T. loriae'' (itself a possible species complex), which accounts for 66% of all ''Toxicocalamus'' specimens in museum collections. ''T. loriae'' is frequently encountered in the Highlands, where large numbers have been collected in village gardens along the Wahgi River valley of Simbu Province, PNG. The next most frequently encountered and widely distributed species are ''T. preussi'' and ''T. stanleyanus''. All the other species are much less well known and localised in distribution. Also on mainland New Guinea, ''T. buergersi'' is known from only six specimens, from the

in the Sepik region (

Sandaun Sandaun Province (formerly West Sepik Province) is the northwesternmost mainland province of Papua New Guinea. It covers an area of 35,920 km2 (13868 m2) and has a population of 248,411 (2011 census). The capital is Vanimo. In July 1998 the a ...

and East Sepik Provinces), PNG; ''T. spilolepidotus'' is known from two specimens, from the Kratke Range, Eastern Highlands Province, PNG; ''T. pachysomus'' is known from its

, from the Cloudy Mountains,

; PNG, ''T. cratermontanus'' from its holotype, from Crater Mountain, Simbu Province, PNG, while ''T. ernstmayri'' was only known from its holotype in the

of Western Province, PNG, until a second specimen was observed crawling across mine-workings at the Ok Tedi Mine, in the Star Mountains. ''Toxicocalamus grandis'' is also only known from its holotype, collected on the Setakwa River, western New Guinea, in 1912, (the only species represented by a type specimen west of the WNG/PNG border), and ''T. pumehanae'' is also only known from its holotype, from the Managalas Plateau,

Oro Province Oro Province, formerly (and officially still) Northern Province, is a coastal province of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital is Popondetta. The province covers 22,800 km2, and has 176,206 inhabitants (2011 census). The province shares la ...

, PNG,. On the islands of

Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range to t ...

, ''T. holopelturus'' is known from 19 specimens from Rossel Island, also known as Yela; ''T. misimae'' is known from six specimens from

; and ''T. mintoni'' is only known from its holotype, from

, also known as Vanantai or Tagula Island, all in the

. ''Toxicocalamus nigrescens'' is only known from its holotype and paratype, from

, in the d'Entercasteaux Archipelago, while ''T. longissimus'' is known from 12 specimens from Woodlark Island.