''Drysdalia'' is a genus of snakes, commonly known as crowned snakes, belonging to the family Elapidae. The three species in this genus are venomous snakes, but not considered deadly.

Geographic range

Species of the genus ''Drysdalia'' are endemic to parts of southern and eastern

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 ...

Species

Three species are recognized as being valid. *''

Drysdalia coronoides The white-lipped snake (''Drysdalia coronoides'') is a small species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to south-eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania. Description It is the smallest of three species of snake ...

'' – white-lipped snake *''

Drysdalia mastersii ''Drysdalia mastersii'', also known as Masters' snake, is a species of venomous snake endemic to southern Australia. The specific epithet ''mastersii'' honours Australian zoologist George Masters who collected specimens for Krefft. Descripti ...

'' – Masters's snake *''

Drysdalia rhodogaster ''Drysdalia rhodogaster'', also known as the mustard-bellied snake or Blue Mountains crowned snake, is a species of venomous snake endemic to Australia. The specific epithet ''rhodogaster'' (“red-bellied”) refers to body colouration. Des ...

'' – mustard-bellied snake

Etymology

The generic name, ''Drysdalia'', is in honour of Australian artist George Russell Drysdale. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''mastersii'', is in honour English-born Australian zoologist

George Masters George Masters (1837-1912) was a zoologist, active in Australia during the 19th century. Biography Born in Maidstone, England, to Matilda, née Terry, he was trained as a gardener by his father, George Masters, before moving to Sydney. Masters b ...

.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Drysdalia mastersii'', p. 171).

Taxonomy

The species formerly known as ''Drysdalia coronata'' , commonly known as the crowned snake, was assigned to the genus ''

Elapognathus ''Elapognathus'' is a genus of snakes of the family Elapidae.. Species * ''Elapognathus coronatus The crowned snake (''Elapognathus coronatus'') is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to southwestern ...

'' , by

Keogh Keogh (usually pronounced ) is an Irish surname. It is a reduced Anglicized form of the Gaelic or , 'son of Eochaidh'. The personal name is in turn based upon the Gaelic word for horse (Old Irish ). The spelling ''K'Eogh'' is used by one pa ...

et al. in 2000. Its current correct

scientific name 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 ...

is ''

Elapognathus coronatus The crowned snake (''Elapognathus coronatus'') is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to southwestern Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying ...

'' .

Description

Crowned snakes are small snakes, averaging about 50 cm (20 inches) in total length (including tail) but can be as small as 18 cm (7 inches). They are normally brown in colour.

Habitat

Crowned snakes inhabit woodlands, swamps, and heathland.

Diet

''Drysdalia'' feed on frogs and

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

References

External links

''Drysdalia'' in Australian Fauna Directory

* Cogger HG (2014). ''Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition''. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. . *Keogh JS, Scott IA, Scanlon JD (2000). "Molecullar phylogeny of viviparous Australian elapid snakes: affinities of ''Echiopus atriceps'' (Storr, 1980) and ''Drysdalia coronata'' (Schlegel, 1837) with description of a new genus". ''Journal of Zoology'' 252: 317–326. ("''Elapognathus coronata'' ic, ''ex errore''">ex_errore.html" ;"title="ic, ''ex errore">ic, ''ex errore'', new combination). *Swan, Gerry (1995). ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Australia''. Sydney: New Holland. 144 pp. *Wilson, Steve; Swan, Gerry (2013). ''A Compete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition''. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. . * Worrell E (1961). "Herpetological Name Changes". ''West Australian Naturalist'' 8: 18–27. (''Drysdalia'', new genus). Snakes of Australia">Drysdalia"> Snakes of Australia Snake genera">Snakes_of_Australia.html" ;"title="Drysdalia"> Snakes of Australia">Drysdalia"> Snakes of Australia Snake genera Taxa named by Eric Worrell {{Elapidae-stub