Drysdalia

Drysdalia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Genus: Drysdalia
Worrell, 1961

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

Geographic range

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

Species

Three species are recognized as being valid.[1]

Etymology

The specific name, mastersii, is in honor English-born Australian zoologist George Masters (1837–1912).[2]

Taxonomy

The species formerly known as Drysdalia coronata (Schlegel, 1837), commonly known as the crowned snake, was assigned to the genus Elapognathus Boulenger, 1896, by Keogh et al. in 2000. Its current correct scientific name is Elapognathus coronatus (Schlegel, 1837).

Description

Crowned snakes are relatively small-sized snakes, averaging about 50 cm (20 inches) in length 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 lizards.

References

  1. ↑ "Drysdalia". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. ↑ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Drysdalia mastersii, p. 171).

External links

Further reading


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