Hemiaspis damelii

Hemiaspis damelii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Genus: Hemiaspis
Species: H. damelii
Binomial name
Hemiaspis damelii
(Günther, 1876) [1]
Synonyms
  • Hoplocephalus damelii Günther, 1876
  • Denisonia dæmelii
    Boulenger, 1896
  • Drepanodontis daemelii Worrell, 1961
  • Hemiaspis damelii
    Cogger, 1983[2][3]

Hemiapsis damelii is a species of venomous snake of the Elapidae family.[4] Common names for this species include grey snake.[1][5]

Etymology

The specific name, damelii, is in honor of German entomologist Edward Dämel, who collected Australian specimens for Museum Godeffroy.[6]

Geographic range

H. damelii is endemic to Australia, and is found in southeastern Queensland and north-central New South Wales.[3]

Description

H. damelii is a small snake. Adults may attain a total length of 38 cm (15 in), which includes a tail 6 cm (2.4 in) long. It is olive dorsally, and yellowish white ventrally. In adults the head is darker than the body, and in juveniles the head is black.[2]

Venom

The venom is mild, contains procoagulants, causes local pain and swelling, but is unlikely to cause fatalities in humans.[7]

Reproduction

This species bears live young.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Atlas of Living Australia - Hemiaspis damelii (Günther, 1876) - Grey Snake"."Hemiaspis damelii (Günther, 1876) - Grey Snake". Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  2. 1 2 Boulenger GA. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Denisonia dæmelii, p. 339 + Plate XVIII, figure 3).
  3. 1 2 3 "Hemiaspis damelii ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  4. "ITIS standard report - Hemiaspis damelii (Günther, 1876)". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  5. "Grey snake - Scientific name: Hemiaspis damelii". Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (Queensland). Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  6. 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. (Hemiaspis damelii, p. 64).
  7. "Hemiaspis damelii ". Clinical Toxinology Resources. The University of Adelaide. www.toxinology.com.

Further reading

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