foiJOflouj Snaiios o^ the World 



GENERIC AND SPECIES DESCRIPTIONS 



ELAPIDAE: Genui Acanlbophis Daudin, 1803. 

 1 Viilh ;ul(li'rs. 



'IVo spoilos arc ciirrfiilly iTcnKiilzt'd. Otii' i>f llirsc, 

 I. antunliriiK. rank's widely ovit tlu- rcjilim ; the cillicr, 

 .1. pi/rrliiiit. Is lltllt' kiidwii and Is rest rli lid I" IIh' 

 ilestM-t arons i>f ciMilnil and wostciii AustiMlia. I. an- 

 tiirclirii.i is imo of tho iiiust deadly ;ls will M^ mie cil' 

 the iiiKsl xvidesiiread snakes of the ic^tiim. 



Ih/iiiiliiin: Head broad, thitleiied. and dislhul Irniu 

 nock: a distinct lanlluis nislialis. I'.ody ililiU and 

 depressed; tail slnn-t with a Ion;: leiininal s|ilne. 



Eyes moderate in size: pupils vertically elliptical. 



Head scales: The usual 9 on crown, somewlrit 

 riuiirliened wilh raised edjies : supraoculars broad, over- 

 lianiiin^ eye. Kye seimraled fmni supralabials by a row 

 ot small suboculars. 



Body scales: Dorsals distindly keeled and pointed, 

 in 21-23 rows at midbody. \'entrals 11,S i;{." ; anal plate 

 entire: subcaudals mostly single, sonie Icrniinal (jnes 

 paired. 40-32: a terminal sjiine made up of several 

 scale's. 



Maxillary teeth: Two lonj; recurved l'anf;s followed. 

 after an interspace, by 2-3 small teeth. 



Death Adder, Acanthophh anfarcficiis (Shaw). 



Idviitificatidii: Extremely viperlike in appearance. 

 Average lensjth IS to 24 inches: record is 3G inches. 



Body color gray, brown, reddish, or yellowish with 

 a more or less distinct pattern of irregular narrow dark 

 crossbands. A pair of diverginjr dark markings on 

 top of head. The long spine at the end of the tail is 

 light yellowish or flesh-colored. 



Dixlribulion: Found throughout Australia except for 

 the central desert regions, on Melville Island and New 







Figure 101. — Death Adder, Acanthophis antarcticus. 

 The most viperlike of all Australian elapid snakes. 

 Photo by W. A. Pluemer. National Audubon Society. 



(Jidnea. and on llie nearby Islands of .\iu. Ceram. 

 IlaruUu. Kci. iibi. |||(. Soulbern Islands, and Tiinunbar. 

 In .Vuslralia it usually Inhabits dry scrub areas but 

 leas been found also In rain forest regions In Ceram and 

 .\ew' (Juine;i. 



liiniiuUn: 'I'lie dcalb adilci- is aiilve mainly at night 

 anil lends lo be sluggish duilnir I be day. II often con- 

 ceals ilself in sand or dust and generally defends itself 

 rather than iilieal from such concealment. When dis- 

 lurbeil il llallens I be entire bod.v and strikes out with 

 viperlikc speed, .\llliougli its fangs are short as com- 

 liaiiil Willi lliose of a vi])er, they are ipiite long for an 

 clapiil. II is an extremely dangerous simke and without 

 Irealmenl with specific aniivenin the mortality rate has 

 averaged about ."0 iiercenl. 



AiUiv<>nin i i)c.ilh .Xdiler" i is produced only by the 

 Commonweallb Scrum Laboratories of .\uslralia. 



ELAPIDAE: Genus Apis/oca/amus Boulenger, 1898. 



Five species are recognized, all in New Guinea. They 

 are small burrowing snakes with poorly-defined fangs. 

 Only one il. <innulis) attains a length of over 2 feet; 

 it is know n to grow to 37 inches. None is believed to be 

 highly dangerous, though any elapid more than 2 feet 

 long should be treated with respect. 



Urflniliiiii : Head small, somewhat flattened, and not 

 distinct from body: body slender; tail short with distinct 

 ternunal spine which has a dorsal keel. 



Eyes very small : puiiils vertically elliptical. 



Head scales : The usual 9 on crown, supraoculars 

 short, parietals long. Single preocular in contact with 

 nasal or narrowly separated from it by second supra- 

 labial. 



Body scales : Dorsals smooth in 1.5 rows throughout 

 body. N'enlials 173 22<i: anal divided lentire in one 

 species. .1. UniiiiKjtiini) ; subcaudals usually paired (a 

 few or all occasionally single), 22-.j0. 



Maxillary teeth : Two small fangs followed, without 

 an interspace, by 3— t teeth that gradually decrease in 

 length. 



ELAPIDAE: Genus Aspidomorpbus Fitzinger, 1843. 

 Cfowiied snakes. 



Eight species are known. Two of these inhabit New 

 Guinea and neighboring islands, the others are restricted 

 to Australia. All are small : the largest attains a length 

 of about 30 inches. None is considered dangerous to 

 man. 



nrflnitiiin: Head flattened and distinct from neck; 

 body moderately slender to stout ; tail relatively short, 

 without an elongated spine. 



Eyes small; pupils vertically elliptical in most; round 

 in .4. miKlhrii (Schlegel). 



146 



