Pilbara death adder

The Pilbara death adder (Acanthophis wellsi) is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. It is one of the four members of the genus Acanthophis, a genus which is found throughout northwestern and southwestern Australia and some parts of southern Papua New Guinea.[1] The species Acanthophis wellsi is endemic to Western Australia.

Acanthophis wellsi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Genus: Acanthophis
Species:
A. wellsi
Binomial name
Acanthophis wellsi
Hoser, 1998
Synonyms[1]
  • Acanthophis wellsei [sic]
    Hoser, 1998
  • Acanthophis wellsi
    — Aplin & Donnellan, 1999
    (emendation)

Taxonomy

The Pilbara death adder was described by Raymond Hoser in 1998.[2] The specific name, wellsi, is in honor of Australian herpetologist Richard Walter Wells.[3]

Description

Dorsally, A. wellsi is usually brick red, with narrow, close-spaced gray crossbands. Individuals called "melanistic" have a black head, and the crossbands, which are wider, are yellowish brown, edged with black.[4]

Distribution and habitat

A. wellsi is found in the Hamersley Range and the Chichester Range in the Pilbara region in northern Western Australia.[1] The preferred habitats of A. wellsi are grassland, shrubland, and rocky areas.[5]

Reproduction

A. wellsi is viviparous.[1]

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References
  1. Acanthophis wellsi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 26 February 2016.
  2. Hoser R (1998). "Death Adders (Genus Acanthophis): An overview, including descriptions of five new species and one subspecies". Monitor 9 (2): 20-41. ("Acanthophis wellsei [sic]", new species).
  3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Acanthophis wellsi, p. 281).
  4. Aplin KP, Donnellan SC (1999). "An extended description of the Pilbara Death Adder, Acanthophis wellsi Hoser (Serpentes: Elapidae), with notes on the Desert Death Adder, A. pyrrhus Boulenger, and identification of a possible hybrid zone". Records of the Western Australian Museum 19: 277-298.
  5. Ellis R, Oliver P, Wilson S (2017). "Acanthophis wellsi ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T42492807A42492811. http://dx.doi.org/10.3205/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T42492807A42492811.en. Downloaded on 17 October 2019.

Further reading
  • Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. ISBN 978-0643100350. (Acanthophis wellsei, p. 859).
  • Shine R, Spencer CL, Keogh JS (2014). "Morphology, Reproduction and Diet in Australian and Papuan Death Adders (Acanthophis, Elapidae)". PLoS ONE 9 (4): e94216.
  • Wilson, Steve; Swan, Gerry (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. ISBN 978-1921517280.



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