Mallee black-backed snake

The Mallee black-backed snake (Suta nigriceps), also known commonly as the black-backed snake, the copper snake, and Mitchell's short-tailed snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to Australia.[1]

Mallee black-backed snake
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Genus: Suta
Species:
S. nigriceps
Binomial name
Suta nigriceps
(Günther, 1863)
Synonyms[2]
  • Hoplocephalus nigriceps
    Günther, 1863
  • Denisonia nigrostriata brevicauda
    Mitchell, 1951
  • Unechis brevicaudus
    — Cogger, 1975
  • Denisonia nigriceps
    — Storr, 1981
  • Unechis nigriceps
    — Mengden, 1983
  • Rhinoplocephalus nigriceps
    — Storr, 1984
  • Suta nigriceps
    — Hutchinson, 1990
  • Parasuta nigriceps
    — Greer, 2006

Geographic range

S. nigriceps is found in the Australian states of New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia.[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of S. nigriceps are forest, savanna, and shrubland.[1]

Description

The average snout-to-vent length (SVL) of adults of S. nigriceps is 33 cm (13 in), and the length of the tail is about 12% SVL. The maximum recorded SVL is 53 cm (21 in). The top of the head and the nape of the neck are grayish black, and the upper labials are whitish. There is a vertebral stripe or zone, about five scale rows wide, which is also grayish black. The lateral dorsal scales are reddish brown or purplish brown. The venter is whitish.[3]

Reproduction

S. nigriceps is viviparous.[2]

References
  1. Keogh JS, Lloyd R (2017). "Parasuta nigriceps ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T177492A102717956. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T177492A102717956.en. Downloaded on 23 January 2020
  2. Species Suta nigriceps at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  3. Storr GM (1981). "The Denisonia gouldii species-group (Serpentes, Elapidae) in Western Australia". Records of the Western Australian Museum 8 (4): 501–515. (Denisonia nigriceps, pp. 503–506, Figures 1–2).

Further reading
  • Coventry AJ (1971). "Identification of the Black-headed Snakes (Denisonia) within Victoria". The Victorian Naturalist 88: 304–306. (Denisonia brevicauda, p. 306 + Figure 1D on p. 305).
  • Günther A (1863). "Third Account of new Species of Snakes in Collection of the British Museum". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Third Series 12: 348–365. (Hoplocephalus nigriceps, new species, p. 362).
  • Hutchinson MN (1990). "The generic classification of the Australian terrestrial elapid snakes". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 29 (3): 397–405. (Suta nigriceps).
  • Mengden GA (1983). "The Taxonomy of Australian Elapid Snakes: A Review". Records of the Australian Museum 35 (5): 195–222. (Unechis nigriceps, new combination, pp. 216, 218).
  • Mitchell FJ (1951). "The South Australian Reptile Fauna. Part 1. Ophidia". Records of the South Australian Museum 9: 545–557. (Denisonia nigrostriata brevicauda, new subspecies, pp. 550–551).
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