- Suta dwyeri
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Dwyer's Snake Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Elapidae Genus: Suta Species: S. dwyeri Binomial name Suta dwyeri
Worell 1956Suta dwyeri, common names Dwyer's Snake[1], Whip Snake[2] and Variable Black-naped Snake[3][4], is a species of snake found in Australia from New South Wales to South Queensland.[3][5][6] While closely related to Australian sea snakes[6], S. dwyeri is a terrestrial reptile.[7]
Contents
Taxonomy
There has been a great amount of instability of the nomenclature of many Australian snake taxa, particularly concerning the generic classification of the smaller Elapidae, some of which has been placed in several more different genera in the span of just a few decades.[8] Accordingly, Dwyer's Snake has variously been classified as Denisonia dwyeri (Worrell 1956), Unechis dwyeri (Cogger 1983), Suta dwyeri (Valentic 1998), Suta spectabilis dwyeri (Cogger 2000), and Parasuta dwyeri (Greer 2006).[3]
Description
Adult S. dwyeri males average 31 cm in length from the tip of their snouts to their uro-genital vents. Females are slightly smaller at around 29 cm in length.[9] They have cylindrical brown bodies with slender to medium builds. Their heads are short and somewhat widened so as to be distinct from their necks. Their tails are short as well and their dorsal scales are smooth. S. dwyeri has medium-sized eyes with vertically elliptical pupils.[10]
Reproduction
Breeders of exotic reptiles advise letting pairs mate when they reach a length of about 23 centimeters (22 cm in the case of the female). This species is viviparous rather than egg laying and successfully births about three offspring per brood. Newly-hatched S. dwyeri young are about 13 cm long.[9]
Defense mechanisms
Like other snakes in the elapid family, S. dwyeri are venomous and have hollow fangs fixed at the front of the upper jaw. These fangs are connected via ducts to venom glands near the eyes. Like the majority of Australian elapids, Dwyer's Snakes are inoffensive and mostly harmless. Herpetologists at the Queensland Museum describe Dwyer's Snake as "weakly venomous", and do not include it among their list of eight snake species in the Brisbane area considered capable of inflicting potentially fatal bites.[7] A 25-year old male in Western Sydney mildly describes a snakebite from this species by saying that he was:
... bitten on the finger by a Suta dwyeri once. The bite did not hurt at all. But little did i know he had left his fang in my finger. A couple of days later it got a tiny bit infected and hurt for a couple of days.. nothing major though.[11]
When threatened S. dwyeri prefers to coil into a tight ball as a defense mechanism for protection from larger predators. This enables the snake to protect its head and more vulnerable areas of its body.[2]
Habit
S. dwyeri is a secretive, nocturnal snake that seeks under rocks, debris, and ground litter and may make its home in burrows made and abandoned by other creatures. Open woodland and grassland areas are its typical habitat. It feeds mainly on small lizards such as geckos and skinks.[10]
Images
Bibliography
- Cogger,H.G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th ed. Ralph Curtis Publishing, Sanibel Island, 808 pp.
- Coventry, A. J. 1971. "Identification of the black-headed snakes (Denisonia) within Victoria". Vict. Nat. 88: 304–306
- Valentic, Rob. 1998. "A size record and further distributional data for Suta dwyeri (Elapidae) in the Sydney Basin". Herpetofauna (Sydney) 28 (1): 30–31.
- Worrell, E. 1956. "A new snake from Queensland". Aust. Zool. 12: 202–205
References
- ^ [1] Queensland Museum
- ^ a b [2] "Balling as a defence mechanism for snakes", Journal of the Herpetological Society of Queensland, Spring 2005
- ^ a b c [3] The Reptile Database
- ^ [4] Common Names of Australian Reptiles
- ^ [5] Elapidae
- ^ a b [6] Snake Tracks Species List
- ^ a b [7] Elapid Land Snakes (Family Elapidae, Subfamily Elapinae): South-east Queensland
- ^ [8] The good, the bad and the ugly: Australian snake taxonomists and a history of the taxonomy of Australia’s venomous snakes
- ^ a b [9] Size and Breeding Information for Australian Snakes
- ^ a b [10] Clinical Toxinology Resources
- ^ [11] Aussie Pythons & Snakes(aussiepythons.com)
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