Neelaps calonotos (DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL, 1854)
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Neelaps calonotos
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| Higher Taxa | Elapidae (Hydrophiinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Black-striped Burrowing Snake, Western Black-striped Snake |
| Synonym | Furina calonotos DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854: 1241 Brachysoma calonotos — GÜNTHER 1858 Neelaps calonotus — GÜNTHER 1863: 24 (emend. for calonotos) Neelaps caledonicus — HOFFMANN 1890 (in error for calonotus) Furina calonota — BOULENGER 1896 Neelaps neocaledonicus — PALACKY 1898 (in errore for caledonicus) Vermicella calonota — GLAUERT 1950 Melwardia calonota — WORRELL 1960 Neelaps calonotus — COGGER 1983: 228 Simoselaps calonota — HUTCHINSON 1990 Simoselaps calonotus — COGGER 1992 Simoselaps calonota — WELCH 1994: 107 Simoselaps calonotus — COGGER 2000: 684 Neelaps calonotus — WILSON & SWAN 2010: 486 Neelaps calonotus — WILSON & SWAN 2010: 486 Vermicella calonotus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 771 Vermicella calonotus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 785 Neelaps calonotus — COGGER 2014: 904 Simoselaps calonotus — LEE et al. 2016 (Fig. S1) Neelaps calonotus — LEE et al. 2016 (Fig. 1) Neelaps calonotos — ASH 2022 |
| Distribution | Australia (Western Australia) Type locality: see comment. Corrected to Nouvelle-Hollande [= Australia] fide Duméril (1853: 517). |
| Reproduction | oviparous. |
| Types | Lectotype: MNHN-RA-2012.411 (formerly 3943A), the larger of the two syntypes (J.P. Verreaux, 1844), designated by Wells & Wellington (1985: 46); paralectotype: MNHN-RA 3943, from Tasmania (in error; MNHN catalogue indicated "Nouvelle-Hollande"). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus). A monotypic genus comprising N. calonotos, a very small, slender fossorial hydrophiine elapid snake (total length to 271 mm this study, males mean 239 mm, females mean 220 mm, tail length 10.4‒18.9% of SVL mean 15.2%) with: head narrow, depressed and not distinct from neck; protrusive round-shaped snout without cutting edge; no canthus rostralis; frontal not much wider than long; internasals present slightly smaller than prefrontals, suture between internasal and prefrontal transverse; preocular in contact with nasal, rarely separated by prefrontal; typically upper primary and secondary temporals fused to form single elongate scale without deep ventral descent (Fig. 3B), occasionally 1 + 1; rostral much wider than high posteriorly obtuse and only slightly projecting between internasals; a consistent colour pattern of dark crescent-shaped band extends across nape and dark broad band across head forward to level of eyes; tip of snout consistently dark; variable body colour of bright, pale pinkish or orange red with pale anterior portion or spot on each scale, typically distinct feature of a dark vertebral stripe with pale anterior portion or spot forming chain-like pattern extends from nape to tip of tail; 124‒145 ventrals; 128‒148 vertebrals; midbody scales very glossy and smooth, in 15 rows occasionally increasing to 16 posterior to the head and decreasing to 14 or 13 anterior to the vent; anal and 23‒34 subcaudals divided; supralabials six, last the largest; infralabials seven; ventral surface white with glossy shine; eyes are small with pupils indiscernible within black irises (Bush 2017). Other features in the genus are the reversion to the primitive karyotype of 2N = 36 (16M and 20m) (Mengden 1985), and pterygoid tooth row reduced posteriorly such that it does not extend beyond the level of the ectopterygoid-pterygoid articulation (Greer 1997). Storr (1968: 85) and B. Maryan record total lengths of 284 mm and 281 mm, respectively in female N. calonotos. (Maryan et al. 2023.) |
| Comment | Synonymy after COGGER 1983. Venomous! Habitat: burrowing Taxonomy: The two species of Neelaps are not closely related in the phylogeny of SANDERS et al. 2008, but these authors still retain them as Neelaps, which makes them polyphyletic. Distribution: See map in Maryan et al. 2023: 13 (Fig. 6). Type locality: originally “Tasmanie” [= Tasmania] (in error). Type species: Furina calonotos DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854: 1241 is the type species of the genus Neelaps GÜNTHER 1863. |
| Etymology | The name is not explained by D,B&D but likely named after its (supposedly) southern distribution (DBD reported the origin of their specimen from Tasmania: Greek “notos” = south, and “calos” = beautiful, for the pretty color and pattern of the species). Cogger 1983 says that the name was validly emended by Günther (1863) from calonotos to calonotus. However, Günther doesn’t discuss the terminology at all but just uses calonotus. |
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