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Cryptophis nigrescens (GÜNTHER, 1862)

IUCN Red List - Cryptophis nigrescens - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaElapidae (Hydrophiinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Small-eyed Snake, Eastern Small-eyed Snake, Short-tailed Snake 
SynonymHoplocephalus nigrescens GÜNTHER 1862: 131
Alecto permixta JAN 1863
Hoplocephalus assimilis MACLEAY 1885: 68
Denisonia nigrescens — BOULENGER 1896: 343
Cryptophis nigrescens — WORRELL 1961
Cryptophis nigrescens — COGGER 1983: 220
Rhinoplocephalus nigrescens — HUTCHINSON 1990
Rhinoplocephalus nigrescens — WELCH 1994: 105
Cryptophis nigrescens — MURPHY 1994
Rhinoplocephalus nigrescens — SHINE 1994
Rhinoplocephalus nigrescens — COGGER 2000: 677
Rhinocephalus [sic] nigrescens — STAPLEY et al. 2005 (in error)
Cryptophis nigrescens — LLEWELYN et al. 2010
Cryptophis nigrescens — WILSON & SWAN 2010: 464
Cryptophis edwardsi HOSER 2012
Rhinoplocephalus nigrescens — WALLACH et al. 2014: 641
Cryptophis nigrescens — COGGER 2014: 875
Cryptophis nigrescens — MIRTSCHIN et al. 2017
Cryptophis nigrescens — EIPPER & EIPPER 2024: 112 
DistributionAustralia (New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria)

Type locality: "environs of Sydney", N. S. W.  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1946.1.20.58 (formerly 61.11.18.25), collected G. Krefft.
Syntypes: AM B5944, AM R31923-5, from "vicinity of Herbert River", Qld. [Hoplocephalus assimilis]
Holotype: ZMH R04435 [Alecto permixta] 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 1011 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Synonymy: KAISER et al. 2013 rejected all names coined by HOSER in or after 2000. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin nigrescens (= becoming black, blackish), alluding to the colour. 
References
  • Bridge, G. 1979. The small-eyed snake (Cryptophis nigrescens). Vict. Herp. Soc. Newsletter 13: 17-18
  • Brischoux F, Pizzatto L, Shine R. 2010. Insights into the adaptive significance of vertical pupil shape in snakes. J Evol Biol. 23(9): 1878-85. - get paper here
  • Cogger, H. G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 7th ed. CSIRO Publishing, xxx + 1033 pp. - get paper here
  • Cogger, H.G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th ed. Ralph Curtis Publishing, Sanibel Island, 808 pp.
  • Coventry, A. J. & Rawlinson, P. A. 1980. Taxonomic revision of the elapid snake genus Drysdalia Worrell, 1961. Mem. Natl. Mus. Vict. 41: 65-78 - get paper here
  • Eipper T & Eipper S 2024. SNAKES OF AUSTRALIA. Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford, 368 pp. - get paper here
  • Evans MJ, MacGregor C, Lindenmayer D 2024. A misleading tail: A long-term study of reptile responses to multiple disturbances undermined by a change in surveying techniques. PLoS ONE 19(6): e0305518 - get paper here
  • Fearn, S. 2000. Record of an extreme leucistic Rhinoplocephalus nigrescens (Serpentes: Elapidae). Herpetofauna (Sydney) 30 (2): 55
  • Günther, A. 1862. On new species of snakes in the collection of the British Museum. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (3) 9: 124-132 - get paper here
  • Günther, ALBERT 1862. On new species of snakes in the collection of the British Museum. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3) 9: 52-67. - get paper here
  • Hoser, R.T. 2012. Some new small-eyed snakes from Australia and New Guinea (Serpentes: Elapidae). Australasian J. Herpetol. 13:3–7. - get paper here
  • Hutchinson, M.N. 1979. The reptiles of Kinglake National Park. Victorian Naturalist 96: 124-134 - get paper here
  • Kaiser, H.; Crother, B.I.; Kelly, C.M.R.; Luiselli, L.; O’Shea, M.; Ota, H.; Passos, P.; Schleip, W.D. & Wüster, W. 2013. Best Practices: In the 21st Century, Taxonomic Decisions in Herpetology are Acceptable Only When Supported by a Body of Evidence and Published via Peer-Review. Herpetological Review 44 (1): 8-23
  • Kay, G.M.; D. Michael; M. Crane; S. Okada; C. MacGregor; D. Florance; D. Trengove; L. McBurney; D. Blair; D.B. Lindenmayer. 2013. A list of reptiles and amphibians from Box Gum Grassy Woodlands in south-eastern Australia. Check List 9 (3):476-481 - get paper here
  • Lettoof, Damian and Samantha K. Travers. 2015. Cryptophis nigrescens (eastern small-eyed snake) diet. Herpetological Review 46 (4): 642 - get paper here
  • Llewelyn, John, Jonathan K. Webb and Richard Shine. 2010. Flexible defense: context-dependent antipredator responses of two species of Australian elapid snakes. Herpetologica 66 (1): 1-11 - get paper here
  • Macleay, W. 1885. On some Reptilia lately received from the Herbert River District, Queensland. Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales 10: 64-68 - get paper here
  • Mirtschin, P., Rasmussen, A.R. & Weinstein, S.A. 2017. Australia’s Dangerous snakes. CSIRO Publishing, 424 pp. - get paper here
  • Murphy, Michael J. 1994. Reptiles and amphibians of Seven Mile Beach National park, NSW. Herpetofauna (Sydney) 24 (2): 24-30
  • Shine, Richard 1994. Sexual size dimorphism in snakes revisited. Copeia 1994 (2): 326-346 - get paper here
  • STAPLEY, Jessica; CHRISTINE M. HAYES; JONATHAN K. WEBB and J . SCOTT KEOGH 2005. Novel microsatellite loci identified from the Australian eastern small-eyed snake (Elapidae: Rhinocephalus nigrescens) and cross species amplification in the related genus Suta. Molecular Ecology Notes 5: 54–56 - get paper here
  • Storniolo, F., Mangiacotti, M., Scali, S., Zuffi, M. A. L., & Sacchi, R. 2025. A comparative phylogenetic approach for the evolution of melanism in elapid snakes supports the Bogert's rule. Journal of Zoology 326: 289-297 - get paper here
  • Swan, G.; Sadlier, R.; Shea, G. 2017. A field guide to reptiles of New South Wales. Reed New Holland, 328 pp.
  • Turner, G S 2018. Cryptophis nigrescens (Eastern Small-eyed Snake) Diet. Herpetological Review 49 (2): 339 - get paper here
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
  • Worrell, E. 1961. Herpetological Name Changes. Western Australian Naturalist 8: 18—27. - get paper here
 
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