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Denisonia maculata (STEINDACHNER, 1867)

IUCN Red List - Denisonia maculata - Vulnerable, VU
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Higher TaxaElapidae (Hydrophiinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Ornamental Snake 
SynonymHoplocephalus maculatus STEINDACHNER 1867: 81
Denisonia ornata KREFFT 1869: 82
Hoplocephalus Muelleri FISCHER 1885: 109
Denisonia maculata — COGGER 1983: 223
Denisonia maculata — WELCH 1994: 55
Denisonia maculata — COGGER 2000: 644
Denisonia maculata — WILSON & SWAN 2010
Denisonia maculata — WALLACH et al. 2014: 226
Denisonia maculata — EIPPER & EIPPER 2024: 133 
DistributionAustralia (Queensland)

Type locality: N. S. W., subsequent restriction to Rockhampton, Qld. proposed by Mackay (1956).  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesSyntypes: NMW = NHMW, unnumbered (2 specimens) listed by Cogger et al. (1983), but Tiedemann & Häupl (1980) and Tiedemann et al. (1994) did not list any such specimens in the NMW collection. Consequently, a lectotype designation by Wells & Wellington (1985) of the larger of the two specimens is invalid.
Holotype: AM 6697, from near Rockhampton, Qld. [Denisonia ornata]
Holotype: SMNS 2377 (=10821), from Qld. [Hoplocephalus muelleri] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): As in Cogger (in Griggs 1985) with the following additions: Pupil vertically elliptic, iris of eye pale. Distinguished from some superficially similar species of Suta by venom gland musculature of the Oxyuranus type (versus the Pseudechis type), retention of the deeply forked hemipenis (simple in Suta), diploid number of 34 with pair 5 sex chromosomes (versus 30 with pair 4 sex chromosomes) and upper labials strongly barred with white and dark brown. (see Hutchinson 1990: 400)


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CommentSynonymy after COGGER 1983.

Venomous!

Type species: Hoplocephalus maculatus STEINDACHNER 1867: 81 is the type species of the genus Denisonia KREFFT 1869.

Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Latin maculatus (spotted). (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024)

The genus Denisonia was presumably named after Sir William Thomas Denison (1804-1871), the NSW Governor from 1855 to 1861, who was a strong supporter of Krefft when he was first appointed to the Australian Museum. Derivation not stated by Krefft (1869). 
References
  • 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.
  • Covacevich J.A., Couper, P.J., McDonald, K.R. 1998. Reptile diversity at risk in the Brigalow Belt, Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 42 (2): 475-486 - get paper here
  • Eipper T & Eipper S 2024. SNAKES OF AUSTRALIA. Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford, 368 pp. - get paper here
  • Fischer, J. G. 1885. Ichthyologische und herpetologische Bemerkungen. V. Herpetologische Bemerkungen. Jahrb. Hamburg. Wiss. Anst. 2: 82-121 - get paper here
  • Gemel, R.; G. Gassner & S. Schweiger 2019. Katalog der Typen der Herpetologischen Sammlung des Naturhistorischen Museums Wien – 2018. Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien, B 121: 33–248 - get paper here
  • Grigg, G., Shine, R., & Ehmann, H., eds. 1985. Biology of Australasian frogs and reptiles. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Norton, NSW, & The Roy. Zool. Soc. of New South Wales, Sydney 527 pp.
  • Hutchinson M N 1990. The generic classification of the Australian terrestrial elapid snakes. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 29 (3): 397-405 - get paper here
  • Krefft, G. 1869. The Snakes of Australia; an Illustrated and Descriptive Catalogue of All the Known Species. Sydney, Govt. Printer xxv + 100 pp. - get paper here
  • Mackay, R. D. 1956. The status of Denisonia maculata Steindachner and related species. (Ophidia: Elapidae). Proc. R. Zool. Soc. N. S. W 1954-55: 29-33
  • ROYAL, NICHOLAS; KATELYN GIBSON & JAMES GARNHAM. 2022. DENISONIA MACULATA (Ornamental Snake). ARACHNID BURROWS AS HABITAT. Herpetological Review 53 (1): 146–147.
  • Schlüter, A. & Hallermann, J. 1997. The Type Specimens in the Herpetological Collection of the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde in Stuttgart. Stuttgarter Beitr. Naturk. Ser. A (553): 1-15 - get paper here
  • Steindachner, F. 1867. In: Reise der Österreichischen Fregatte Novara um die Erde in den Jahren 1857, 1858,1859 unter den Befehlen des Commodore B. von Wüllerstorf-Urbair (Zoologie), Vol. 1, part 3 (Reptilien p.1-98). K. Gerold's Sohn/Kaiserlich-Königl. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Wien [1869 on title page] - get paper here
  • Uetz, P.H.; Patel, M.; Gbadamosi, Z.; Nguyen, A.; Shoope, S. 2024. A Reference Database of Reptile Images. Taxonomy 4: 723–732 - 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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