Hemiaspis signata (JAN, 1859)

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Higher Taxa	Elapidae (Hydrophiinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies
Common Names	E: Marsh Snake, Swamp Snake, Black-bellied Swamp Snake
Synonym	Alecto signata JAN 1859: 128 Denisonia signata BOULENGER 1896 Denisonia vagrans GARMAN 1901: 13 Drepanodontis signata — RANKIN 1972 Hemiaspis signata — COGGER 1983: 226 Hemiaspis signata — WELCH 1994: 65 Hemiaspis signata — COGGER 2000: 656 Hemiaspis signata — WILSON & SWAN 2010 Hemiaspis signata — WALLACH et al. 2014: 325
Distribution	Australia (New South Wales, Queensland) Type locality: Sydney, Australia
Reproduction	ovovivparous
Types	Holotype: ZMH 4433 (formerly ZMH 775) from Sydney, collected Krefft, 1861 fide Hallermann (1998: 206). Cogger et al. (1983) and Wallach et al. (2014) list the holotype as SMF 9338 2a (Sydney, NSW, collected W. Kirschner or A. Becker), presumably following the listing under that number by Boettger (1898), but was unable to find that specimen. However, Boettger (1898) and Mertens (1922, 1967) did not list that specimen as a type. Holotype: MCZ 6490, from Dunk Is., Qld. [Denisonia vagrans]
Diagnosis
Comment	Synonymy partly after COGGER 1983. Habitat: may be partially marine, occuring in marshes along the east coast of Australia. Venomous! Type species: Alecto signata JAN 1859: 128 is the type species of the genus Hemiaspis FITZINGER 1861. Diagnosis (genus): Cogger 1986 ? (fide Hutchinson 1990, who doesn’t cite Cogger 1986).
Etymology	Presumably named after the Latin signatus (marked) in reference to the pale labial and temporal stripes. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024)
References	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. Fitzinger, L. J. 1861. Die Ausbeute der österreichischen Naturforscher an Säugethieren und Reptilien während der Weltumsegelung Sr. Majestät Fregatte Novara. Sitzungsberichte der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Klasse der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 42: 383—416 - get paper here Garman, S. 1901. Some reptiles and batrachians from Australasia. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 39: 1-14 - get paper here 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 Jan, G. 1859. Plan d'une iconographie descriptive des ophidiens et description sommaire de nouvelles espèces de serpents. Rev. Mag. Zool., Paris (2) (11-12): 122-130 - get paper here Murphy, Michael J. 1994. Reptiles and amphibians of Seven Mile Beach National park, NSW. Herpetofauna (Sydney) 24 (2): 24-30 Murphy, Michael J.;Daly, Garry 1997. Records of the marsh snake Hemiaspis signata near Nowra, NSW: A southern extension of the known range of the species. Herpetofauna (Sydney) 27 (2): 33-34 Ormsby, A. I. 1950. The marsh snake. Proc. R. Zool. Soc. N. S. W. 1948: 29-31 - get paper here O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here Rankin, P. R. 1972. Notes on the swamp snake (Drepanodontis signata) in captivity. Herpetofauna (Sydney) 5: 15-17 Swan, G.; Sadlier, R.; Shea, G. 2017. A field guide to reptiles of New South Wales. Reed New Holland, 328 pp. 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.
External links	IUCN Red List National Center for Biotechnology Information http://www.kingsnake.com/oz/snakes/elapids/elapids.htm http://www.amonline.net.au/herpetology/research/pdf/elapidae.pdf http://zoobank.org/6E91FE2B-A4E7-4A7E-BD68-A9C883760883 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:823DA8CA-9F68-444A-8460… http://www.qmuseum.qld.gov.au/features/snakes/snakedetail.asp?TaxName… http://www.arod.com.au/arod/reptilia/Squamata/Elapidae/Hemiaspis/signata http://www.arod.com.au/arod/reptilia/Squamata/Scincidae/Lissolepis/luctuosa http://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/A3DD9FD2-4D28-4883-A087-249B6C432020 Google images

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