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Hoplocephalus bungaroides (SCHLEGEL, 1837)

IUCN Red List - Hoplocephalus bungaroides - Vulnerable, VU
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Higher TaxaElapidae (Hydrophiinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Broad-headed Snake
G: Breitkopfotter 
SynonymHoplocephalus bungaroides WAGLER 1830: 342 (nom. nud.)
Naja bungaroides SCHLEGEL 1837: 477 (non Naja bungaroides BOIE 1828)
Elapocormus Bungaroïdes — FITZINGER 1843: 28
Alecto variegata DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854: 1254
Alecto Bungaroïdes DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854: 1257
Hoplocephalus bungaroides — BOULENGER 1896: 348
Hoplocephalus bungaroides — COGGER 1983: 227
Hoplocephalus bungaroides — WELCH 1994: 65
Hoplocephalus bungaroides — COGGER 2000: 658
Hoplocephalus bungaroides — WILSON & SWAN 2010
Hoplocephalus bungaroides — WALLACH et al. 2014: 336
Hoplocephalus bungaroides — MIRTSCHIN et al. 2017
Hoplocephalus bungaroides — EIPPER & EIPPER 2024: 155 
DistributionAustralia (New South Wales)

Type locality: Port Jackson, N. S. W. (but see note below).  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesLectotype: MNHN-RA 7678 (Port Jackson), collected J. Quoy & P. Gaimard, designation by Wells & Wellington (1985). Syntypes: MNHN-RA 7678 (Port Jackson) and MNHN-RA 7679 (Indes? MNHN catalogue indicated Australia), from Port Jackson, N. S. W. and "Indes?", see Guibé & Roux-Estève (1972). Duméril, Bibron & Duméril (1854) cite "Nouvelle Hollande" and Australia as the locality for MNHP 7679. 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (1531 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Synonymy after COGGER 1983.

Type species: Naja bungaroides SCHLEGEL 1837: 477 is the type species of the genus Hoplocephalus WAGLER 1830. Wagler 1830 refers to Cuvier who seems to have used the name Hoplocephalus earlier.

Habitat: partly arboreal (Harrington et al. 2018).

Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. 
EtymologyPresumably named after Naja bungarus (a synonym of the king cobra also created by Schlegel in the same monograph) plus the suffix -oides (similarity). (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024)

The genus Hoplocephalus was named after the vernacular name Oplocephales, created by Cuvier (1829). The generic name is likely based on the Greek hoplon (usually ascribed to being the heavy shields carried by foot soldiers, or hoplites, but technically any tool or weapon), plus kephale (the head), likely referring to the presence of large regular head shields in these elapid snakes (Cuvier notes "Ont de grandes plaques sur la tête"; have large plates on their head). Keogh et al. (2000) suggest the shield reference may be to the way in which the type species flattens out the head when disturbed, but Cuvier's original coining of the generic name in vernacular antedates the discovery of the type species, and neither Wagler nor Cuvier would have been familiar with the behaviour of the live snakes. 
References
  • Adams, D. 1973. Broad-headed snake (Hoplocephalus bungaroides). Herpetofauna (Sydney) 5: 19-22
  • 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.
  • Downes, S. 1999. Prey Odor Influences Retreat-site Selection by Naive Broadheaded Snakes (Hoplocephalus bungaroides) Journal of Herpetology 33 (1): 156-159. - get paper here
  • Duméril, A. M. C., Bibron, G. & DUMÉRIL, A. H. A., 1854. Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième. Deuxième partie, comprenant l'histoire des serpents venimeux. Paris, Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret: i-xii + 781-1536 - get paper here
  • Eipper T & Eipper S 2024. SNAKES OF AUSTRALIA. Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford, 368 pp. - get paper here
  • Goldingay, R. L. 2017. Persistence of Australia's most threatened snake (Hoplocephalus bungaroides) in Australia's oldest National Park. Journal of Zoology; DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12505 - get paper here
  • Goldingay, R. L. 2018. Persistence of Australia's most threatened snake (Hoplocephalus bungaroides) in Australia's oldest National Park. Journal of Zoology 304 (3): 202–209 - get paper here
  • Guibé, J. & Roux-Estève, R. 1972. Les types de Schlegel (Ophidiens) présents dans les collections du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris. Zoologische Mededelingen 47: 129-134 - get paper here
  • Hanscom, R. J., Higham, T. E., Ryan, D., & Clark, R. W. 2023. Ambush hunting in snakes: behaviour, function, and diversity. In: D. Penning (ed.), Snakes: morphology, function, and ecology. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers - get paper here
  • Harrington, Sean M; Jordyn M de Haan, Lindsey Shapiro, Sara Ruane 2018. Habits and characteristics of arboreal snakes worldwide: arboreality constrains body size but does not affect lineage diversification. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 125 (1): 61–71 - get paper here
  • Hayes, D. 1973. Observation on distribution of the broad-headed snake Hoplocephalus bungaroides (Boie). Herpetofauna (Sydney) 6: 27-28
  • Hoser, Raymond 1995. The Australian broad-headed snake (Hoplocephalus bungaroides). Reptilian 3 (10): 15-27 - get paper here
  • Hoser, Raymond T. 1995. The Australian broad-headed snake Hoplocephalus bungaroides in the wild. Litteratura Serpentium 15 (4): 92-99 - get paper here
  • Hoser, Raymond T. 1995. Hoplocephalus bungaroides, the broad-headed snake in captivity. Litteratura Serpentium 15 (3): 59-62 - get paper here
  • Hosmer, W. 1952. The broadheaded snake Hoplocephalus bungaroides (Boie) also known as the fierce snake, and night snake. N. Qd. Nat 20: 14-16
  • 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
  • Mirtschin, P., Rasmussen, A.R. & Weinstein, S.A. 2017. Australia’s Dangerous snakes. CSIRO Publishing, 424 pp. - get paper here
  • Murphy, Michael J. 1996. A possible threat to the broad-headed snake Hoplocephalus bungaroides: degradation of habitat by the feral goat Capra hircus. Herpetofauna (Sydney) 26 (2): 37-38
  • Newell, D.A.; Goldingay, R.L. 2005. Distribution and habitat assessment of the broad-headed snake Hoplocephalus bungaroides. Australian Zoologist 33 (2): 168-179 - get paper here
  • Ormsby, A. I. 1947. Notes on the broad-headed snake (Hoplocephalus bungaroides). Proc. R. Zool. Soc. N. S. W. 1946-47: 19-21 - get paper here
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here
  • Schlegel, H. 1837. Essai sur la physionomie des serpens. Partie Descriptive. La Haye (J. Kips, J. HZ. et W. P. van Stockum), 606 S. + xvi - get paper here
  • Shea, G. M. 2021. Dr. John Mair, Captain Collet Barker, and the discovery of the Australian Keelback, Tropidonophis mairii (Serpentes, Colubridae). Bibliotheca Herpetologica 15 (3): 18–28 - get paper here
  • Swan, G.; Sadlier, R.; Shea, G. 2017. A field guide to reptiles of New South Wales. Reed New Holland, 328 pp.
  • 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.
  • Wells, R. 1984. Literature: Remarks on the Prey Preferences of Hoplocephalus bungaroides. Litteratura Serpentium 4 (3/4)141 - get paper here
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
 
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