Suta suta (PETERS, 1863)
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| Higher Taxa | Elapidae (Hydrophiinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Curl Snake, Myal Snake |
| Synonym | Hoplocephalus sutus PETERS 1863: 234 Alecto wiebelii JAN 1863 Hoplocephalus frenatus PETERS 1870: 646 Hoplocephalus carpentariae MACLEAY 1887: 403 (fide COGGER 1983) Hoplocephalus frontalis OGILBY 1890: 1027 Hoplocephalus stirlingi LUCAS & FROST 1896: 149 Denisonia suta — BOULENGER 1896 Denisonia frontalis propinqua DE VIS 1905: 51 Denisonia forresti BOULENGER 1906: 440 Demansia forresti — KINGHORN 1929 (?) Suta suta — WORRELL 1962 Suta suta — COGGER 1983: 237 Suta suta — WELCH 1994: 109 Suta suta — COGGER 2000: 692 Suta suta — WILSON & SWAN 2010 Suta suta — WALLACH et al. 2014: 691 Suta suta — MARYAN et al. 2020 |
| Distribution | Australia (New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia) Type locality: “Buchsfelde bei Adelaide in Südaustralien” (Loos, near Gawler, South Australia [Hoplocephalus sutus PETERS 1863]) |
| Reproduction | ovovivparous |
| Types | Holotype: ZMB 4715 (Hoplocephalus sutus PETERS 1863) Holotype: ZMB 6922, from Lake Elphinstone, Qld. [Hoplocephalus frenatus]. Holotype: AM R31926, from near Normanton, Qld. (status unclear because this specimen differs from the original description fide COGGER 1983) [Hoplocephalus carpentariae]. Holotype: AM R655, from Narrabri, N. S. W. [Hoplocephalus frontalis]. Lectotype: (only extant syntype), NMV D11758, from Charlotte Waters, N. T., other type localities in original description were Oodnadatta, S. A., Alice Springs, N. T., and Hermannsburg, N. T., lectotype designated by Coventry (1970) [Hoplocephalus stirlingi]. Holotype: QM J198, from Qld. [Denisonia frontalis propinqua]. Syntypes: BMNH 1946.1.20.72-3, from Alexandria, N. T. [Denisonia forresti]. Holotype: ZMH R04380 [Alecto wiebelii] |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus). Partially based on Hutchinson (1990). Species within the genus Suta are small to moderate-sized nocturnal viviparous snakes (total length to 879 mm* in the largest species S. suta) with: head depressed and slightly to moderately wider than neck, no canthus rostralis, frontal not much longer than wide, internasals present slightly smaller than prefrontals, preocular in contact or not with nasal, temporals 2 + 2 (2 + 1 in some S. gaikhorstorum sp. nov. and in most S. monachus) lower primary temporal descending deeply between last two supralabials (oc- casionally contacting oral margin), supralabials 6, infralabials 7 (typically fourth infralabial distinctly divided in S. spectabilis), a consistent colour pattern of dark head markings (a brown to black hood in all but S. fasciata and S. punctata) and variable body colouration of shades of brown, greyish, reddish brown or bright red (cross-banded in S. fasciata, typically a dark vertebral stripe or zone in S. nigriceps), midbody scales very glossy and smooth, in 15‒19 (rarely 21) rows, anal and subcaudal scales undivided, ventral surface white with glossy shine (typically grey anterior edge of ventrals and subcaudals in S. ordensis**), eyes are black with pupils not distinguishable from irises or eyes are yellowish-brown to dark with round to widely elliptic pupils (Bush 2017). Further distinguished by unique 2n = 30 karyomorph (Mengden 1985). *Based on specimen held in the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT R4820: SVL 775 mm, TailL 104 mm; Storr 1984: 250; G. Dally, pers. obs.). **Based on specimen observed in life (MAGNT R38139; C. Jolly, pers. obs.) (Maryan et al. 2020: 7). |
| Comment | Type species: Hoplocephalus sutus PETERS 1863 is the type species of the genus Suta WORREL 1961: 25. Phylogenetics: see Maryan et al. 2020 for a phylogenetic analysis of the genus. Synonymy modified after COGGER 1983. Kaiser et al. 2013 considered the generic name Hulimkai Hoser 2012 invalid and rejected its use instead of Suta. Venomous! |
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