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Cryptophis nigrescens (GÜNTHER, 1862)

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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 
DistributionAustralia (New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria)

Type locality: "environs of Sydney", N. S. W.  
Reproductionovovivparous 
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] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (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
  • 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
  • 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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