Elapognathus minor (GÜNTHER, 1863)
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Elapognathus minor
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| Higher Taxa | Elapidae (Hydrophiinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Short-nosed Snake, Little Brown Snake G: Kleine Braunotter |
| Synonym | Hoplocephalus minor GÜNTHER 1863 : 362 Elapognathus minor — BOULENGER 1896 Notechis minor — STORR 1982 Elapognathus minor — COGGER 1983: 224 Elapognathus minor — WELCH 1994: 59 Elapognathus minor — COGGER 2000: 649 Elaphognathus minor — BUSH & MARYAN 2006 (in error) Elapognathus minor — WILSON & SWAN 2010 Elapognathus minor — WALLACH et al. 2014: 264 |
| Distribution | Australia (SW Western Australia) Type locality: Swan River, S Australia; “Spitjwestern Australia” fide GOLAY et al. 1993. |
| Reproduction | ovovivparous |
| Types | Lectotype: BMNH 1946.1.20.71 M (Swan River), designated by Wells & Wellington (1985). Former syntypes: BMNH 1946.1.18.64 F (Swan River); BMNH 1946.1.19.14-15 ("S. Australia”); BMNH 1964.962 (the skull from MCZ 76635), ZMB 4928 (not found), MCZ 76635 ("S. Australia", skull removed), from "S. Australia" and Swan River, W. A. (both as "S. W. Australia”). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus): Small terrestrial hydrophiine elapid snakes with anal and all subcaudals undivided; dorsal scales smooth and matt; head slightly distinct from neck; eye large; pupil round; 0 to 4 noncanaliculate maxillary teeth behind diastema (usually none in minor, but one specimen with 3 posterior alveoli); temporal scales usually 2+2+3 (up to 3+3+4 in coronatus); preocular contacts undivided nasal and second supralabial; usually 6 supralabials (in coronatus, sometimes 7 when temporolabial reaches lip); parietal separated from lower postocular; 7 infralabials. Venom-gland musculature ‘Oxyuranus type' (coronatus) or Glyphodon type (m. adductor externus superficialis [probably should be superfacialis] secondarily simplified and reduced in minor). Body form moderate to somewhat stout, round (or facultatively depressed) in crosssection; ventral scales not extending to lateral surface of the body and with uniformly curved free edge. Dorsal scale rows 19±23 at first ventral, 15 on neck and at midbody, a single bilateral posterior reduction to 13. Ventrals fewer than 160 (minor 116±129, coronatus 130± 153). Iris dark with pale ring around pupil; body reddish or greenish grey or brown; top of head darker and with pale-edged dark collar (in minor, only on sides of neck); upper lip pale; dorsal bands or blotches absent; venter yellow or orange with dark speckles or transverse bars; oral lining pale, tongue dark. SVL less than 600 mm, adult males and females approximately equal in size; viviparous; diet includes more frogs than skinks. Tail moderately prehensile, used by both species to climb at least in low vegetation. Most similar to species of Drysdalia (coronoides, mastersii, rhodogaster), but distinguished by the following apomorphic characters: dorsal laminae of nasal bones more extensive, clasping premaxilla and contacting frontal; anteromedial spine of prefrontal absent; lacrimal foramen may be transversely elongated rather than round; postorbital broad and `strap-like' distally; adductor crests on parietal not meeting to form a sagittal crest posteriorly; neural spine not overhanging anteriorly; diet mainly frogs; tail prehensile and climbs in low vegetation. Drysdalia spp. further differ from Elapognathus in the following apomorphies: lower average number of dorsal scale rows at first ventral (range 17±21, vs. 19±23), and posterior reduction further behind midbody (15 to 13 rows at 76±88% ventral scale, vs. 63-88% in Elapognathus); posterior process of vomer subequal in length to capsule of Jacobsen's organ; frontal bones (and overlying scale) long, narrow between the orbits and expanded anteriorly; postorbital crest of parietal reduced; trigeminal foramen (V2) narrowly separated from parietal; retroarticular process in lateral view in line with compound; adductor fossa open laterally; surangular foramen one-third from anterior end of compound bone; one less pair of macrochromosomes (by fusion); Z sex chromosome modified and differing in relative length (`Group 5' vs. `Group 1' karyomorph, Mengden, 1985) (from Keogh et al. 2000: 325). |
| Comment | Habitat: terrestrial Venomous! Type species: Hoplocephalus minor GÜNTHER 1863 : 362 is the type species of the genus Elapognathus BOULENGER 1896. Diagnosis (genus): Cogger 1986 ? (fide Hutchinson 1990, who doesn’t cite Cogger 1986). |
| Etymology | Presumably named after the Latin minor (lesser), in reference to the small size. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) |
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