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Furina ornata (GRAY, 1842)

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Higher TaxaElapidae (Hydrophiinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Orange-naped Snake
E: Orange-naped whipsnake [christeanus]
G: Nördlicher Rotnackenotter 
SynonymElaps ornatus GRAY 1842: 55
Brachysoma simile MACLEAY 1878: 221
Pseudelaps christieanus FRY 1915: 91
Pseudelaps christeanus — WORRELL 1945: 32
Lunelaps christieanus — WORRELL 1961: 22
Furina ornata — COGGER 1983: 225
Aspidomorphus christieanus — MINTON et al. 1970
Furina christieanus — UNDERWOOD 1979
Furina ornata — STORR 1981
Lunelaps christieanus — MENGDEN 1983
Furina ornata — GOLAY et al. 1993: 137
Furina ornata — WELCH 1994: 63
Furina ornata — COGGER 2000: 653
Furina ornata —FERGUSON et al. 2012
Furina ornata — WALLACH et al. 2014: 298 
DistributionAustralia (Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia)

Type locality: "Australia, (Swan River?)".  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1946.1.21.76
Syntypes: AM R31928-31, from Port Darwin, N. T. [Brachysoma simile]
Holotype: AM R4989, from Port Darwin, N. T. [Pseudelaps christieanus] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (949 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy partly after GOLAY et al. 1993.

Venomous! Worrell (1945) found that Pseudelaps christeanus was not aggressive and only became more aroused “after continuous provocation” but is usually “handled without resistance”. Forced bites on his fingers “produced no irritating or otherwise ill effects”, given that this is a rather small snake. 
EtymologyThe Latin ornata, -us, = decorated" or "ornamented," refers to the ornate coloration. 
References
  • 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
  • Bush, B. & Maryan, B. 2006. Snakes and Snake-like Reptiles of Southern Western Australia. Snakes Harmful & Harmless, Stoneville, Perth, Western Australia, 40 pp. - 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.
  • Ferguson, D., Mathieson, M. & Eyre, T. 2012. Southerly range extension of the poorly known, Queensland endemic yellow-napped snake Furina barnardi (squamata: elapidae) into the Mulga Lands. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 56 (1): 9-12 - get paper here
  • Fry, Dene B. 1915. Descriptions of two new species of Pseudelaps, and a key ot the genus. Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland 27: 91- - get paper here
  • Golay,P, H.M. SMITH, D.G. BROADLEY, J. R. DIXON, C., MCCARTHY, J. C. RAGE, B. SCHÀTTI & M.TORIBA 1993. Endoglyphs and other major venomous snakes of the world. A checklist. [type catalogue] Aire-Genève, Azemiops S. A. Herpetological Data Center: i-xv + 1-478.
  • Gray, J. E. 1842. Description of some hitherto unrecorded species of Australian reptiles and batrachians. Zoological Miscellany 2: 51—57 (London: Treuttel, Würtz & Co) - get paper here
  • Longman, H. A. 1916. Snakes and lizards from Queensland and the Northern Territory. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 5: 46-51 - get paper here
  • Macleay, W. 1878. Notes on a collection of snakes from Port Darwin. Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales 2: 219-222 - get paper here
  • Mayer, M. 2014. Von Schlangen, Kröten und Krokodilen im tropischen „Top End“ Australiens. Ein Reise- und Studienbericht. Reptilia (Münster) 19 (110): 76-85
  • Mengden, Gregory A. 1983. The taxonomy of Australian elapid snakes: A review. Rec. Austral. Mus. 35 (5): 195-222 - get paper here
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here
  • Parkin, T., Jolly, C. J., de Laive, A., & von Takach, B. 2020. Snakes on an urban plain: Temporal patterns of snake activity and human–snake conflict in Darwin, Australia. Austral Ecology - get paper here
  • Somaweera, R. 2009. Snakes of Darwin. Poster, University of Sydney
  • Storr, G. M. 1981. The genus Furina (Serpentes: Elapidae) in Western Australia. Rec. West. Austr. Mus. 9: 119-123 - 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. 1945. The orange-naped whipsnake. Proc. R. Zool. Soc. N. S. W. 1944-45: 32-33 - get paper here
  • Worrell, E. 1961. Herpetological Name Changes. Western Australian Naturalist 8: 18—27. - get paper here
 
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