| Pseudechis australis | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Genus: | Pseudechis |
| Species: | P. australis |
| Binomial name | |
| Pseudechis australis Gray, 1842[1] |
|
| Range of King Brown (in red) | |
Pseudechis australis, the common King Brown, Mulga snake or Pilbara cobra, is a species of venomous snake found in Australia. It is one of the longest venomous snakes in the world and the second longest in Australia. Despite one of its common names, "King Brown", it is part of the Pseudechis (black snake) genus.
Contents |
Mulga snakes are large venomous snakes growing from 2.5 metres to 3 metres in length. It is exceeded in size by the venomous King Cobra, the African Mambas, the Australian Taipan, and genus Lachesis (Bushmaster). Depending on its areal extent, mulga snakes can be of a light brown colour in the desert to a dark brown-blackish colour in the cooler regions of Queensland, South Australia and New South Wales. Mulga snakes are robust with a wide head and smooth snout.
The Mulga snake venom consists of neurotoxin. The LD50 is 2.38 mg/kg subcutaneous.[2] Its venom is not particularly toxic to mice, but it is produced in huge quantities. The average tiger snake produces around 10–40 mg when milked. By comparison, a good sized king brown snake may deliver 150 mg in one bite.
Black snake anti-venom is used to treat bites from this species, after a CSL Venom Detection Kit has returned a conclusive result for mulga snake envenomation and there are signs that anti-venom usage is required.
Female mulga snakes produce a clutch of around 8–20 eggs, which may be laid in a disused burrow or beneath a log or rock. There is no maternal care for the eggs once they have been laid. Eggs take about 2–3 months to hatch, after which time the new born snakelets must care for themselves.
Mulga snakes occur over much of Australia. They are found in most states of Australia except for Victoria and Tasmania. Its range includes all of the Northern Territory, most parts of Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. It may also be found in the western parts of the Australian Capital Territory.
Mulga snakes inhabit woodlands, hummock grassland, chenopod scrubland and almost bare gibber or sandy deserts usually sheltering near humans under timber, rubbish piles, burrows and deep soil cracks. They are not found in rainforests.
The mulga snake primarily preys on lizards, birds, mammals and frogs. It is well adapted to eating other snakes, including all venomous snakes.
The species was first described by John Edward Gray in 1842, who placed it in the genus Naja (cobras). The species was long regarded as monotypic, but several new taxa have recently been described from within P. australis. Two new species and a new genus have been described within this complex by Raymond Hoser: Pailsus pailsei, from near Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia[3] and Pailsus rossignolii, found in Irian Jaya.[4] Hoser later also resurrected Pailsus weigeli (originally described as Cannia weigeli by Wells and Wellington 1987[5]). These descriptions were initially received with skepticism due to the low level of evidence provided in the original descriptions.[6] Later genetic analyses supported the validity of some of Hoser's species, but his genus Pailsus was shown to be a synonym of Pseudechis, and more work is needed to understand species limits among the smaller species of the group.[7][8][9][10]