Toxicocalamus
| Toxicocalamus | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Genus: | Toxicocalamus Boulenger, 1896 |
Toxicocalamus is a genus of snakes in the family Elapidae.[1] Most species are relatively small ( the largest, Toxicocalamus grandis achieves just over 1.0 m in total length), venomous, fixed front-fanged or proteroglyphous snakes, but not of significance as a threat to humans, being unaggressive, of modest size, and secretive; most species are diurnal but fossorial.[2] Probably not closely related to Australian Elapidae, the genus Toxicocalamus is endemic to New Guinea and the d'Entrecasteaux Archipelago, Woodlark Island, and the Louisiade Archipelago, to the southeast of Papua New Guinea (PNG).[3][4]
Species
The following species are currently recognised in the genus Toxicocalamus:[5]
- Toxicocalamus buergersi (Sternfeld, 1913)
- Toxicocalamus grandis (Boulenger, 1914)
- Toxicocalamus holopelturus McDowell, 1969
- Toxicocalamus longissimus Boulenger, 1896
- Toxicocalamus loriae (Boulenger, 1898) - the former species Pseudapisthocalamus nymani Lönnberg, 1900; Apisthocalamus pratti Boulenger, 1904; A. loennbergii Boulenger, 1908; and A. lamingtoni Kinghorn, 1928; are synonyms
- Toxicocalamus mintoni Kraus, 2009
- Toxicocalamus misimae McDowell, 1969
- Toxicocalamus pachysomus Kraus, 2009
- Toxicocalamus preussi (Sternfeld, 1913) - the former species Ultrocalamus latisquamatus Schüz, 1929; and subspecies Toxicocalamus preussi angusticinctus Bogert & Matalas, 1945; are synonyms
- Toxicocalamus spilolepidotus McDowell, 1969
- Toxicocalamus stanleyanus Boulenger, 1903
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Toxicocalamus.
Most of the described species are poorly known and rarely encountered. The most widely distributed, and most commonly encountered, species is T. loriae (itself a possible species complex), which accounts for 66% of all Toxicocalamus specimens in museum collections. T. loriae is frequently encountered in the Highlands, where large numbers have been collected in village gardens along the Wahgi River valley of Simbu Province, PNG. The next most frequently encountered and widely distributed species are T. preussi and T. stanleyanus. All the other species are much less well known and localised in distribution. On mainland New Guinea, T. buergersi is known from only six specimens, from the Torricelli Mountains in the Sepik region; T. spilolepidotus is known from two specimens, from the Kratke Range, Eastern Highlands Province, T. pachysomus is known from its holotype, from the Cloudy Mountains, Milne Bay Province, PNG, while T. grandis is also only known from its holotype, collected on the Setakwa River, western New Guinea, in 1912. On the islands of Milne Bay, T. holopelturus is known from 18 specimens from Rossel Island, T. longissimus is known from 12 specimens from Woodlark Island, T. misimae is known from three specimens from Misima Island, and T. mintoni is known from only its holotype, from Vanatinai Island.
References
- ↑ McDowell SB. 1969. Toxicocalamus, a New Guinea genus of snakes of the family Elapidae. Journal of Zoology 159 (4): 443–511. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1969.tb03900.x
- ↑ Toxicocalamus at The Reptile Database
- ↑ O'Shea M. 1996. A Guide to the Snakes of Papua New Guinea. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: Independent Publishing. vii + 239 pp. ISBN 978-9810078362.
- ↑ Kraus F. 2009. New Species of Toxicocalamus (Squamata: Elapidae) from Papua New Guinea. Herpetologica 65 (4) :460-467. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1655/09-002.1
- ↑ Allison, Allen; Kraus, Fred. 2013. "Checklist of the Amphibians and Reptiles of the Papuan Region". Honolulu: Bishop Museum.
Further reading
- Boulenger GA. 1896. Description of a new Genus of Elapine Snakes from Woodlark Island, British New Guinea. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Sixth Series 18: 152. (Toxicocalamus, new genus).