Brachyurophis

Brachyurophis
Brachyurophis fasciolatus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Elapidae
Subfamily:	Hydrophiinae
Genus:	Brachyurophis Günther, 1863

Brachyurophis is a genus of elapid snakes known as shovel-nosed snakes, so named because of their shovel-nosed snout which is used to burrow. The genus has eight recognized species, which are all found in Australia.[1]

Species

• Brachyurophis approximans (Glauert, 1854) – North-western shovel-nosed snake
• Brachyurophis australis (Krefft, 1864) – (Australian) coral snake, Eastern shovel-nosed snake
• Brachyurophis campbelli (Kinghorn, 1929) – Cape York shovel-nosed snake
• Brachyurophis fasciolatus (Günther, 1872) – Narrow-banded shovel-nosed snake
• Brachyurophis incinctus (Storr, 1968) – Unbanded shovel-nosed snake
• Brachyurophis morrisi (Horner, 1998) – Arnhem shovel-nosed snake
• Brachyurophis roperi (Kinghorn, 1931) – Northern shovel-nosed snake
• Brachyurophis semifasciatus Günther, 1863 – Southern shovel-nosed snake

The above species are sometimes included in the genus Simoselaps, sensu lato.

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Brachyurophis.

Geographic distribution

• B. approximans - Western Australia North West Coastal and Western Plateau.
• B. australis - New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.
• B. fasciolatus - New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Northern Territory.
• B. incinctus - Northern Territory and Queensland.
• B. morrisi - Northern Territory North Coast.
• B. roperi - Northern Territory and Western Australia North Coast.
• B. semifasciata - Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland and Northern Territory.

References

1. "Brachyurophis ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading

• Günther A (1863). "On new Species of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum". Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Third Series 11: 20–25. (Brachyurophis, new genus, p. 21).

External links

• Australian Faunal Directory
• OZCAM | Western Australian Museum