Hoplocephalus

Hoplocephalus
Hoplocephalus bungaroides
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Elapidae
Subfamily:	Hydrophiinae
Genus:	Hoplocephalus Wagler, 1830[1]

Hoplocephalus is a genus of venomous snakes in the family Elapidae. The genus is endemic to Australia. Three species are recognized.

Taxonomy

The genus name Hoplocephalus was originally coined for the king cobra by Johann Georg Wagler, under the name Hoplocephalus bungaroides (formerly Naja bungaroides). However, the species name Naja bungaroides was used by Hermann Schlegel for the broad-headed snake, and these two names became conflated, with the genus name Hoplocephalus long being used for the Australian snakes instead of the king cobra. This discrepancy was discovered in 2024, but due to the longstanding use of the name, it was decided to maintain the name Hoplocephalus for the Australian snakes and maintain the name H. bungaroides for the broad-headed snake.[2]

Description

Snakes of the genus Hoplocephalus have a pair of large grooved venom fangs, which are followed by two or three small maxillary teeth. The mandibular teeth are longest anteriorly. The head is distinct from the neck. The eye is rather small, with a round pupil. There is no loreal scale. The dorsal scales are smooth, without apical pits, and are arranged in 21 rows at midbody. The subcaudals are entire (undivided).[3]

Species

The genus Hoplocephalus contains the following species which are recognized as being valid.[4]

• Hoplocephalus bitorquatus (Jan, 1859) – pale-headed snake
• Hoplocephalus bungaroides (Schlegel, 1837) – broad-headed snake
• Hoplocephalus stephensii Krefft, 1869 – Stephens's banded snake

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

References

1. Wikispecies
2. Das, Indraneil; Shankar, P. Gowri; Swamy, Priyanka; Williams, Rhiannon C.; Lalremsanga, Hmar Tlawmte; Prashanth, P.; Sahoo, Gunanidhi; Vijayakumar, S. P.; Höglund, Jacob; Shanker, Kartik; Dutta, Sushil K.; Ganesh, S. R.; Wüster, Wolfgang (2024-10-16). "Taxonomic revision of the king cobra Ophiophagus hannah (Cantor, 1836) species complex (Reptilia: Serpentes: Elapidae), with the description of two new species". European Journal of Taxonomy. 961: 1–51. doi:10.5852/ejt.2024.961.2681. ISSN 2118-9773.
3. Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 757 pp. + Plates I–XXV. (Genus Hoplocephalus, p. 348).
4. Genus Hoplocephalus at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading

• Wagler J (1830). Natürliches System der AMPHIBIEN, mit vorangehender Classification de SÄUGTHIERE und VÖGEL. Ein Beitrag zur vergleicheden Zoologie. Munich, Stuttgart and Tübingen: J.G. Cotta. vi + 354 pp. + one plate. (Hoplocephalus, new genus, p. 172). (in German and Latin).