Hoplocephalus is a genus of in the family Elapidae. The genus is Endemism 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.
Description
Snakes of the genus
Hoplocephalus have a pair of large grooved venom fangs, which are followed by two or three small
teeth. The
Mandible 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
Subcaudal scales are entire (undivided).
[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).]
Species
The genus
Hoplocephalus contains the following species which are recognized as being valid.
[ www.reptile-database.org.]
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Hoplocephalus bitorquatus – pale-headed snake
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Hoplocephalus bungaroides – broad-headed snake
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Hoplocephalus stephensii – Stephens's banded snake
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Hoplocephalus.
Further reading
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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).
