Variable Black-naped Snake

About the Variable Black-naped Snake

Dwyer's snake (Suta dwyeri) also known as the variable black-naped snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to Australia, where it is found from New South Wales to South Queensland. While closely related to Australian sea snakes, S. dwyeri is a terrestrial reptile.

The specific name, dwyeri, is in honor of Australian herpetologist John Dwyer. There has been a great amount of instability of the nomenclature of many Australian snake taxa, particularly concerning the generic classification of the smaller Elapidae, some of which have been placed in several different genera in the span of just a few decades.

Accordingly, Dwyer's snake, which was originally named Denisonia dwyeri by Worrell in 1956, has been variously called Unechis dwyeri by Cogger in 1983, Suta dwyeri by Valentic in 1998, Suta spectabilis dwyeri by Cogger in 2000, and Parasuta dwyeri by Greer in 2006.

Adult S. dwyeri males average 31 cm (12 inches) in length from the tip of the snout to the uro-genital vent. Females are slightly smaller at around 29 cm (11 inches) in snout-to-vent length (SVL). S. dwyeri has a cylindrical brown... Wikipedia →