~ NEW SPECIES OF SNAKE FROM IRIAN JAYA (SERPENTES: )

Raymond Hoser cribed in 1998 as Pailsus pailsei sp. nov. (Hoser 1998) from northern Australia. ABSTRACT This placement also reflected opinions expressed by a The purpose of this paper is to describe a new species number of diverse authors, including Greer (1997), of snake from the Island of Papua. The species is an Shea, Shine and Covacevich (1993) and Wells and elapid member of the genus Pailsus Hoser 1998. It is Wellington (l 985a) to the effect that as understood that the snake has been erroneously la­ then recognised by most authors actually consisted of belled by many herpetologists as a New Guinea variant more than one genus. This paper also gives all cur­ of the King Brown (or Mulga) Snake (Cannia australis). rently available information about the newly described species including pointers as to where further speci­ Snakes of the genus (annia (Wells and Wellington mens may be found, directions for further research 1983) were formerly included in the genus Pseudechis. and other matters. For the rest of this paper, King Brown Snakes (Cannia australis), will be identified by this name (including PAILSUS ROSSIGNOLll SP. NOV. older references that use the name Pseudechis), al­ though many readers may wish to mentally inter­ Holotype: An adult specimen (no. 364) of l 05 cm change the name Cannia with the more familiar (but total length lodged at Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, now improper) name Pseudechis. The generic name Balai Penelitian don Pengembangan Zoologi Puslit­ Pseudechis now applies only to Red-bellied Black bang Biologi - UPI, JI. Raya Bogor Jakarta Km 46, Snakes (P. porphyriacus) of Eastern Australia. Cibinong 16911, Indonesia. The animal has 54 single subcaudal scales. The locality of collection is given as The newly described species is typical of the genus Pail­ "New Guinea", but to date the species is only known sus. These snakes have head and body scalation and from the south of the Island in the general region of coloration similar to that of Cannia australis, from Merauke Lat 8!! 30' Long 140!! 20' and areas a short northern Australia, while having a physical build more distance west of here along the coast. akin to that of Brown Snakes (genus Pseudonaja). This similarity with Pseudonaja is most apparent in the size Diagnosis: For many years this species has apparent­ of the head, which is proportionately smaller than on ly been misidentified and confused with the King all other snakes currently assigned to the genus Cannia Brown Snake ((annia australis) and possibly snakes of and related groups. This author regards the new the genus Pseudonaja. It is not known if the species is species as being most closely related to the snake des- sympatric with either. All species are relatively large,

LITIERATURA SERPENTIUM 2000 VOLUME 20 NO 6 A NEW SPECIES OF SNAKE FROM IRIAN JAYA nondescript in appearance and smooth-scaled species dais (Richard West, pers. comm), further indicating of brownish dorsal coloration. There are few if any that Australian and New Guinea specimens can be se­ prominent markings. The species seems to be most like parated by their subcaudal counts, (49-58 for New Pailsus pailsei, from which it can be separated defini­ Guinea animals known versus 69-75 for Australian tively by the following: animals known). It is also likely that P. rossignolii sp. nov. and P. pailsei * Distribution: This species is known only from the is­ can be separated by colouration. Specimens of P. land of New Guinea, Pailsus pailsei is known only rossignolii seen appear to be slightly darker in coloura­ from Australia and possibly Groote Eylandt, imme­ tion. However the samples of both species inspected to diately adjacent to the Coast (refer to Hoser 1999b, for details on the Groote Ey­ date are small and later examinations of further spe­ landt and West Australian reports).The two species cimens may find these traits as being unreliable indi­ can be separated by DNA analysis. cators for separating the species. *The subcaudal count for P. rossignolii observed is sub­ stantially less than for P. pailsei, (under 60 in P. ros­ Pailsus rossignolii (and P. pailseij are separated from signolii (see later this paper) versus 69 in the only Cannia australis by the following characters: two definitively known P. pailseij but until a greater number of specimens are checked, the differences observed so far may not remain consistent. We have *A more slender and gracile build, particularly around an unconfirmed report of a third Australian Pailsus the head and neck, which is nowhere near as broad. from near Wyndham, WA having 75 single subcau- *A smaller adult size,

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179 *Asmaller less broad and/or distinct head. single. (Refer to Hoser (1998) for a comparison The body mass differences between the genera are between Australian Pailsus and Australian Cannia substantial. To date Cannia is known to regularly ex subcaudal scale counts). ceed 2.5 metres, more than double the length known for Pailsus. Noting the more thick-set of Cania, References in the literature to some Cannia australis this would translate as a mass difference between the having no paired subcaudals (e.g. Cogger 1992, Wil­ genera of a vast magnitude. son and Knowles 1988) may in fact be erroneously re­ ferring to snakes of the genus Pailsus and this possi­ bility should be investigated. Worrell (1972) and Hoser Pailsus rossignolii (and P. pailse'1 can be reliably be (1989) do not give (annia australis as ever having all separated from Cannia australis from northern Aus­ single subcaudals. Further investigation of all speci­ tralia and north-western Queensland (where both gen­ mens in Australia lodged in Museums currently classi­ era occur) by the lack of paired subcaudals (under l 0) fied as Cannia australis is required to help clarify tax­ when compared with local Cannia australis (over l 0). onomy of C. australis, Pailsus rossignolii, Pailsus pailsei If C. australis do in fact occur on the island of New and similar species. To conduct such a survey was be­ Guinea, then one would expect specimens to have yond the means of this author with regards to time similar subcaudal patterns in terms of paired versus constraints and other commitments.

Pailsus rossignolii sp. nov. from Merauke, Irion Joya: Photo: Joe Marra

LITTERATURA SERPENTIUM 2000 VOLUME 20 NO 6 A NEW SPECIES OF SNAKE FROM IRIAN JAYA

Poilsus rossignolii can be separated from Pseuclono;o * All hybrid Australasian snakes seen by this author, in­ by the following: cluding Aconthophis howkei XA. loncosteri, Morelio spiloto XMorelia amethistino and X *Atypical lack of paired subcaudals versus all or main­ Liasis fuscus have always had scalation intermediate ly divided in Pseuclono;a, between the parents. This is not the case for Pailsus *The lack of orange or brown ventral markings, rossignolii. From the data presented in this paper and *It's whitish coloured rostral. Hoser (1998), it is evident that it is in fact Cannia austrolis (definitely not a hybrid snake) that appears Suggestions made that Poilsus rossignolii or any other to have what could be termed scalation intermediate Poilsus species may be a "hybrid" between Connio ou­ between Pseuclono;a and Pails us, at least with ref e­ rence to the number of paired or single subcaudals. and a must be dismissed on the fol- strolis Pseuclono;a *Pailsus and Cannia are sympatric in the Mount Isa lowing grounds: ' Area of Queensland demonstrating that they are *There is no evidence of any such hybridisation oc- specifically distinct and do not cross-breed in the curring. wild state.

Pailsus rossignolii sp. nov. from Merauke, Irion Jaya: Photo: Joe Marra

181 HABITAT OF LOCALITY None came anywhere near the two metres or more at­ tributed to adult C. australis from northern Australia New Guinea has diverse habitats. However the species (Yuwono 2000, personal communication). is only known from drier habitats such as Savannah woodlands, like that around the Merauke area in lrian All specimens of P. rossignollii had all subcaudals single Jaya, which to date is where most specimens of this (range being 49-58) (N=3, exact no.s 49, 54, 58). species have been collected. Merauke is known for it's The snakes are believed to have been sourced from concentration of "Australian-type" herpetofauna not Merauke, lrian Jaya, where they are understood to be found elsewhere in New Guinea, or with restricted dis­ reasonably common. tribution on the Island. It is likely that there are no King Brown Snakes (C. aus­ FURTHER INFORMATION OF RELE­ tralis) in New Guinea and all records for this species on VANCE TO THIS DESCRIPTION AND DISCUSSION that island should be treated as doubtful, pending fur­ ther investigations. Also see the comments on this below. Asearch of live and preserved collections in Europe and Asia revealed a number of specimens of this species Worrell (1972) refers to a doubtful record for C. australis that had been incorrectly identified as King Brown from Dutch New Guinea. That may in fact be for P. rossig­ Snakes (" Cannia australis''). These included animals nolii sp. nov. The material in O'Shea (1996) dealing with held by Wolfgang Schneyer from Mannheim and Hen­ King Brown Snakes clearly relies at least in part, on infor­ ning Schulz from Berlin, Bend Weizel in Germany, and mation based on Australian specimens. On that basis its Julio Mara in Italy (refer to Mara (2000), Weitzel relevance to the new species described herein is ignored. (2000a, 2000b, 2000c), Yuwono (2000)). Duplicitous e-mails from the previous and/ or other people are not Some of the taxonomic arrangements proposed by cited at the end of this paper. Wells and Wellington (1983, 1985a and 1985b) have been shunned by many herpetologists for a variety of The same search revealed no specimens that this author reasons. However their arrangements in terms of was able to identify as King Brown Snakes (Cannia au­ adopting the genus name Cannia has merit and should stralis) and/ or identifiable as the species described by be used by herpetologists, as opposed to the use of Gray in 1842 from Port Essington in the Northern Ter­ Pseudechis for "King Brown Snakes" as seen in publi­ ritory identifiable as coming from New Guinea. cations such as Cogger (1983, 1992), Greer (1997), Longmore (1986), Shea, Shine and Covacevich The specimens in captivity in Europe had in the main (1993), Wilson and Knowles (1998). been shipped by dealer Leo Jaya from Jakarta. All had been labelled as "King Brown Snakes", and all Following publication of a description of Pailsus pailsei ranged from .8 to 1.1 metre in total adult length. by this author in 1998, a number of e-mails were re-

LITTERATURA SERPENTIUM 2000 VOLUME 20 NO 6 A NEW SPECIES OF SNAKE FROM IRIAN JAYA ceived from David Williams and Mark O'Shea stating "New Guinea" or "Dutch New Guinea" so that the re­ that they were (as a pair) also looking at "King Brown cipients could claim to have received the snakes legal­ Snakes" from New Guinea. Williams noted that in­ ly. Among the animals labelled as such may hove been cluded in his samples were snakes attributable to the King Brown Snakes (Cannio oustrolis) from Australia. new species - or so he thought. Such snakes may still exist in European or American collections. (By way of example in 1993 this author Sometime after this Williams and Starkey (1999) pu­ saw "New Guinea" Collett's Snakes (Paroceclechis col­ blished on extensive online paper where they alleged lettn for sale in the USA labelled as coming from New that Pailsus pailsei was not a valid species and went on Guinea. Those snakes are in fact an Australian endemic). to allege the species described by Hoser (1998) was in fact just an aberrant C. australis. There were other re­ This author doubts that any "genuine" C. oustralis in lated posts and publications, including Williams collections outside of Australia are in fact sourced from (1998a, 1998b, 1999a, 1999b) as well as Fry (1998a, New Guinea. In the absence of any such specimens 1998b, 1998c, 1998d). An undertaking by Williams from New Guinea it is recommended that the species to publish further material in o "peer reviewed jour­ ((. australis) be formally removed from lists of fauna nal" did not appear to materialize. from the Island and remain so unless and until speci­ mens are found and properly identified along with ac­ Hoser (1999a) published o response to the Williams curate locality data. and Starkey paper re-affirming why Pailsus is distinct CAPTIVITY from C. australis. The position outlined in that paper appears to have been generally accepted by Australian As for the genus. Refer to Hoser (1998). Specimens herpetologists. have been kept alive in Europe for some years. Ade­ tailed account of their husbandry is beyond the scope In the absence of further relevant papers from Starkey, of this paper. However some specimens do display con­ Williams or O'Shea on New Guinea "King Brown" siderable agitation and aggression as illustrated in the snakes within o reasonable time frame, this description following account of a captive male by Bernd Weitzel: has been published in order that the hitherto unde­ scribed form (described above) is validly named. This thing just doesn't stay on ahook, bites in every di­ rection ancl even tries to bite you when walking past POTENTIAL MISINFORMATION the cage. It then bites into the gloss, the mouth trying AND CONFUSION to get a hole/ of something one/ that~ for minutes.

For lost quarter of the 20th century, export of Such behavior is extremely unusual for Cannio, which from Australia has been illegal. Many snakes sent out are usually of more even disposition. When pho­ of the country illegally were labelled as being from tographing an old P. pailsei in Australia, the snake also

183 fried to bite the hook, indicating that highly-strung be­ COMMON NAME havior may be typical for the genus. The newly described snake is herein called "Pailsus" in CONSERVATION AND RESEARCH recognition of the comments made by Sutherland (1999) and for want of alternatives. Straun Suther­ To date there is no information available as to what land wrote in the Medical Journal of Australia that he these snakes feed on in the wild. This causes problems would prefer the name "King Brown" not be used in in terms of assessing potential conservation risks for connection with Cannia australis or P. pailsei due to the the species. There are also believed to be more live fact that their venoms have closer affinities to those of snakes of this species in captivity than dead specimens the black snakes (Pseudechis) and are not neutralised in museums, although neither are in sizeable numbers by Psedonaja (Brown snake) anti-venoms. Sutherland or even numbers enough for meaningful research. To then stated he pref erred the alternative name for rectify the situation, this author has called on holders "King Brown" snakes, namely "Mulga Snake" as this of these snakes to lodge the bodies in public museums would remove potential confusion between these at time of death. P. pailsei lays eggs and if is assumed snakes and Pseudonaja. The proposal may have merit that P. rossignolii does likewise. None have been bred within Australia and could be adopted for Australian in captivity to the knowledge of this author. (annia. However if is a fact that most Australian's identify Cannia as "King Brown" rather than "Mulga" P. rossignolii is not believed to be threatened in the snakes. wild, however in view of risks posed by fera I pests such as Cane Toads (Bufo marinus) as well as other un­ Snakes of the genus Pailsus are now known to occur in seen threats in the form of diseases, which may or may both Australia and New Guinea, where the name not be introduced by humans, this author calls for self­ "Mulga" is meaningless and where at the present time, sustaining captive populations to be set-up in political­ there is serious doubt that any Cannia do in fact occur ly stable areas, such as Western Europe and North on the island. Therefore the name Pailsus is in fact a America, so as to insure against possi~le calamity in more appropriate common name to be used for these the wild. snakes both within Australia and New Guinea, bearing in mind that there is as yet, no established common ETYMOLOGY name.

The snake described above is named after Fred Ros­ Based on Sutherland's published comments, which I re­ signoli of Ringwood, , as tribute to his work gard as valid, I now prefer to use the name "Pailsus" involving Australian reptiles, in particular through his as a common name to describe snakes of this relative­ educational lectures at schools and other educational ly newly identified genus rather than my originally institutions. proposed "False ".

LITTERATURA SERPENTIUM 2000 VOLUME 20 NO 6 A NEW SPECIES OF SNAKE FROM IRIAN JAYA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Victorian Herpetological Society l 0 {l ):5-9, 31. Hoser, R. T. l 999a. Comments on comments on the Several people initially drew this author's attention to Genus Pailsus Hoser 1998, Monitor - Journal of the the previously undescribed snake. Museum curators Victorian Herpetological Society l 0 (2/3): 120-122. and private keepers provided this author with photos, Hoser, R. T. l 999b. 'What you may have missed - measurements and other data relating to relevant Herp news and media watch', Monitor -Journal of the snakes and other invaluable support and services. In­ Vidorian Herpetological Society l 0 (2/3): 130-136. cluded in this list of people are the following: John Longmore, R. 1986. Atlas of Elapid Snakes of Aus­ Coventry, Roy Pails, Mark O'Shea, Neil Sonneman, tralia. Australian Government Publishing Service, Can­ Craig Stephenson, Yayuk R. Suhardjono, Bernd Weitzel, berra, ACT, Australia. 120 pp. David Williams, Fronk B. Yuwono, Ms. Mumpuni.t Marra, J. 2000. E-mail to Raymond Hoser, 4 June. l p Mumpuni (?) E-mail to Raymond Hoser, 13 June, l p. REFERENCES O'Shea, M. 1996. AGuide to the Snakes of Papua New Guinea, Independent Publishing Group, Port Moresby, Cogger, H. G. 1983. Zoological Catalogue of Australia PNG. 251 pp. (1) Amphibia and Reptilia, Australian Government Shea, G., Shine, R. and Covacevich, J. C. 1993. Family Publishing Service, Canberra, ACT, Australia. 319 pp. Elapidae. Pp. 295-309 in Glasby, C. J., Ross, G. J. B. Cogger, H. G. 1992. Reptiles and Amphibians of Aus­ and Beesley, P. L. (eds), Fauna of Australia. Vol. 2A tralia, Revised Edition, Reed Publishing, Sydney, NSW, Amphibia and Reptilia. Australian Government Pu­ Australia. 77 5 pp. blishing Service, Canberra, ACT, Australia. 447 pp. Fry, B. l 999a. Posting on Internet Venom and Toxin Sutherland, S. K. 1999. Concern over the choice of Discussion Group, January 20: l p. anti-venom for "false king brown snake" bites and a Fry, B. l 999b. Posting on Internet Venom and Toxin plea for a name change. Medical Journal of Australia Discussion Group, March 5: l p. 170:187. Fry, B. l 999c. Posting on Internet Venom and Toxin Weitzel, B. 2000a. E-mail to Raymond Hoser, 5 June. l p Discussion Group, March 6: l p. Weitzel, B. 2000b. E-mail to Raymond Hoser, 7 June. l p. Fry, B. l 999d. Posting on Internet Venom and Toxin Weitzel, B. 2000c. E-mail to Raymond Hoser, 13 June. l p. Discussion Group, March 7: l p. Wells, R. W. and Wellington, C. R. 1983. Asynopsis of Greer, A. E. 1997. The Biology and Evolution of Aus­ the class Reptilia in Australia, Australian Journal of tralian Snakes, Surrey Beatty and Sons Pty Limited, , 1 (3-4 ):73-129. Chipping Norton, NSW, 2170, Austrolia.370 pp. Wells, R. W. and Wellington, C. R. l 985a. Aclassifica­ Hoser, R. T. 1989. Australian Reptiles and Frogs, Pier­ tion of the Amphibia and Reptilia of Australia. Aus­ son and Co., Sydney, NSW, Australia. 240 pp. tralian Journal of Herpetology, Supplementary Series, Hoser, R. T. 1998. ANew Snake From Queensland, Aus­ (l):l-61. tralia {Serpentes: Elapidae). Monitor - Journal of the Wells, R. W. and Wellington, C. R. l 985b. Asynopsis of

185 the Amphibia and Reptilia of Australia. Australian Jour­ http://www.uq.edu.au/ .... ddbfry/index.html:S pp. nal of Herpetology, Supplementary Series, (1 ):62-64. Wilson, S. K. and Knowles, D. G. 1988. Australia's Rep­ Williams, D. J. l 998a E-mail to Raymond Hoser, 26 Oc­ tiles: A Photographic Reference to the Terrestrial Rep­ tober:2 pp. tiles of Australia. Collins Publishers, Sydney, NSW, Aus­ Williams, D. J. l 998b Posting on Internet Venom and tralia. 447 pp. Toxin Discussion Group, November l :4 pp. Worrell, E. 1972. Dangerous snakes of Australia and Williams, D. J. l 999a Posting on Internet Venom and New Guinea, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, Australia. Toxin Discussion Group, March 6: l p. 65 pp. Williams, D. J. l 999b Posting on Internet Venom and Yuwono, F. 2000. E-mail to Raymond Hoser, 5 June. l p. Toxin Discussion Group, March 6: l p. Williams, D. J. and Starkey, B. A. 1999 'Comments on Note: Hoser (1998) and other relevant papers can the Genus Pailsus (Hoser, 1998)', also be downloaded from the internet at: Undated document from the internet site: http://www.smuggled.com/ papers

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