Species

Pilbara Death Adder

Acanthophis wellsi
Category: Category 5
Care Sheets:

Genus: Acanthophis
Four short, very robust Australian spp. Head broad, distinct from neck. Tail slender, terminating in soft slender spine. Eye small, with male iris and vertically elliptic pupil. Head scales smooth to rugose, and body scales smooth to keeled in 19-23 rows at midbody. Anal scale single, and subcaudals single anteriorly and divided posteriorly. A row of subocular scales between eye and upper labial scales. Widespread throughout Australia with possible exception of Vic (no recent records), extending n. to NG and eastern Indonesia. Slow-moving sedentary snakes, convergent in appearance and behaviour with vipers of other continents. They lie motionless and partly concealed under leaf litter and low vegetation, with the slender segmented tail resting near the snout. At the approach of a small vertebrate the tail is wriggled convulsively in mimicry of a worm or caterpillar, luring the prey within range of the lightning-fast strike. Livebearing, producing up to 33 young. while death adders constitute a distinctive group, differences between them remain unclear. Available names for some additional ssp. may yet prove valid. One sp. is among Australia's most lethal snakes. but it is prudent to regard all as DANGEROUS.

Acanthophis wellsi
Relatively slender, with weakly rugose head shields, usually undivded prefrontal scales, and body scales moderately keeled dorsally and smooth laterally in 19 midbody rows. Reddish brown and banded, with 2 colour forms occurring: those with pale bands, and strongly patterned individuals with black bands and black heads. Lips not normally barred. Widespread throughout the Pilbara, WA, with an apparently isolated population on North west Cap and a possible hydribisation zone with A. pyrrhus s. and e. of North West Cape. Occurs among spinifex on stony soils. DANGEROUSLY VENOMOUS.

Necessities:

Vivarium	Infrared red heat lamp
Substrate	Water bowl
Thermostat

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