| Grey's mudsnake | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
 Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Genus: | Ephalophis M.A. Smith, 1931 |
| Species: | E. greyae |
| Binomial name | |
| Ephalophis greyae M.A. Smith, 1931 | |
| Synonyms | |
Grey's mudsnake (Ephalophis greyae), also known commonly as Grey's sea snake, the mangrove seasnake, and the north-western mangrove sea snake, is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Hydrophiinae of the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to northwestern Australia.
Etymology
Its specific name, greyae, has also been spelled greyi; however, it was named after a Beatrice Grey who collected the holotype, necessitating a feminine possessive.
Geographic range
E. greyae is found along the northwestern coast of the Australian state of Western Australia, from Shark Bay to Kimberley Region.
Habitat
The preferred natural habitats of E. greyae are mud flats, salt flats, the marine intertidal zone, and the marine neritic zone, to a depth of 10 m (33 ft).
Description
A small species of sea snake, E. greyae may attain a total length (including tail) of 66 cm (26 in).
Diet
E. greyae preys upon fishes, especially gobies and their eggs.
Reproduction
E. greyae is viviparous.
References
- ^ Lukoschek, V.; Guinea, M.; Milton, D. (2010). "Ephalophis greyae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T176755A7298070. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T176755A7298070.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ Species Ephalophis greyae at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
- Australian Biological Resources Study (19 March 2013). "Species Ephalophis greyi Smith, 1931". Australian Faunal Directory. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australian Government. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
- Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Ephalophis greyae, p. 108).
Further reading
- Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. ISBN 978-0643100350.
- Smith MA (1931). "Description of a new genus of sea-snake from the coast of Australia, with a note on the structures providing for complete closure of the mouth in aquatic snakes". Proc. Zool. Soc. London, Second Series 1931: 397-398. (Ephalophis greyi, new species).
- Shea GM (1996). "Correction of the incorrect original spelling of the species name of a Hydrophiid snake". The Snake 27 (2): 157. (Ephalophis greyae, new spelling).
- Wilson S, Swan G (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. ISBN 978-1921517280.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Ephalophis greyae | |
| Ephalophis greyi | |