''Echiopsis curta'' is a

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on o ...

elapid Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids , from , variant of "sea-fish") is a family (biology), family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus ...

species of snake, also commonly known from the Aboriginal name as the bardick. It is a short, highly venomous snake with variable color which is mainly

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

, reaching a maximum length of 57 cm. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, most commonly found in three distinct

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

s through southern Australia. They are considered venomous to humans, however there is very little information. Their population is decreasing due to habitat degradation and destruction but considered

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

Description

The bardick grows up to maximum of 57 cm (1 ft 10.44 in) in length with a thick set stumpy body with a short tail. Its smooth scales vary in color from pale to dark grey, brown and reddish, darker along the head and back, this lightens along the sides, with white to cream belly. Lips are spotted with white. The bardick has short hollow fixed fangs which is uses to deliver toxic venom to its prey.

Distribution and habitat

''Echiopsis curta'' has three distinct populations in

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...

areas in the south of Australia, south-west

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, the Eyre peninsula of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

and another in western

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. It inhabits

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

and open forest in the west and favors mallee and ''Triodia'' grassland country in the eastern population. They like to live under leaf litter, fallen trees and debris. The major threat to bardick numbers is due to loss of habitat from clearing.

Diet

It is an ambush style predator which is mostly nocturnal in habit and a diet consisting of mainly lizards (52%), frogs (31%) and mammals (13%), plus some birds and insects. Eastern populations eat less amphibians than western populations. Studies conducted on diet showed prey types contained multiple species of each type.

Lifespan and reproduction

Bardicks are

ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparity, oviparous and live-bearing viviparity, viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develo ...

, with litters ranging between 3 and 14 and averaging 7 young. These are born up to 15 cm in length. Mating occurs in late spring, gestation over summer and birthing in late summer and autumn. Males reach sexual maturity at 29 cm snout-vent length (SVL) at between 17 and 19 months of age. Females reach reproductive age at 28 cm SVL at approximately 32 months of age. Body size is strongly correlated to reproductive fitness. This species shows one of the largest litter volumes, a single specimen at 41 cm SVL had 13 full size embryos extending 34 cms internally, to 7cms from the snout.

Venom

Research into venom of ''E. curta'' is extremely limited. There is some suggestion of similarities to the common death adder (''Acanthophis antarcticus''), due to a snake venom detection kit false positive on a dog, outside the geographical range of that species. Bites on humans are rare, with one case requiring hospitalization due to complications which were abated with the administration of common death adder

antivenom Antivenom, also known as antivenin, venom antiserum, and antivenom immunoglobulin, is a specific treatment for envenomation. It is composed of antibodies and used to treat certain venomous bites and stings. Antivenoms are recommended only if ...

. Venom has been shown to include neurotoxins and is highly neurotoxic to avian tissues, comparable to

tiger snake The tiger snake (''Notechis scutatus'') is a large and highly venomous snake of southern Australia, including its coastal islands and Tasmania. These snakes are often observed and locally well known by their banding, black and yellow like a ti ...

, copperhead and

inland taipan The inland taipan (''Oxyuranus microlepidotus''), also Common name, commonly known as the western taipan, small-scaled snake, or fierce snake,White, Julian (November 1991)''Oxyuranus microlepidotus'' "Neurotoxic paralysis usually takes 2-4 hours ...

. However, it has not shown neurotoxic effects even though significant envenoming has occurred.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q210082, from2=Q2708958 Reptiles of Western Australia Vulnerable fauna of Australia Reptiles described in 1843 Snakes of Australia Elapidae Monotypic snake genera Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger