Pseudechis Australis
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The king brown snake (''Pseudechis australis'') is a species of highly venomous snake of the family
Elapidae Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids , from , variant of "sea-fish") is a 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 '' Emydocephalus ...
, native to northern, western, and
Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and ...
. The king brown snake is the largest terrestrial venomous snake in Australia.Razavi, S., Weinstein, S. A., Bates, D. J., Alfred, S., & White, J. (2014). The Australian mulga snake (Pseudechis australis: Elapidae): Report of a large case series of bites and review of current knowledge. Toxicon, 85, 17–26. Despite its common name, it is a member of the
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
'' Pseudechis'' (black snakes) and only distantly related to true brown snakes. Its alternative common name is the mulga snake, although it lives in many habitats apart from mulga. First described by English zoologist
John Edward Gray John Edward Gray (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for a z ...
in 1842, it is a robust snake up to long. It is variable in appearance, with individuals from northern Australia having tan upper parts, while those from southern Australia are dark brown to blackish. Sometimes, it is seen in a reddish-green texture. The
dorsal scales In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...
are two-toned, sometimes giving the snake a patterned appearance. Its underside is cream or white, often with orange splotches. The species is
oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...
. The snake is considered to be a
least-concern species 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 ...
according to the
International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...
, though may have declined with the spread of the
cane toad The cane toad (''Rhinella marina''), also known as the giant neotropical toad or marine toad, is a large, Terrestrial animal, terrestrial true toad native to South America, South and mainland Central America, but which has been Introduced spe ...
. Its
venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
is not as potent as those of Australia's other dangerous snakes, but can still cause severe effects if delivered in large enough quantities. Its main effect is on
striated muscle tissue Striated muscle tissue is a muscle tissue that features repeating functional units called sarcomeres. Under the microscope, sarcomeres are visible along muscle fibers, giving a striated appearance to the tissue. The two types of striated muscle a ...
, causing
paralysis Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of Motor skill, motor function in one or more Skeletal muscle, muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory d ...
from muscle damage, and also commonly affects blood clotting (
coagulopathy Coagulopathy (also called a bleeding disorder) is a condition in which the blood's ability to coagulate (form clots) is impaired. This condition can cause a tendency toward prolonged or excessive bleeding ( bleeding diathesis), which may occur s ...
). Often, extensive pain and swelling occur, rarely with
necrosis Necrosis () is a form of cell injury which results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by autolysis. The term "necrosis" came about in the mid-19th century and is commonly attributed to German pathologist Rudolf Virchow, who i ...
, at the bite site. Deaths from its bites have been recorded, with the most recent being in 1969. Its victims are treated with black snake (not brown snake)
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 ...
.


Taxonomy

The species was first described by English zoologist
John Edward Gray John Edward Gray (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for a z ...
in 1842 from a specimen collected at
Port Essington Port Essington is an inlet and historic site located on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory. It was the site of an early attempt at British settlement, but now exists only as a remot ...
in the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
. Gray saw little distinction from the Egyptian cobra (''Naja haje'') in his single preserved specimen—excepting the variation in ocular plates—and assigned the name ''Naja australis''. On obtaining a second specimen from the College of Surgeons,
Albert Günther Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther , also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther (3October 18301February 1914), was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. Günther is ranked the second-most productive reptile tax ...
of the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
recognised an affinity with the Australian species described as '' Pseudechis porphyriacus'', resulting in the current combination as ''Pseudechis australis'' in the black snake genus '' Pseudechis''. Scottish-Australian naturalist William Macleay described ''Pseudechis darwiniensis'' in 1878, from a more slender specimen that he thought was distinct from ''P. australis''. Belgian-British zoologist
George Albert Boulenger George Albert Boulenger (19 October 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a Belgian-British zoologist who described and gave scientific names to over 2,000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Boulenger was also an active botani ...
described ''P. cupreus'' in 1896 from a specimen collected from the
Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...
, distinguishing ''P. darwiniensis'' from ''P. australis'' by the shape of the frontal scale. Austrian zoologist
Franz Werner Franz Josef Maria Werner (15 August 1867 in Vienna – 28 February 1939 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist and explorer. Specializing as a herpetologist and entomologist, Werner described numerous species and other taxa of frogs, snakes, inse ...
described ''Pseudechis denisonioides'' from Eradu, Western Australia in 1909. Australian naturalist Donald Thomson obtained a skull of a large specimen with a wide head collected from East Alligator River in
Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...
in 1914, naming it ''Pseudechis platycephalus'' in 1933. He distinguished it from ''P. australis'' on the basis of it having anteriorly grooved palatine and pterygoid teeth, and having blunt ridges and keels on the
dorsal scales In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...
. In 1955, Australian herpetologist Roy Mackay concluded that several species previously described were synonymous with ''P. australis'', recognising that it was a highly variable
taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...
. He noted that ''P. australis'' had frontal scales of variable shape, and that grooves were present on the teeth of many specimens of ''Pseudechis'', so these features did not support separate species. Australian herpetologists Richard W. Wells and C. Ross Wellington described ''Cannia centralis'' in 1985 from a specimen collected north of
Tennant Creek Tennant Creek () is a town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the Northern Territory#Cities and towns, seventh largest town in the Northern Territory, and is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with ...
in 1977, distinguishing it on the basis of a narrow head; however, the distinction was not supported by other authors. Two new species and a new genus have been described within this complex by Australian snake-handler
Raymond Hoser Raymond Terrence Hoser (born 1962) is an Australian snake-catcher and author. Hoser's work on herpetology is controversial, including his advocacy of the surgical alteration of captive snakes to remove their venom glands and his self-published ...
—the eastern dwarf mulga snake (''P. pailsei'') from near Mount Isa,
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia, and the Papuan pygmy mulga snake (''P. rossignolii''), found in
Irian Jaya New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Austral ...
. Hoser later also resurrected the pygmy mulga snake (''P. weigeli'', originally described as ''Cannia weigeli'' by Wells and Wellington in 1987). These descriptions were initially received with skepticism due to the low level of evidence provided in the original descriptions. The species was long regarded as
monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...
and highly variable until German biologist Ulrich Kuch and colleagues analysed the
mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...
of specimens across its range in 2005. They recovered four distinct lineages (
clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...
s); cladeI (a New Guinea lineage of smaller snakes) diverged from the rest between six and four million years ago (
Late Miocene The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million ye ...
to
Early Pliocene Early may refer to: Places in the United States * Early, Iowa, a city * Early, Texas, a city * Early Branch, a stream in Missouri * Early County, Georgia * Fort Early, Georgia, an early 19th century fort Music * Early B, stage name of Jamaican d ...
), with the other three diverging in the Pleistocene. CladeII corresponded to a lineage of large snakes found across Australia, cladeIII was a dwarf form from the
Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...
, and cladeIV contained two dwarf forms from northwestern Queensland and the Northern Territory, each of which was likely to be a distinct species. In 2017, British herpetologist Simon Maddock and colleagues published a genetic analysis using mitochondrial DNA on the genus, and confirmed cladeI was ''P. rossignoli'', cladeII was ''P. australis'', cladeIII is an as yet unnamed dwarf species, and cladeIV is '' P. pailsi'' and ''P. weigeli''. They also determined that ''P. australis'' was most closely related to ''P. butleri'', the spotted mulga snake. Australian medical researcher Struan Sutherland pointed out that the name "king brown snake" is a problem, as its venom is not neutralised by brown snake antivenom, which could endanger snake bite victims; he recommended dropping the name and the old term "Darwin brown snake", and using "mulga snake", instead. Further complicating the issue, the term "king brown snake" has been applied to any large brown snake. Australian snake expert Glenn Shea has also pointed out that "mulga snake" has issues in that the species lives in a wide range of habitats in addition to mulga. It has also been called the "Pilbara cobra". Australian zoologist Gerard Krefft called it the orange-bellied brown snake. In the Kaytetye language spoken in Central Australia, it is known as ''atetherr-ayne-wene'', " budgerigar-eater". The term "king brown" refers to the great size of individuals in the north and northwest of Australia, which can exceed in length; it is the largest and most dangerous elapid of those regions. In Southwest Australia, where the species is up to , it is also known as the common mulga snake, distinguishing it from the spotted mulga snake ''Pseudechis butleri''.


Description

Australia's largest venomous snake, the king brown snake can reach in length with a weight of , with males around 20% larger than females. The longest confirmed individual was in length. The king brown snake is robust, with a head slightly wider than the body, prominent cheeks and small eyes with red-brown irises, and a dark tongue. The head is demarcated from the body by a slight neck. Scales on the upper-parts, flanks and tail are two toned—pale or greenish yellow at the base and various shades of tan or copper, or all shades of brown from pale to blackish towards the rear. This gives the snake a reticulated pattern. The tail is often darker, while the crown is the same colour as the body. The belly is cream, white or salmon and can have orange marks. The colours of the snakes' upper parts and sides differ from area to area within their range; those from northern Australia are tan, those from deserts in Central Australia have prominent white marks on each scale, giving a patterned appearance, and those from southern parts of its range are darker, even blackish. In Western Australia, king brown snakes south of a line through Jurien Bay, Badgingarra,
New Norcia New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...
, and Quairading are significantly darker in colour.


Scalation

The number and arrangement of scales on a snake's body are key elements of identification to species level. The king brown snake has 17 rows of dorsal scales at mid-body, 185 to 225 ventral scales, 50 to 75 subcaudal scales (all undivided, or anterior ones undivided and posterior divided, or all divided), and a divided anal scale. The temporolabial scale and last (sixth) supralabial scale (both above the snake's mouth) are fused in the eastern brown snake (''Pseudonaja textilis'') but separate in the king brown snake. The king brown snake can be confused with brown snakes of the genus '' Pseudonaja'', the
olive python The olive python (''Liasis olivaceus'')
a
(''Liasis olivaceus''), water python (''Liasis fuscus''), spotted mulga snake, or coastal taipan (''Oxyuranus scutellatus'') where they co-occur.


Distribution and habitat

King brown snakes occur in all states of Australia except for Victoria and
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
. It has become rare or vanished from parts of coastal Queensland. The eastern limit of its range runs from
Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...
in central Queensland, and south through Gayndah, Dalby, the Warrumbungles, southwest to Condobolin and the vicinity of Balranald and then across to
Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. Port Pirie is the largest city and the main retail centre of the Mid North region of South Australia. The city has an ex ...
in South Australia. The southwestern limit of its range runs from Ceduna in South Australia, west through the northern
Nullarbor Plain The Nullarbor Plain ( ; Latin: feminine of 'no' and 'tree') is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its no ...
to
Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...
, Narrogin and on coastal plains north of
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
. King brown snakes are habitat generalists, inhabiting
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...
s, hummock
grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...
s, chenopod
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 ...
s, and gibber or sandy deserts nearly devoid of vegetation. Within the arid to semiarid parts of their range, however, they prefer areas of greater moisture such as watercourses. They are often observed at modified habitats such as wheat fields, rubbish piles, and vacated buildings; individuals may become trapped in mine shafts and wellbores. Fieldwork near
Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...
showed that they prefer areas with buffel grass ('' Cenchrus ciliaris''), a common introduced weed in Central Australia, possibly because of the dense, year-round cover it provides.


Behaviour

The king brown snake is mostly
crepuscular In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal (active during dawn), vespertine (biology), vespertine/vespertinal (active during dusk), or both. This is distinguished from diurnalit ...
—active at dusk, and is less active during the middle of the day and between midnight and dawn, retiring to crevices in the soil, old animal burrows, or under rocks or logs. During warmer months, its activity shifts to later after dusk and into the evening. Across its range, it is more active during the day in cooler climates and at night in hotter climates.


Reproduction

The breeding season begins with males engaging in wrestling combat, each attempting to push the other over for the right to mate with a female. Mating follows—in the early Southern Hemisphere spring in southwest Western Australia, mid-spring in the Eyre Peninsula, and with the wet season in the north of the country. The species is
oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...
, with one unverified claim of
viviparity In animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the mother, with the maternal circulation providing for the metabolic needs of the embryo's development, until the mother gives birth to a fully or partially developed juv ...
. Females produce a clutch of four to 19 eggs, averaging around 10, with longer females laying larger clutches, generally 39 to 45 days after mating has taken place. Eggs take about 70 to 100 days to hatch. The incubating temperature has been recorded as between . The eggs average in length by in width and weigh each. Baby snakes average in length and weigh on hatching. King brown snakes have been reported to live up to 25 years in captivity.


Diet

The king brown snake is a generalist predator, preying on
frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...
s,
lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...
s including small monitors,
skink Skinks are a type of lizard belonging to the family (biology), family Scincidae, a family in the Taxonomic rank, infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one o ...
s,
gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards ...
s and agamids, other snakes including whip snakes, brown snakes, the brown tree snake (''Boiga irregularis''), southern shovel-nosed snake (''Brachyurophis semifasciatus''), Gould's hooded snake (''Parasuta gouldii'') and crowned snake (''Elapognathus coronatus''), birds such as thornbills, and small
mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
s such as
rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...
s and dasyurids. And spiders such as
tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,100 species have been identified, with 166 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...
s, mouse spiders, and the infamous funnel-web spiders. The species has been reported eating roadkill, as well as the sloughed skins of other reptiles, and is known to exhibit cannibalism. Specimens in captivity have been observed eating their own faeces. It is opportunistic, eating a higher proportion of frogs in wetter areas. King brown snakes are sensitive to cane toad toxins and have died after eating them. Despite this, field research before and after the arrival of cane toads to the Adelaide River floodplain in the Northern Territory did not show a decline in king brown snake numbers, though this could have been coincidental; the population of this species had already declined in the region.


Venom

The king brown snake accounted for 4% of identified snakebites in Australia between 2005 and 2015, with no deaths recorded. The last recorded death occurred in 1969, when a 20-year-old man was bitten while reaching around for a packet of cigarettes under his bed in Three Springs, Western Australia. The man was treated over two days, with twice daily injections of death adder, brown snake and tiger snake antivenin, yet died in 37 hours despite this medical attention. This incident led to the introduction of Papuan black snake antivenom for treatment of king brown snake envenomation. Before this it had been confirmed in one fatality and suspected in another in the early 1960s. Venomous snakes normally only bite humans when disturbed. King brown snakes have been noted, however, to bite people who were asleep at the time. Furthermore, a significant number of victims have been snake handlers. These have resulted in a high proportion of bites occurring on upper limbs. The king brown snake is classified as a snake of medical importance by the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
. The king brown snake can bite repeatedly and chew to envenomate a victim. Considerable pain, swelling, and tissue damage often occur at the site of a king brown snake bite. Local
necrosis Necrosis () is a form of cell injury which results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by autolysis. The term "necrosis" came about in the mid-19th century and is commonly attributed to German pathologist Rudolf Virchow, who i ...
has been recorded. In 1998, a person bitten 9–12 times on his arm required an amputation of the envenomed limb. He reported later that he had impulsively decided to commit suicide by placing his hand in a bag with a king brown snake inside and stirring it up. A large king brown snake delivers on average 180mg of venom in one bite. A long king brown snake milked by snake handler John Cann produced 1350mg, and then 580, 920, and 780mg at three, four, and five months after the first milking. This record was broken in 2016, when a king brown snake named "Chewie"—also long—produced 1500mg of venom at the Australian Reptile Park. The volume of venom produced in laboratories is equivalent to the amounts produced by the
king cobra The king cobra (''Ophiophagus hannah'') is a species complex of snakes Endemism, endemic to Asia. With an average of and a record length of , it is the world's longest venomous snake and among the heaviest. Under the genus ''Ophiophagus'', i ...
(''Ophiophagus hannah'') and Gaboon viper (''Bitis gabonica''). In a laboratory experiment on mice, not only did the king brown snake inject far more venom than other species of dangerous snake, very little of its venom (0.07mg of 62mg) was left on the skin. When using 0.1%
bovine serum albumin Bovine serum albumin (BSA or "Fraction V") is a serum albumin protein derived from cows. It is often used as a protein concentration standard in lab experiments. The nickname "Fraction V" refers to albumin being the fifth fraction of the origin ...
in saline rather than saline alone, the venom has a
murine The Old World rats and mice, part of the subfamily Murinae in the family Muridae, comprise at least 519 species. Members of this subfamily are called murines. In terms of species richness, this subfamily is larger than all mammal families excep ...
median lethal dose () of 1.91mg/kg (0.866mg/lb) when administered subcutaneously. The main toxic agents of king brown snake venom are myotoxins hazardous to striated muscles and kidney cells. Toxic effects are proportional to the amount of venom in the victim. Nonspecific symptoms of poisoning are common and include nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, generalized sweating ( diaphoresis), and headache. Impaired clotting (
coagulopathy Coagulopathy (also called a bleeding disorder) is a condition in which the blood's ability to coagulate (form clots) is impaired. This condition can cause a tendency toward prolonged or excessive bleeding ( bleeding diathesis), which may occur s ...
) is common, and can be diagnosed with an elevated activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT). Symptoms of myotoxicity (muscle damage) include muscle pain and weakness in the presence of an elevated
creatine kinase Creatine kinase (CK), also known as creatine phosphokinase (CPK) or phosphocreatine kinase, is an enzyme () expressed by various tissues and cell types. CK catalyses the conversion of creatine and uses adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to create phos ...
(CK). King brown snake venom has some haemolytic activity, and some patients get a short-term fall in red blood cells. A major component of king brown snake venom are
phospholipase A2 The enzyme phospholipase A2 (EC 3.1.1.4, PLA2, systematic name phosphatidylcholine 2-acylhydrolase) catalyses the cleavage of fatty acids in position 2 of phospholipids, hydrolyzing the bond between the second fatty acid "tail" and the glycero ...
enzymes, which have diverse effects that are commonly found in snake venoms. These proteins are directly toxic on muscle tissue due to their sheer volume in the venom, and are destructive to cell membranes and liberate lyso
phospholipid Phospholipids are a class of lipids whose molecule has a hydrophilic "head" containing a phosphate group and two hydrophobic "tails" derived from fatty acids, joined by an alcohol residue (usually a glycerol molecule). Marine phospholipids typ ...
s (involved in cell lysis) and arachidonate (a precursor in inflammatory response). Their venom can lead to rhabdomyolysis. Despite containing a number of agents with phospholipase A2 activity, king brown snake venom exhibits little neurotoxicity. The venom has multiple proteins with antibiotic activity, including two L-amino-acid oxidases (LAO1 and LAO2) that exhibit activity against the pathogenic bacterium '' Aeromonas hydrophila'', which is commonly present in frogs. Also present are three
protein isoform A protein isoform, or "protein variant", is a member of a set of highly similar proteins that originate from a single gene and are the result of genetic differences. While many perform the same or similar biological roles, some isoforms have uniqu ...
s of
transferrin Transferrins are glycoproteins found in vertebrates which bind and consequently mediate the transport of iron (Fe) through blood plasma. They are produced in the liver and contain binding sites for two Iron(III), Fe3+ ions. Human transferrin is ...
; transferrin binds serum iron ( Fe3+), which makes the environment less hospitable for bacteria and hence has an antibiotic effect. Pseudechetoxin and pseudecin are two proteins that block
cyclic nucleotide–gated ion channel Cyclic nucleotide–gated ion channels or CNG channels are ion channels that function in response to the binding of cyclic nucleotides. CNG channels are nonselective cation channels that are found in the membranes of various tissue and cell types, ...
s, including those present in
retina The retina (; or retinas) is the innermost, photosensitivity, light-sensitive layer of tissue (biology), tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some Mollusca, molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focus (optics), focused two-dimensional ...
l photoreceptors and
olfactory receptor neurons An olfactory receptor neuron (ORN), also called an olfactory sensory neuron (OSN), is a sensory neuron within the olfactory system. Structure Humans have between 10 and 20 million olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). In vertebrates, ORNs are Bi ...
.


Treatment

Standard first-aid treatment for any suspected bite from a venomous snake uses a pressure bandage to the bite site. The victims should move as little as possible and be conveyed to a hospital or clinic, where they should be monitored for at least 24 hours. The
tetanus vaccine Tetanus vaccine, also known as tetanus toxoid (TT), is a toxoid vaccine used to prevent tetanus. During childhood, five doses are recommended, with a sixth given during adolescence. After three doses, almost everyone is initially immune, but ...
is given, though the mainstay of treatment is the administration of the appropriate antivenom. Black-snake antivenom is used to treat bites from this species. Christopher Johnston and colleagues propose giving antivenom immediately if king brown snake envenoming is suspected, as a delay of more than two hours did not prevent muscle damage in a review of treated snakebite victims. They add that it is reasonable to assume that if a snakebite victim had a raised aPTT and signs of haemolysis, then a king brown snake is the culprit. Shahab Razavi and colleagues add that more than one vial of antivenom might be needed if envenoming is severe.


Captivity

King brown snakes are readily available in Australia via breeding in captivity. They are regarded as straightforward to keep, due to the low likelihood of biting and relatively low toxicity of their venom, though the potentially large amount injected makes it more hazardous.


Conservation and threats

The king brown snake is considered to be a
least-concern species 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 ...
according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Small snakes may be eaten by birds of prey. In contrast, old snakes are frequently infested with ticks.


Culture

Mutitjulu Waterhole at
Uluru Uluru (; ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone monolith. It outcrop, crops out near the centre of Australia in the southern part of the Northern Territory, south-west of Alice Spri ...
marks the site of the battle between two Central Australian ancestral beings ''Kuniya'' ( woma python woman) and ''Liru'' (king brown snake man). Here, ''Kuniya'' avenged the death of her nephew, who was fatally speared by ''Liru'', by striking him with her digging stick. Among the Djambarrpuyngu clan of the Yolngu people in northeastern Arnhem Land, King Brown Snake is the Ngurruyurrtjurr ancestor, and its homeland is Flinders Point in Arnhem Land. Known as ''darrpa'' to indigenous people of East Arnhem land, the king brown snake was historically responsible for deaths there. Folk treatment involved capturing the snake and watching it bleed, which would supposedly make the victim recover. If the snake were killed, its victim would die also. Another folk remedy involved blowing smoke through a hollow branch or
pandanus ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with about 578 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. Common names include pandan, screw palm and screw pine. The genus is classified ...
leaf onto the victim sitting by a campfire. If the smoke resembled the ''mali'', or immaterial form, of a snake, then the person would die, as the victim of a ''ragalk'' (sorcerer). In Kunwinjku country in West Arnhem Land, the king brown snake is known as ''dadbe''. The Kurulk clan would not collect white paint from a site in the wet season, as they believed it was the snake's faeces, and they were afraid of its anger. Kurrmurnnyini is a lagoon and complex of sandstone outcrops near Borroloola in the southwestern Gulf Country in the Northern Territory. Here the King Brown Snake Ancestral Being—''balngarrangarra'' in Gudanji and ''ngulwa'' in Yanyuwa—was sleeping about north of the lagoon when it was disturbed by ''ngabaya''—ancestral spirit men. Angrily, he bit the rocks, which became tainted and poisonous, and an instrument of ''narnu‐bulabula'' (sorcery). Local sorcerers would cast a spell by inserting a potential victim's item of clothing in a hole in the rock or sharpening a stick and calling out their name while inserting it in the rock face. The victim would then perish. Only men descended from King Brown Snake Ancestor could be sorcerers, though others might hire them. Local people feared and avoided the location. The title character picks up a king brown snake in the 1986 film '' Crocodile Dundee''. In 2021, Aboriginal Australian rapper Barkaa (Malyangapa and Barkindji) released the single "King Brown", beginning with the line "My ex called me toxic, call me King Brown". The single was nominated for "Song of the Year" and won "Film Clip of the Year" at the National Indigenous Music Awards 2022, and was voted in at #177 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2021.


Notes


References


Cited texts

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External links

{{featured article Pseudechis Snakes of Australia Reptiles of New South Wales Reptiles of Queensland Reptiles of Western Australia Reptiles described in 1842 Taxa named by John Edward Gray