''Rhinoplocephalus'' is a

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 ...

of snake in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 ...

. The genus is

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 ...

, containing the sole

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

''Rhinoplocephalus bicolor'', known commonly as the square-nosed snake, Müller's snake, or Muller's icsnake. The species 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 ...

to south-western

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 ...

Geographic range

Square-nosed snakes are found in the very far southern coastal areas of the Australian state of

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 ...

, ranging from approximately Esperance in the east to somewhere west of Walpole. They typically inhabit swampy depressions in low heath and open forest, often overlapping in habitat with

Elapognathus minor The short-nosed snake (''Elapognathus minor'') is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to Australia. Short-nosed snakes are endemic to swamplands and coastlands in the southwest of Western Australia Wester ...

, the short-nosed snake. The species is often found in the disused nests of stick-ants (''Iridomyrmex'' spp).

Description

Square-nosed snakes are a small snake species, with male snout-vent lengths averaging and female snout-vent lengths averaging . The dorsal surface of adult individuals is orange-brown, with orange-red sides fading to a pale cream colour on the ventral surface. Occasional animals can be found that are bright orange across the entire dorsal surface. There is also a strong ontogenetic shift in colour pattern, where neonates are dorsally blue with a yellow lateral region.

Diet

The square-nosed snake is a reptile specialist, feeding primarily on

scincid 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 ...

lizards such as those in the genera

Ctenotus ''Ctenotus'' is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae. The genus is endemic to Australia. The genus ''Ctenotus'' belongs to a clade in the ''Sphenomorphus'' group which contains such genera as '' Anomalopus'' and the close relatives ...

, Hemiergis and Morethia.

Reproduction

As with some other cold climate Australia elapids, the species is

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 ...

, giving birth to live young. Gravid females have been collected in October and January, suggesting similar reproductive patterns as for other southern elapid snakes in Australia. Litter sizes are typically small, with between one and five offspring being produced.

Toxicity

Square-nosed snakes are mildly venomous, with a typical bite not dangerous to humans.

Geographic range

Description

Diet

Reproduction

Toxicity

References

Further reading