King brown snake: Difference between revisions

King brown snake
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Elapidae
Genus:	Pseudechis
Species:	P. australis
Binomial name
	Pseudechis australis; (Gray, 1842)
	Range of king brown snake (in red)
Synonyms
	List Naja australis Gray, 1842 ; Pseudechis darwiniensis Macleay, 1878 ; Pseudechis cupreus Boulenger, 1896 ; Pseudechis platycephalus Thomson, 1933 ; Denisonia brunnea Mitchell, 1951 ; Cannia centralis Wells & Wellington, 1985;

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The king brown snake (Pseudechis australis) is a species of highly venomous snake of the family Elapidae, native to northern, western, and Central Australia. The king brown snake is the largest terrestrial venomous snake in Australia.^[3] Despite its common name, it is a member of the genus 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 in 1842, it is a robust snake up to 3.3 m (11 ft) 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 are two-toned, sometimes giving the snake a patterned appearance. Its underside is cream or white, often with orange splotches. The species is oviparous. The snake is considered to be a least-concern species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, though may have declined with the spread of the cane toad.

Its venom 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, causing paralysis from muscle damage, and also commonly affects blood clotting (coagulopathy). Often, extensive pain and swelling occur, rarely with necrosis, 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.

Taxonomy

The species was first described by English zoologist John Edward Gray in 1842 from a specimen collected at Port Essington in the Northern Territory. 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.^[2]^[4] On obtaining a second specimen from the College of Surgeons, Albert Günther of the British Museum 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.^[5] Scottish-Australian naturalist William Macleay described Pseudechis darwiniensis in 1878, from a more slender specimen that he thought was distinct from P. australis.^[6] Belgian-British zoologist George Albert Boulenger described P. cupreus in 1896 from a specimen collected from the Murray River, distinguishing P. darwiniensis from P. australis by the shape of the frontal scale.^[7] Austrian zoologist Franz Werner described Pseudechis denisonioides from Eradu, Western Australia in 1909.^[8] Australian naturalist Donald Thomson obtained a skull of a large specimen with a wide head collected from East Alligator River in Arnhem Land 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.^[9]

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. 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.^[10] Australian herpetologists Richard W. Wells and C. Ross Wellington described Cannia centralis in 1985 from a 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) specimen collected 8 km (5 mi) north of Tennant Creek in 1977, distinguishing it on the basis of a narrow head;^[11] however, the distinction was not supported by other authors.^[2] Two new species and a new genus have been described within this complex by Australian snake-handler Raymond Hoser—the eastern dwarf mulga snake (P. pailsei) from near Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia,^[12] and the Papuan pygmy mulga snake (P. rossignolii), found in Irian Jaya.^[13] Hoser later also resurrected the pygmy mulga snake (P. weigeli, originally described as Cannia weigeli by Wells and Wellington in 1987^[14]). These descriptions were initially received with skepticism due to the low level of evidence provided in the original descriptions.^[15]

The species was long regarded as monotypic and highly variable until German biologist Ulrich Kuch and colleagues analysed the mitochondrial DNA of specimens across its range in 2005. They recovered four distinct lineages (clades); clade I (a New Guinea lineage of smaller snakes) diverged from the rest between six and four million years ago (Late Miocene to Early Pliocene), with the other three diverging in the Pleistocene. Clade II corresponded to a lineage of large snakes found across Australia, clade III was a dwarf form from the Kimberley, and clade IV contained two dwarf forms from northwestern Queensland and the Northern Territory, each of which was likely to be a distinct species.^[16] In 2017, British herpetologist Simon Maddock and colleagues published a genetic analysis using mitochondrial DNA on the genus, and confirmed clade I was P. rossignoli, clade II was P. australis, clade III is an as yet unnamed dwarf species, and clade IV is P. pailsi and P. weigeli. They also determined that P. australis was most closely related to P. butleri, the spotted mulga snake.^[17]

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.^[18] 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.^[19] It has also been called the "Pilbara cobra".^[20] Australian zoologist Gerard Krefft called it the orange-bellied brown snake.^[21] In the Kaytetye language spoken in Central Australia, it is known as atetherr-ayne-wene, "budgerigar-eater".^[22] The term "king brown" refers to the great size of individuals in the north and northwest of Australia, which can exceed 3 m (10 ft) in length; it is the largest and most dangerous elapid of those regions. In Southwest Australia, where the species is up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in), it is also known as the common mulga snake, distinguishing it from the spotted mulga snake Pseudechis butleri.^[23]

Description

Australia's largest venomous snake, the king brown snake can reach 2.0 to 2.5 m (6.6 to 8.2 ft) in length with a weight of 3 to 6 kg (6.6 to 13.2 lb),^[16] with males around 20% larger than females.^[24] The longest confirmed individual was 3.3 m (11 ft) in length.^[25] The king brown snake is robust, with a head slightly wider than the body, prominent cheeks and small eyes with red-brown irises,^[25] and a dark tongue.^[26] The head is demarcated from the body by a slight neck.^[27] 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.^[25] The belly is cream, white or salmon and can have orange marks.^[27]

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,^[27] even blackish.^[25] In Western Australia, king brown snakes south of a line through Jurien Bay, Badgingarra, New Norcia, and Quairading are significantly darker in colour.^[28]

Scalation

The number and arrangement of scales on a snake's body are key elements of identification to species level.^[29] 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.^[27] 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.^[19]

The king brown snake can be confused with brown snakes of the genus Pseudonaja, the olive python (Liasis olivaceus), water python (Liasis fuscus), spotted mulga snake, or coastal taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus) where they co-occur.^[30]

Distribution and habitat

King brown snakes occur in all states of Australia except for Victoria and Tasmania.^[31] It has become rare or vanished from parts of coastal Queensland.^[32] The eastern limit of its range runs from Gladstone in central Queensland, and south through Gayndah, Dalby, the Warrumbungles, southwest to Condobolin and the vicinity of Balranald and then across to Port Pirie in South Australia. The southwestern limit of its range runs from Ceduna in South Australia, west through the northern Nullarbor Plain to Kalgoorlie, Narrogin and on coastal plains north of Perth.^[19]

King brown snakes are habitat generalists,^[24] inhabiting woodlands, hummock grasslands, chenopod scrublands, and gibber or sandy deserts nearly devoid of vegetation.^[25] Within the arid to semiarid parts of their range, however, they prefer areas of greater moisture such as watercourses.^[24]

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.^[23] Fieldwork near Alice Springs 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.^[33]

Behaviour

The king brown snake is mostly crepuscular—active at dusk,^[31] 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.^[25] Across its range, it is more active during the day in cooler climates and at night in hotter climates.^[24]

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.^[25] The species is oviparous, with one unverified claim of viviparity.^[24] Females produce a clutch of four to 19 eggs, averaging around 10,^[34] with longer females laying larger clutches,^[25] generally 39 to 45 days after mating has taken place.^[35] Eggs take about 70 to 100 days to hatch.^[25] The incubating temperature has been recorded as between 22 and 32 °C (72 and 90 °F).^[36] The eggs average 40.1 mm (1+5⁄8 in) in length by 22.9 mm (7⁄8 in) in width and weigh 13.1 g (0.46 oz) each.^[37] Baby snakes average 22.6 cm (8+7⁄8 in) in length and weigh 9.4 g (0.33 oz) on hatching.^[38]

King brown snakes have been reported to live up to 25 years in captivity.^[39]

Diet

The king brown snake is a generalist predator, preying on frogs, lizards including small monitors, skinks, geckos 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 mammals such as rodents and dasyurids.^[24] and spiders such as tarantulas, 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.^[23] It is opportunistic, eating a higher proportion of frogs in wetter areas.^[24]

King brown snakes are sensitive to cane toad toxins and have died after eating them.^[40] 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.^[41]

Venom

The king brown snake accounted for 4% of identified snakebites in Australia between 2005 and 2015, with no deaths recorded.^[42] The last recorded death occurred in 1969,^[43] 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.^[44] Before this it had been confirmed in one fatality and suspected in another in the early 1960s.^[45] Venomous snakes normally only bite humans when disturbed. King brown snakes have been noted, however, to bite people who were asleep at the time.^[43]^[46] Furthermore, a significant number of victims have been snake handlers. These have resulted in a high proportion of bites occurring on upper limbs.^[43] The king brown snake is classified as a snake of medical importance by the World Health Organization.^[47]^[a]

The king brown snake can bite repeatedly and chew to envenomate a victim.^[48] Considerable pain, swelling, and tissue damage often occur at the site of a king brown snake bite.^[43] Local necrosis has been recorded.^[49] In 1998, a person bitten 9–12 times on his arm required an amputation of the envenomed limb.^[43] 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.^[50] A large king brown snake delivers on average 180 mg of venom in one bite. A 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) long king brown snake milked by snake handler John Cann produced 1350 mg, and then 580, 920, and 780 mg at three, four, and five months after the first milking.^[48] This record was broken in 2016, when a king brown snake named "Chewie"—also 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) long—produced 1500 mg of venom at the Australian Reptile Park.^[51] The volume of venom produced in laboratories is equivalent to the amounts produced by the king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) and gaboon adder (Bitis gabonica).^[23] 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 (0.07 mg of 62 mg) was left on the skin.^[52] When using 0.1% bovine serum albumin in saline rather than saline alone, the venom has a murine median lethal dose (LD₅₀) of 1.91 mg/kg (0.866 mg/lb) when administered subcutaneously.^[53]

The main toxic agents of king brown snake venom are myotoxins hazardous to striated muscles and kidney cells.^[31] 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) 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 (CK). King brown snake venom has some haemolytic activity, and some patients get a short-term fall in red blood cells.^[49]

A major component of king brown snake venom are phospholipase A2 enzymes, which have diverse effects that are commonly found in snake venoms.^[48] These proteins are directly toxic on muscle tissue due to their sheer volume in the venom, and are destructive to cell membranes and liberate lysophospholipids (involved in cell lysis) and arachidonate (a precursor in inflammatory response). Their venom can lead to rhabdomyolysis.^[54] Despite containing a number of agents with phospholipase A2 activity, king brown snake venom exhibits little neurotoxicity.^[55]

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 isoforms of transferrin; transferrin binds serum iron (Fe³⁺), which makes the environment less hospitable for bacteria and hence has an antibiotic effect.^[55] Pseudechetoxin and pseudecin are two proteins that block cyclic nucleotide–gated ion channels, including those present in retinal photoreceptors and olfactory receptor neurons.^[56]

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 is given, though the mainstay of treatment is the administration of the appropriate antivenom.^[57] 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.^[49] Shahab Razavi and colleagues add that more than one vial of antivenom might be needed if envenoming is severe.^[43]

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,^[39] though the potentially large amount injected makes it more hazardous.^[48]

Conservation and threats

The king brown snake is considered to be a least-concern species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.^[1] Small snakes may be eaten by birds of prey. In contrast, old snakes are frequently infested with ticks.^[25]

Culture

Mutitjulu Waterhole at Uluru 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.^[58]

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.^[59]

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 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).^[60]

In Kunwinjku country in West Arnhem Land, the king brown snake is known as dadbe.^[61] 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.^[62]

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 1.5 km (0.93 mi) 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.^[63]

The title character picks up a king brown snake in the 1986 film Crocodile Dundee.^[64]

Notes

^ Snakes of Medical Importance include those with highly dangerous venom resulting in high rates of morbidity and mortality, or those that are common agents in snakebite.^[47]

References

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^ ^a ^b WHO Expert Committee on Biological Standardization. "Guidelines for the production, control and regulation of snake antivenom immunoglobulins" (PDF). WHO Technical Report Series (964): 224–226. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Sutherland & Tibballs 2001, p. 148.
^ ^a ^b ^c Johnston, C. I.; Brown, S. G. A.; O'Leary, M. A.; Currie, B. J.; Greenberg, R.; Taylor, M.; Barnes, C.; White, J.; Isbister, G. K. (2013). "Mulga snake (Pseudechis australis) envenoming: a spectrum of myotoxicity, anticoagulant coagulopathy, haemolysis and the role of early antivenom therapy—Australian Snakebite Project (ASP-19)". Clinical Toxicology. 51 (5): 417–424. doi:10.3109/15563650.2013.787535. PMID 23586640. S2CID 25917274.
^ Adlam, Nigel (13 February 2009). "How I Let a King Brown Bite Me Nine Times" (PDF). Odatria (2): 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
^ "2.5m-long king brown snake sets new mark from a single milking". Central Coast Gosford Express Advocate. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
^ Morrison, J.J.; Pearn, J.H.; Charles, N.T.; Coulter, A.R. (1983). "Further studies on the mass of venom injected by elapid snakes". Toxicon. 21 (2): 279–284. Bibcode:1983Txcn...21..279M. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(83)90012-0. PMID 6857711.
^ Broad, A. J.; Sutherland, S. K.; Coulter, A. R. (1979). "The lethality in mice of dangerous Australian and other snake venom". Toxicon. 17 (6): 661–664. Bibcode:1979Txcn...17..661B. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(79)90245-9. PMID 524395.
^ 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.
^ ^a ^b Georgieva, Dessislava; Seifert, Jana; öHler, Michaela; von Bergen, Martin; Spencer, Patrick; Arni, Raghuvir K.; Genov, Nicolay; Betzel, Christian (2011). "Pseudechis australis venomics: Adaptation for a defense against microbial pathogens and recruitment of body transferrin" (PDF). Journal of Proteome Research. 10 (5): 2440–2464. doi:10.1021/pr101248e. PMID 21417486. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-08-25. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
^ Mirtschin, Rasmussen & Weinstein 2017, p. 116.
^ Gutiérrez, José María; Calvete, Juan J.; Habib, Abdulrazaq G.; Harrison, Robert A.; Williams, David J.; Warrell, David A. (2017). "Snakebite envenoming" (PDF). Nature Reviews Disease Primers. 3 (3): 17063. doi:10.1038/nrdp.2017.63. PMID 28905944. S2CID 4916503.
^ "The Kuniya and Liru story". Parks Australia. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
^ Magowan, Fiona (2007). Melodies of Mourning: Music & Emotion in Northern Australia. Crawley, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-85255-992-5.
^ Webb, T. Theodor (1933). "Aboriginal Medical Practice in East Arnhem Land". Oceania. 4 (1): 91–98. doi:10.1002/j.1834-4461.1933.tb00089.x. JSTOR 40327447.
^ Garde, Murray. "dadbe". Bininj Kunwok Online Dictionary. Bininj Kunwok Regional Language Centre. Retrieved 6 Nov 2021.
^ Taylor, Luke (1996). Seeing the Inside: Bark Painting in Western Arnhem Land. Oxford, United Kingdom: Clarendon Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-19-823354-1.
^ Brady, Liam M.; Bradley, John J. (2016). "'Who do you want to kill?' Affectual and relational understandings at a sorcery rock art site in the southwest Gulf of Carpentaria, northern Australia". Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 22 (4): 884–901. doi:10.1111/1467-9655.12495.
^ "Crocodile Dundee—00:21". www.cswap.com.

Cited texts

Greer, Allen E. (1997). The Biology and Evolution of Australian Snakes. Chipping Norton, New South Wales: Surrey Beatty & Sons. ISBN 978-0-949324-68-9.
Mirtschin, Peter; Rasmussen, Arne; Weinstein, Scott (2017). Australia's Dangerous Snakes: Identification, Biology and Envenoming. Clayton South, Victoria: Csiro Publishing. ISBN 978-0-643-10674-1.
Sutherland, Struan K.; Tibballs, James (2001) [1983]. Australian Animal Toxins (2nd ed.). South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-550643-X.

External links

[48] Snakes of Medical Importance include those with highly dangerous venom resulting in high rates of morbidity and mortality, or those that are common agents in snakebite.^[47]

[IUCN-1] "Pseudechis australis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017. e.T42493195A42493211. 2017. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T42493195A42493211.en.

[AFD-2] Australian Biological Resources Study (11 January 2017). "Species Pseudechis australis (Gray, 1842)". Australian Faunal Directory. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australian Government. Retrieved 18 April 2019.

[3] 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.

[4] Gray, John Edward (1842). "Description of some hitherto unrecorded species of Australian reptiles and batrachians". Zoological Miscellany. 3: 51–57 [55].

[5] Günther, Albert Carl Ludwig Gotthilf (1863). "Third account of new species of snakes in the collection of the British Museum". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History; Zoology, Botany, and Geology. 12 (71): 348–365 [362]. doi:10.1080/00222936308681536.

[6] Macleay, William John (1878). "Notes on a collection of snakes from Port Darwin". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 2: 219–222.

[7] Boulenger, George Albert (1896). Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 3. London: British Museum (Natural History). Department of Zoology. pp. 329–330.

[8] Werner, Franz (1909). Die Fauna Südwest-Australiens. Vol. 2. Jena, G. Fischer. p. 258.

[9] Thomson, Donald F. (1933). "Notes on Australian Snakes of the Genera Pseudechis and Oxyuranus". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 103 (4): 855–860. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1933.tb01629.x.

[10] Mackay, Roy D. (1953–54). "A revision of the genus Pseudechis". Proceedings of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. 74th: 15–23.

[W&W1985-11] Wells, Richard W.; Wellington, C. Ross (1985). "A classification of the Amphibia and Reptilia of Australia" (PDF). Australian Journal of Herpetology, Supplemental Series. 1: 1–61 [45]. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-19. Retrieved 2019-04-18.

[12] Hoser, Raymond (1998). "A new snake from Queensland, Australia (Serpentes: Elapidae)". Monitor. 10 (1): 5–9, 31.

[13] Hoser, Raymond (2000). "A New Species of Snake (Serpentes: Elapidae) from Irian Jaya". Litteratura Serpentium. 20 (6): 178–186.

[14] Wells, R. W.; Wellington, C. R. (1987). "A new species of proteroglyphous snake (Serpentes: Oxyuranidae) from Australia". Australian Herpetologist. 503: 1–8.

[15] Wüster, W.; Bush, B.; Keogh, J.S.; O'Shea, M.; Shine, R. (2001). "Taxonomic contributions in the "amateur" literature: comments on recent descriptions of new genera and species by Raymond Hoser" (PDF). Litteratura Serpentium. 21: 67. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-08-09.

[Kuch05-16] Kuch, Ulrich; Keogh, J. Scott; Weigel, John; Smith, Laurie A.; Mebs, Dietrich (2005). "Phylogeography of Australia's king brown snake (Pseudechis australis) reveals Pliocene divergence and Pleistocene dispersal of a top predator" (PDF). Naturwissenschaften. 92 (3): 121–127. Bibcode:2005NW.....92..121K. doi:10.1007/s00114-004-0602-0. PMID 15688185. S2CID 26068662. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2012-12-19.

[maddock17-17] Maddock, Simon T.; Childerstone, Aaron; Fry, Byan Greig; Williams, David J.; Barlow, Axel; Wüster, Wolfgang (2017). "Multi-locus phylogeny and species delimitation of Australo-Papuan blacksnakes (Pseudechis Wagler, 1830: Elapidae: Serpentes)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 107 (107): 48–55. Bibcode:2017MolPE.107...48M. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2016.09.005. PMID 27637992.

[FOOTNOTESutherlandTibballs2001146-18] Sutherland & Tibballs 2001, p. 146.

[shea08-19] Shea, Glenn M. (1999). "The distribution and identification of dangerously venomous Australian terrestrial snakes". Australian Veterinary Journal. 77 (12): 791–798. doi:10.1111/j.1751-0813.1999.tb12947.x. PMID 10685181. S2CID 34609322.

[20] "Mulga Snake". Alice Springs Desert Park. Northern Territory Government. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2019.

[21] Krefft, Gerard (1869). The Snakes of Australia: An Illustrated and Descriptive Catalogue of All the Known Species. South Africa: Government Printer. p. 47. australis.

[22] Turpin, Myfany (2013). "Semantic Extension in Kaytetye Flora and Fauna Terms". Australian Journal of Linguistics. 33 (4): 488–518. doi:10.1080/07268602.2013.857571. S2CID 62767948.

[Browne-Cooper2007-23] Browne-Cooper, R.; Bush, B.; Maryan, B.; Robinson, D. (2007). Reptiles and frogs in the bush : southwestern Australia. University of Western Australia Press. pp. 259–260. ISBN 9781920694746.

[shine87-24] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Shine, Richard (1987). "The Evolution of Viviparity: Ecological Correlates of Reproductive Mode within a Genus of Australian Snakes (Pseudechis: Elapidae)". Copeia. 1987 (3): 551–563. doi:10.2307/1445650. JSTOR 1445650.

[AM-25] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Beatson, Cecilie (25 November 2018). "Mulga Snake". Animal Species. Australian Museum. Retrieved 26 August 2019.

[FOOTNOTEGreer1997243-26] Greer 1997, p. 243.

[FOOTNOTEMirtschinRasmussenWeinstein2017114-27] Mirtschin, Rasmussen & Weinstein 2017, p. 114.

[smith82-28] Smith, L.A. (1982). "Variation in Pseudechis australis (Serpentes:Elapidae) in Western Australia and description of a new species of Pseudechis" (PDF). Records of the Western Australian Museum. 10 (1): 35–45.

[29] Hutchinson, Mark; Williams, Ian (2018). "Key to the Snakes of South Australia" (PDF). South Australian Museum. Government of South Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.

[Watharow-30] Watharow, Simon (2011). Living with Snakes and Other Reptiles. Melbourne, Victoria: Csiro Publishing. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-643-10381-8.

[FOOTNOTEMirtschinRasmussenWeinstein2017115-31] Mirtschin, Rasmussen & Weinstein 2017, p. 115.

[QM-32] "Mulga Snake". Animals of Queensland. The State of Queensland (Queensland Museum). Retrieved 26 August 2019.

[33] Mcdonald, Peter James; Luck, Gary W. (2013). "Density of an environmental weed predicts the occurrence of the king brown snake (Pseudechis australis) in central Australia". Herpetological Journal. 23: 161–165.

[FOOTNOTEGreer1997225-34] Greer 1997, p. 225.

[FOOTNOTEGreer1997218-35] Greer 1997, p. 218.

[FOOTNOTEGreer1997232-36] Greer 1997, p. 232.

[FOOTNOTEGreer1997231-37] Greer 1997, p. 231.

[FOOTNOTEGreer1997234-38] Greer 1997, p. 234.

[eipper12-39] Eipper, Scott (2012). A Guide To—Australian Snakes in Captivity: Elapids & Colubrids. Burleigh, Queensland: Reptile Publications. pp. 222–228. ISBN 978-0-98-724478-9.

[40] Shine, Richard (2010). "The Ecological Impact of Invasive Cane Toads (Bufo Marinus) in Australia". The Quarterly Review of Biology. 85 (3): 253–291. doi:10.1086/655116. PMID 20919631. S2CID 20689582.

[41] Brown, Gregory P.; Phillips, Benjamin L.; Shine, Richard (2011). "The ecological impact of invasive cane toads on tropical snakes: Field data do not support laboratory-based predictions". Ecology. 92 (2): 422–431. Bibcode:2011Ecol...92..422B. doi:10.1890/10-0536.1. PMID 21618921. S2CID 25388901.

[42] Johnston, Christopher I.; Ryan, Nicole M.; Page, Colin B.; Buckley, Nicholas A.; Brown, Simon G. A.; O'Leary, Margaret A.; Isbister, Geoffrey K. (2017). "The Australian Snakebite Project, 2005–2015 (ASP-20)" (PDF). Medical Journal of Australia. 207 (3): 119–125. doi:10.5694/mja17.00094. hdl:1959.13/1354903. PMID 28764620. S2CID 19567016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-10-06. Retrieved 2019-02-26.

[Razavi14-43] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Razavi, Shahab; Weinstein, Scott A.; Bates, David J.; Alfred, Sam; White, Julian (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. Bibcode:2014Txcn...85...17R. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2014.04.003. PMID 24726467.

[rowlands69-44] Rowlands, J. B.; Mastaglia, F. L.; Kakulas, B, A.; Hainsworth, D. (1969). "Clinical and pathological aspects of a fatal case of mulga (Pseudechis australis) snakebite". Medical Journal of Australia. 1 (5): 226–230. doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.1969.tb117007.x. PMID 5777902. S2CID 36287963.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[45] Trinca, G. F. (1963). "The treatment of snakebite". Medical Journal of Australia. 50 (1): 275–280. doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.1963.tb27211.x. PMID 13994169. S2CID 31846703.

[46] "Your Next Nightmare: Venomous Snake Bites People in Their Sleep". LiveScience. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2019.

[who-47] WHO Expert Committee on Biological Standardization. "Guidelines for the production, control and regulation of snake antivenom immunoglobulins" (PDF). WHO Technical Report Series (964): 224–226. Retrieved 1 January 2019.

[FOOTNOTESutherlandTibballs2001148-49] Sutherland & Tibballs 2001, p. 148.

[johnston13-50] Johnston, C. I.; Brown, S. G. A.; O'Leary, M. A.; Currie, B. J.; Greenberg, R.; Taylor, M.; Barnes, C.; White, J.; Isbister, G. K. (2013). "Mulga snake (Pseudechis australis) envenoming: a spectrum of myotoxicity, anticoagulant coagulopathy, haemolysis and the role of early antivenom therapy—Australian Snakebite Project (ASP-19)". Clinical Toxicology. 51 (5): 417–424. doi:10.3109/15563650.2013.787535. PMID 23586640. S2CID 25917274.

[51] Adlam, Nigel (13 February 2009). "How I Let a King Brown Bite Me Nine Times" (PDF). Odatria (2): 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.

[52] "2.5m-long king brown snake sets new mark from a single milking". Central Coast Gosford Express Advocate. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2019.

[53] Morrison, J.J.; Pearn, J.H.; Charles, N.T.; Coulter, A.R. (1983). "Further studies on the mass of venom injected by elapid snakes". Toxicon. 21 (2): 279–284. Bibcode:1983Txcn...21..279M. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(83)90012-0. PMID 6857711.

[54] Broad, A. J.; Sutherland, S. K.; Coulter, A. R. (1979). "The lethality in mice of dangerous Australian and other snake venom". Toxicon. 17 (6): 661–664. Bibcode:1979Txcn...17..661B. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(79)90245-9. PMID 524395.

[55] 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.

[Georgieva11-56] Georgieva, Dessislava; Seifert, Jana; öHler, Michaela; von Bergen, Martin; Spencer, Patrick; Arni, Raghuvir K.; Genov, Nicolay; Betzel, Christian (2011). "Pseudechis australis venomics: Adaptation for a defense against microbial pathogens and recruitment of body transferrin" (PDF). Journal of Proteome Research. 10 (5): 2440–2464. doi:10.1021/pr101248e. PMID 21417486. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-08-25. Retrieved 2019-08-25.

[FOOTNOTEMirtschinRasmussenWeinstein2017116-57] Mirtschin, Rasmussen & Weinstein 2017, p. 116.

[58] Gutiérrez, José María; Calvete, Juan J.; Habib, Abdulrazaq G.; Harrison, Robert A.; Williams, David J.; Warrell, David A. (2017). "Snakebite envenoming" (PDF). Nature Reviews Disease Primers. 3 (3): 17063. doi:10.1038/nrdp.2017.63. PMID 28905944. S2CID 4916503.

[59] "The Kuniya and Liru story". Parks Australia. Retrieved 7 May 2019.

[60] Magowan, Fiona (2007). Melodies of Mourning: Music & Emotion in Northern Australia. Crawley, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-85255-992-5.

[61] Webb, T. Theodor (1933). "Aboriginal Medical Practice in East Arnhem Land". Oceania. 4 (1): 91–98. doi:10.1002/j.1834-4461.1933.tb00089.x. JSTOR 40327447.

[62] Garde, Murray. "dadbe". Bininj Kunwok Online Dictionary. Bininj Kunwok Regional Language Centre. Retrieved 6 Nov 2021.

[63] Taylor, Luke (1996). Seeing the Inside: Bark Painting in Western Arnhem Land. Oxford, United Kingdom: Clarendon Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-19-823354-1.

[64] Brady, Liam M.; Bradley, John J. (2016). "'Who do you want to kill?' Affectual and relational understandings at a sorcery rock art site in the southwest Gulf of Carpentaria, northern Australia". Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 22 (4): 884–901. doi:10.1111/1467-9655.12495.

[65] "Crocodile Dundee—00:21". www.cswap.com.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Short description|Highly venomous  snake native to Australia}}
+{{Speciesbox
-{{speciesbox
+| image = Pseudechis australis ugmedia.jpg
+| image_alt = A thick-set brownish snake on gravel
 | status = LC
 | status_system = IUCN3.1
 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite journal|title=''Pseudechis australis'' |journal=[[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]] |volume=2017 |at=e.T42493195A42493211 |year=2017 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T42493195A42493211.en |doi-access=free }}</ref>
-| image = Pseudechis australis ugmedia.jpg
-| image_alt = A thick-set brownish snake on gravel
 | genus = Pseudechis
 | species = australis
@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 | range_map = King Brown Mulga Range.jpg
 | range_map_caption = Range of king brown snake (in red)
 | synonyms_ref = <ref name="AFD">{{cite web|url=https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/Pseudechis_australis |title=Species ''Pseudechis australis'' (Gray, 1842) |author=Australian Biological Resources Study|date=11 January 2017 |work=Australian Faunal Directory|publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australian Government|access-date=18 April 2019|location=Canberra, Australian Capital Territory}}</ref>
 | synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets=true|title=<small>List</small>
 |''Naja australis'' <small>Gray, 1842</small>
@@ Line 23: / Line 21: @@
 }}
-The '''king brown snake''' ('''''Pseudechis australis''''') is a species of [[venomous snake|highly venomous snake]] of the family [[Elapidae]], native to northern, western, and [[Central Australia]]. The king brown snake is the largest terrestrial venomous snake in Australia <ref>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.</ref>. Despite its common name, it is a member of the [[genus]] ''[[Pseudechis]]'' (black snakes) and only distantly related to [[Pseudonaja|true brown snakes]]. Its alternative common name is the '''mulga snake''', although it lives in many habitats apart from [[Mulga (habitat)|mulga]]. First described by English zoologist [[John Edward Gray]] in 1842, it is a robust snake up to {{cvt|3.3|m|abbr=on}} 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]] are two-toned, sometimes giving the snake a patterned appearance. Its underside is cream or white, often with orange splotches. The species is [[oviparous]]. The snake is considered to be a [[least-concern species]] according to the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]], though may have declined with the spread of the [[cane toad]].
+The '''king brown snake''' ('''''Pseudechis australis''''') is a species of [[highly venomous snake]] of the family [[Elapidae]], native to northern, western, and [[Central Australia]]. The king brown snake is the largest terrestrial venomous snake in Australia.<ref>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.</ref> Despite its common name, it is a member of the [[genus]] ''[[Pseudechis]]'' (black snakes) and only distantly related to [[Pseudonaja|true brown snakes]]. Its alternative common name is the '''mulga snake''', although it lives in many habitats apart from [[Mulga (habitat)|mulga]]. First described by English zoologist [[John Edward Gray]] in 1842, it is a robust snake up to {{cvt|3.3|m|abbr=on}} 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]] are two-toned, sometimes giving the snake a patterned appearance. Its underside is cream or white, often with orange splotches. The species is [[oviparous]]. The snake is considered to be a [[least-concern species]] according to the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]], though may have declined with the spread of the [[cane toad]].
 Its [[venom]] 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]], causing [[paralysis]] from muscle damage, and also commonly affects blood clotting ([[coagulopathy]]). Often, extensive pain and swelling occur, rarely with [[necrosis]], 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]].
@@ Line 29: / Line 27: @@
 ==Taxonomy==
 [[File:King Brown Snake on roadside near Tiboobura.jpg|thumb|King brown snake on roadside near [[Tibooburra]]]]
-The species was first described by English zoologist [[John Edward Gray]] in 1842 from a specimen collected at [[Port Essington]] in the [[Northern Territory]]. 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''.<ref name="AFD"/><ref>{{cite journal|last=Gray |first=John Edward |author-link=John Edward Gray |year=1842 |title=Description of some hitherto unrecorded species of Australian reptiles and batrachians |journal=Zoological Miscellany |volume=3 |pages=51–57 [55] |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/49831363}}<!--possibly better considered as a book--></ref> On obtaining a second specimen from the College of Surgeons, [[Albert Günther]] of the [[British Museum]] 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]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Günther |first1=Albert Carl Ludwig Gotthilf |title=Third account of new species of snakes in the collection of the British Museum |journal=The Annals and Magazine of Natural History; Zoology, Botany, and Geology |date=1863 |volume=12 |issue=71 |pages=348–365 [362] |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27660085 |doi=10.1080/00222936308681536}}</ref> Scottish-Australian naturalist [[William John Macleay|William Macleay]] described ''Pseudechis darwiniensis'' in 1878, from a more slender specimen that he thought was distinct from ''P. australis''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Macleay |first1=William John |title=Notes on a collection of snakes from Port Darwin |journal=Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales |date=1878 |volume=2 |pages=219–222 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3341826}}</ref> Belgian-British zoologist [[George Albert Boulenger]] described ''P. cupreus'' in 1896 from a specimen collected from the [[Murray River]], distinguishing ''P. darwiniensis'' from ''P. australis'' by the shape of the frontal scale.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Boulenger |first1=George Albert |title=Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Natural History) |date=1896 |publisher=British Museum (Natural History). Department of Zoology |volume=3 |location=London |pages=329–330 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/22393800}}</ref> Austrian zoologist [[Franz Werner]] described ''Pseudechis denisonioides'' from [[Eradu, Western Australia]] in 1909.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Werner |first1=Franz |title=Die Fauna Südwest-Australiens |volume=2 |date=1909 |publisher=Jena, G. Fischer |page=258 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/38281436}}</ref> Australian naturalist [[Donald Thomson]] obtained a skull of a large specimen with a wide head collected from [[Alligator Rivers|East Alligator River]] in [[Arnhem Land]] 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]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thomson |first1=Donald F. |title=Notes on Australian Snakes of the Genera ''Pseudechis'' and ''Oxyuranus'' |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |date=1933 |volume=103 |issue=4 |pages=855–860 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1933.tb01629.x}}</ref>
+The species was first described by English zoologist [[John Edward Gray]] in 1842 from a specimen collected at [[Port Essington]] in the [[Northern Territory]]. 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''.<ref name="AFD"/><ref>{{cite journal|last=Gray |first=John Edward |author-link=John Edward Gray |year=1842 |title=Description of some hitherto unrecorded species of Australian reptiles and batrachians |journal=Zoological Miscellany |volume=3 |pages=51–57 [55] |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/49831363}}<!--possibly better considered as a book--></ref> On obtaining a second specimen from the College of Surgeons, [[Albert Günther]] of the [[British Museum]] 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]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Günther |first1=Albert Carl Ludwig Gotthilf |title=Third account of new species of snakes in the collection of the British Museum |journal=The Annals and Magazine of Natural History; Zoology, Botany, and Geology |date=1863 |volume=12 |issue=71 |pages=348–365 [362] |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27660085 |doi=10.1080/00222936308681536}}</ref> Scottish-Australian naturalist [[William John Macleay|William Macleay]] described ''Pseudechis darwiniensis'' in 1878, from a more slender specimen that he thought was distinct from ''P. australis''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Macleay |first1=William John |title=Notes on a collection of snakes from Port Darwin |journal=Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales |date=1878 |volume=2 |pages=219–222 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3341826}}</ref> Belgian-British zoologist [[George Albert Boulenger]] described ''P. cupreus'' in 1896 from a specimen collected from the [[Murray River]], distinguishing ''P. darwiniensis'' from ''P. australis'' by the shape of the frontal scale.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Boulenger |first1=George Albert |title=Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Natural History) |date=1896 |publisher=British Museum (Natural History). Department of Zoology |volume=3 |location=London |pages=329–330 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/22393800}}</ref> Austrian zoologist [[Franz Werner]] described ''Pseudechis denisonioides'' from [[Eradu, Western Australia]] in 1909.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Werner |first1=Franz |title=Die Fauna Südwest-Australiens |volume=2 |date=1909 |publisher=Jena, G. Fischer |page=258 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/38281436}}</ref> Australian naturalist [[Donald Thomson]] obtained a skull of a large specimen with a wide head collected from [[East Alligator River]] in [[Arnhem Land]] 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]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thomson |first1=Donald F. |title=Notes on Australian Snakes of the Genera ''Pseudechis'' and ''Oxyuranus'' |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |date=1933 |volume=103 |issue=4 |pages=855–860 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1933.tb01629.x}}</ref>
 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]]. 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.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Mackay|first=Roy D.|title=A revision of the genus ''Pseudechis''|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales|volume=74th|year=1953–54|pages=15–23|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/38812147}}</ref><!--cites para--> Australian herpetologists Richard W. Wells and C. Ross Wellington described ''Cannia centralis'' in 1985 from a {{cvt|1.3|m|adj=on|abbr=on}} specimen collected {{cvt|8|km|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} north of [[Tennant Creek]] in 1977, distinguishing it on the basis of a narrow head;<ref name="W&W1985">{{cite journal |last1=Wells |first1=Richard W. |last2=Wellington |first2=C. Ross |year=1985 |title=A classification of the Amphibia and Reptilia of Australia |journal=[[Australian Journal of Herpetology, Supplemental Series]] |volume=1 |pages=1–61 [45] |url=http://www.iucn-tftsg.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Articles/Wells_and_Wellington_1985.pdf |access-date=2019-04-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519132036/http://www.iucn-tftsg.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Articles/Wells_and_Wellington_1985.pdf |archive-date=2014-05-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> however, the distinction was not supported by other authors.<ref name="AFD"/> Two new species and a new genus have been described within this complex by Australian snake-handler [[Raymond Hoser]]—the [[eastern dwarf mulga snake]] (''P. pailsei'') from near [[Mount Isa]], [[Queensland]], Australia,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hoser |first=Raymond |year=1998 |title=A new snake from Queensland, Australia (Serpentes: Elapidae) |url=http://www.smuggled.com/newsna2.htm |journal=Monitor |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=5–9, 31}}</ref> and the [[Papuan pygmy mulga snake]] (''P. rossignolii''), found in [[Irian Jaya]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hoser |first=Raymond |year=2000|url=http://www.smuggled.com/Pailsu10.htm |title=A New Species of Snake (Serpentes: Elapidae) from Irian Jaya |journal=Litteratura Serpentium |volume=20 |issue=6 |pages=178–186}}</ref> Hoser later also resurrected the [[pygmy mulga snake]] (''P. weigeli'', originally described as ''Cannia weigeli'' by Wells and Wellington in 1987<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wells |first1=R. W. |last2=Wellington |first2=C. R. |year=1987 |title=A new species of proteroglyphous snake (Serpentes: Oxyuranidae) from Australia |journal=Australian Herpetologist |volume=503 |pages=1–8}}</ref>). These descriptions were initially received with skepticism due to the low level of evidence provided in the original descriptions.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Wüster, W. |author2=Bush, B. |author3=Keogh, J.S.|author4=O'Shea, M.|author5=Shine, R.|year=2001|title=Taxonomic contributions in the "amateur" literature: comments on recent descriptions of new genera and species by Raymond Hoser|journal=Litteratura Serpentium|volume=21|page=67|url=http://biology.bangor.ac.uk/~bss166/FWit/LittSerp.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070809042710/http://biology.bangor.ac.uk/~bss166/FWit/LittSerp.pdf|archive-date=2007-08-09}}</ref>
-The species was long regarded as [[monotypic]] and highly variable until German biologist Ulrich Kuch and colleagues analysed the [[mitochondrial DNA]] of specimens across its range in 2005. They recovered four distinct lineages ([[clade]]s); clade{{spaces}}I (a New Guinea lineage of smaller snakes) diverged from the rest between six and four million years ago ([[Late Miocene]] to [[Zanclean|Early Pliocene]]), with the other three diverging in the Pleistocene. Clade{{spaces}}II corresponded to a lineage of large snakes found across Australia, clade{{spaces}}III was a dwarf form from the [[Kimberley (Western Australia)|Kimberley]], and clade{{spaces}}IV contained two dwarf forms from northwestern Queensland and the Northern Territory, each of which was likely to be a distinct species.<ref name=Kuch05/> <!--cites para--> In 2017, British herpetologist Simon Maddock and colleagues published a genetic analysis using mitochondrial DNA on the genus, and confirmed clade{{spaces}}I was ''P. rossignoli'', clade{{spaces}}II was ''P. australis'', clade{{spaces}}III is an as yet unnamed dwarf species, and clade{{spaces}}IV is ''[[Pseudechis pailsei|P. pailsi]]'' and ''P. weigeli''. They also determined that ''P. australis'' was most closely related to ''P. butleri'', the [[spotted mulga snake]].<ref name=maddock17>{{Cite journal|title=Multi-locus phylogeny and species delimitation of Australo-Papuan blacksnakes (''Pseudechis'' Wagler, 1830: Elapidae: Serpentes)|last1=Maddock|first1=Simon T.|first2=Aaron|last2=Childerstone|first3=Byan Greig|last3=Fry|first4= David J.|last4=Williams|first5=Axel|last5=Barlow|first6=Wolfgang|last6=Wüster|date=2017|url=https://www.academia.edu/33666971|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=107|number=107|pages=48–55|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2016.09.005|pmid=27637992}}</ref><!--cites 2 previous sentences-->
+The species was long regarded as [[monotypic]] and highly variable until German biologist Ulrich Kuch and colleagues analysed the [[mitochondrial DNA]] of specimens across its range in 2005. They recovered four distinct lineages ([[clade]]s); clade{{spaces}}I (a New Guinea lineage of smaller snakes) diverged from the rest between six and four million years ago ([[Late Miocene]] to [[Early Pliocene]]), with the other three diverging in the Pleistocene. Clade{{spaces}}II corresponded to a lineage of large snakes found across Australia, clade{{spaces}}III was a dwarf form from the [[Kimberley (Western Australia)|Kimberley]], and clade{{spaces}}IV contained two dwarf forms from northwestern Queensland and the Northern Territory, each of which was likely to be a distinct species.<ref name=Kuch05/> <!--cites para--> In 2017, British herpetologist Simon Maddock and colleagues published a genetic analysis using mitochondrial DNA on the genus, and confirmed clade{{spaces}}I was ''P. rossignoli'', clade{{spaces}}II was ''P. australis'', clade{{spaces}}III is an as yet unnamed dwarf species, and clade{{spaces}}IV is ''[[Pseudechis pailsei|P. pailsi]]'' and ''P. weigeli''. They also determined that ''P. australis'' was most closely related to ''P. butleri'', the [[spotted mulga snake]].<ref name=maddock17>{{Cite journal|title=Multi-locus phylogeny and species delimitation of Australo-Papuan blacksnakes (''Pseudechis'' Wagler, 1830: Elapidae: Serpentes)|last1=Maddock|first1=Simon T.|first2=Aaron|last2=Childerstone|first3=Byan Greig|last3=Fry|first4= David J.|last4=Williams|first5=Axel|last5=Barlow|first6=Wolfgang|last6=Wüster|date=2017|url=https://www.academia.edu/33666971|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=107|number=107|pages=48–55|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2016.09.005|pmid=27637992|bibcode=2017MolPE.107...48M }}</ref><!--cites 2 previous sentences-->
 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.{{sfn|Sutherland|Tibballs|2001|p=146}} 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.<ref name=shea08>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1999.tb12947.x|pmid = 10685181|title = The distribution and identification of dangerously venomous Australian terrestrial snakes|journal = Australian Veterinary Journal|volume = 77|issue = 12|pages = 791–798|year = 1999|last1 = Shea|first1 = Glenn M.|s2cid = 34609322|doi-access = free}}</ref> It has also been called the "Pilbara cobra".<ref>{{cite web |title=Mulga Snake |url=https://alicespringsdesertpark.com.au/connect-with-nature/animals/animals/mulga-snake |website=[[Alice Springs Desert Park]] |publisher=Northern Territory Government |access-date=18 April 2019|date=20 March 2018 }}</ref> Australian zoologist [[Gerard Krefft]] called it the orange-bellied brown snake.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Krefft |first1=Gerard |title=The Snakes of Australia: An Illustrated and Descriptive Catalogue of All the Known Species |date=1869 |publisher=Government Printer |location=South Africa |page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924002873689/page/n78 47] |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924002873689|quote=australis. }}</ref> In the [[Kaytetye language]] spoken in Central Australia, it is known as ''atetherr-ayne-wene'', "[[budgerigar]]-eater".<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1080/07268602.2013.857571|title = Semantic Extension in Kaytetye Flora and Fauna Terms|journal = Australian Journal of Linguistics|volume = 33|issue = 4|pages = 488–518|year = 2013|last1 = Turpin|first1 = Myfany|s2cid = 62767948}}</ref> The term "king brown" refers to the great size of individuals in the north and northwest of Australia, which can exceed {{cvt|3|m|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} in length; it is the largest and most dangerous elapid of those regions. In Southwest Australia, where the species is up to {{cvt|2|m|sigfig=1|abbr=on}}, it is also known as the common mulga snake, distinguishing it from the spotted mulga snake ''Pseudechis butleri''.<ref name="Browne-Cooper2007">{{cite book |last1=Browne-Cooper |first1=R. |last2=Bush |first2=B. |last3=Maryan |first3=B. |last4=Robinson |first4=D. |title=Reptiles and frogs in the bush : southwestern Australia |date=2007 |publisher=University of Western Australia Press |isbn=9781920694746 |pages=259–260}}</ref>
@@ Line 41: / Line 39: @@
 [[File:Pseudechis australis 2.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A thick-set brownish snake moving over a grass lawn|Adult snake with prominent two-toned scales giving a reticulated pattern]]
-Australia's largest venomous snake, the king brown snake can reach {{convert|2.0|to|2.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} in length with a weight of {{convert|3|to|6|kg|lb|abbr=on}},<ref name=Kuch05>{{cite journal|url=http://biology.anu.edu.au/hosted_sites/Scott/2005kuchetalnat.pdf|doi=10.1007/s00114-004-0602-0|title=Phylogeography of Australia's king brown snake (''Pseudechis australis'') reveals Pliocene divergence and Pleistocene dispersal of a top predator|pmid=15688185|year=2005|last1=Kuch|first1=Ulrich|last2=Keogh|first2=J. Scott|last3=Weigel|first3=John|last4=Smith|first4=Laurie A.|last5=Mebs|first5=Dietrich|journal=Naturwissenschaften|volume=92|issue=3|pages=121–127|bibcode=2005NW.....92..121K|s2cid=26068662|access-date=2012-12-19|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20121114201017/http://biology.anu.edu.au/hosted_sites/Scott/2005kuchetalnat.pdf|archive-date=2012-11-14|url-status=dead}}</ref><!--{{efn|1=The taipan can grow longer, but is more slender.}}--> with males around 20% larger than females.<ref name=shine87>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.2307/1445650|jstor = 1445650|title = The Evolution of Viviparity: Ecological Correlates of Reproductive Mode within a Genus of Australian Snakes (''Pseudechis'': Elapidae)|journal = Copeia|volume = 1987|issue = 3|pages = 551–563|year = 1987|last1 = Shine|first1 = Richard}}</ref> The longest confirmed individual was {{cvt|3.3|m|abbr=on}} in length.<ref name=AM>{{cite web|url=https://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/animals/reptiles/mulga-snake/|title=Mulga Snake|work= Animal Species|first=Cecilie|last=Beatson|date=25 November 2018|access-date=26 August 2019|publisher=Australian Museum}}</ref> The king brown snake is [[Robustness (morphology)|robust]], with a head slightly wider than the body, prominent cheeks and small eyes with red-brown irises,<ref name=AM/> and a dark tongue.{{sfn|Greer|1997|p=243}} The head is demarcated from the body by a slight neck.{{sfn|Mirtschin|Rasmussen|Weinstein|2017|p=114}} 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.<ref name=AM/><!--cites previous 3 sentences--> The belly is cream, white or salmon and can have orange marks.{{sfn|Mirtschin|Rasmussen|Weinstein|2017|p=114}}
+Australia's largest venomous snake, the king brown snake can reach {{convert|2.0|to|2.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} in length with a weight of {{convert|3|to|6|kg|lb|abbr=on}},<ref name=Kuch05>{{cite journal|url=http://biology.anu.edu.au/hosted_sites/Scott/2005kuchetalnat.pdf|doi=10.1007/s00114-004-0602-0|title=Phylogeography of Australia's king brown snake (''Pseudechis australis'') reveals Pliocene divergence and Pleistocene dispersal of a top predator|pmid=15688185|year=2005|last1=Kuch|first1=Ulrich|last2=Keogh|first2=J. Scott|last3=Weigel|first3=John|last4=Smith|first4=Laurie A.|last5=Mebs|first5=Dietrich|journal=Naturwissenschaften|volume=92|issue=3|pages=121–127|bibcode=2005NW.....92..121K|s2cid=26068662|access-date=2012-12-19|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20121114201017/http://biology.anu.edu.au/hosted_sites/Scott/2005kuchetalnat.pdf|archive-date=2012-11-14|url-status=dead}}</ref><!--{{efn|1=The taipan can grow longer, but is more slender.}}--> with males around 20% larger than females.<ref name=shine87>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.2307/1445650|jstor = 1445650|title = The Evolution of Viviparity: Ecological Correlates of Reproductive Mode within a Genus of Australian Snakes (''Pseudechis'': Elapidae)|journal = Copeia|volume = 1987|issue = 3|pages = 551–563|year = 1987|last1 = Shine|first1 = Richard}}</ref> The longest confirmed individual was {{cvt|3.3|m|abbr=on}} in length.<ref name=AM>{{cite web|url=https://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/animals/reptiles/mulga-snake/|title=Mulga Snake|work= Animal Species|first=Cecilie|last=Beatson|date=25 November 2018|access-date=26 August 2019|publisher=Australian Museum}}</ref> The king brown snake is robust, with a head slightly wider than the body, prominent cheeks and small eyes with red-brown irises,<ref name=AM/> and a dark tongue.{{sfn|Greer|1997|p=243}} The head is demarcated from the body by a slight neck.{{sfn|Mirtschin|Rasmussen|Weinstein|2017|p=114}} 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.<ref name=AM/><!--cites previous 3 sentences--> The belly is cream, white or salmon and can have orange marks.{{sfn|Mirtschin|Rasmussen|Weinstein|2017|p=114}}
-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,{{sfn|Mirtschin|Rasmussen|Weinstein|2017|p=114}} even blackish.<ref name=AM/> In Western Australia, king brown snakes south of a line through [[Jurien Bay, Western Australia|Jurien Bay]], [[Badgingarra, Western Australia|Badgingarra]], [[New Norcia, Western Australia|New Norcia]], and [[Quairading, Western Australia|Quairading]] are significantly darker in colour.<ref name=smith82>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=L.A. |title=Variation in ''Pseudechis australis'' (Serpentes:Elapidae) in Western Australia and description of a new species of ''Pseudechis'' |journal=Records of the Western Australian Museum |date=1982 |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=35–45 |url=http://museum.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/VARIATION%20IN%20PSEUDECHIS%20AUSTRALIS%20(SERPENTES%20ELAPIDAE)%20IN%20WESTERN%20AUSTRALIA%20AND%20DESCRIPTION%20OF%20NEW%20SPECIES%20OF%20PSEUDECHIS.pdf}}</ref>
+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,{{sfn|Mirtschin|Rasmussen|Weinstein|2017|p=114}} even blackish.<ref name=AM/> In Western Australia, king brown snakes south of a line through [[Jurien Bay]], [[Badgingarra]], [[New Norcia]], and [[Quairading]] are significantly darker in colour.<ref name=smith82>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=L.A. |title=Variation in ''Pseudechis australis'' (Serpentes:Elapidae) in Western Australia and description of a new species of ''Pseudechis'' |journal=Records of the Western Australian Museum |date=1982 |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=35–45 |url=http://museum.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/VARIATION%20IN%20PSEUDECHIS%20AUSTRALIS%20(SERPENTES%20ELAPIDAE)%20IN%20WESTERN%20AUSTRALIA%20AND%20DESCRIPTION%20OF%20NEW%20SPECIES%20OF%20PSEUDECHIS.pdf}}</ref>
 ===Scalation===
-The number and arrangement of scales on a snake's body are key elements of identification to species level.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hutchinson |first1=Mark |first2=Ian |last2=Williams |title=Key to the Snakes of South Australia |url=https://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/Upload/Files-Biological-Sciences/R-and-A-text/Key-to-the-Snakes-of-South-Australia.pdf |website=South Australian Museum |publisher=Government of South Australia |date=2018 |access-date=8 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718130858/http://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/Upload/Files-Biological-Sciences/R-and-A-text/Key-to-the-Snakes-of-South-Australia.pdf |archive-date=18 July 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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]].{{sfn|Mirtschin|Rasmussen|Weinstein|2017|p=114}} The temporolabial scale and last (sixth) [[Supralabial scale|supralabial]] scale (both above the snake's mouth) are fused in the [[eastern brown snake]] (''Pseudonaja textilis'') but separate in the king brown snake.<ref name=shea08/>
+The number and arrangement of scales on a snake's body are key elements of identification to species level.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hutchinson |first1=Mark |first2=Ian |last2=Williams |title=Key to the Snakes of South Australia |url=https://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/Upload/Files-Biological-Sciences/R-and-A-text/Key-to-the-Snakes-of-South-Australia.pdf |website=South Australian Museum |publisher=Government of South Australia |date=2018 |access-date=8 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718130858/http://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/Upload/Files-Biological-Sciences/R-and-A-text/Key-to-the-Snakes-of-South-Australia.pdf |archive-date=18 July 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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]].{{sfn|Mirtschin|Rasmussen|Weinstein|2017|p=114}} 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.<ref name=shea08/>
 The king brown snake can be confused with brown snakes of the genus ''[[Pseudonaja]]'', the [[olive python]] (''Liasis olivaceus''), [[water python]] (''Liasis fuscus''), spotted mulga snake, or [[coastal taipan]] (''Oxyuranus scutellatus'') where they co-occur.<ref name=Watharow>{{cite book|title=Living with Snakes and Other Reptiles |first=Simon |last=Watharow |page=68 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sal3qwaJxz4C&pg=PA68 |publisher=Csiro Publishing |year=2011 |location=Melbourne, Victoria |isbn=978-0-643-10381-8}}</ref>
@@ Line 53: / Line 51: @@
 ==Distribution and habitat==
-King brown snakes occur in all states of Australia except for [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] and [[Tasmania]].{{sfn|Mirtschin|Rasmussen|Weinstein|2017|p=115}} It has become rare or vanished from parts of coastal Queensland.<ref name=QM>{{cite web|url=https://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Animals+of+Queensland/Reptiles/Snakes/Common+and+dangerous+species/Mulga+Snake#.XWJv0OgzaUk|title=Mulga Snake|publisher=The State of Queensland (Queensland Museum)|work=Animals of Queensland|access-date=26 August 2019}}</ref> The eastern limit of its range runs from [[Gladstone, Queensland|Gladstone]] in central Queensland, and south through [[Gayndah]], [[Dalby, Queensland|Dalby]], the [[Warrumbungles]], southwest to [[Condobolin]] and the vicinity of [[Balranald]] and then across to [[Port Pirie]] in South Australia. The southwestern limit of its range runs from [[Ceduna, South Australia|Ceduna]] in South Australia, west through the northern [[Nullarbor Plain]] to [[Kalgoorlie]], [[Narrogin, Western Australia|Narrogin]] and on coastal plains north of [[Perth]].<ref name=shea08/>
+King brown snakes occur in all states of Australia except for [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] and [[Tasmania]].{{sfn|Mirtschin|Rasmussen|Weinstein|2017|p=115}} It has become rare or vanished from parts of coastal Queensland.<ref name=QM>{{cite web|url=https://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Animals+of+Queensland/Reptiles/Snakes/Common+and+dangerous+species/Mulga+Snake#.XWJv0OgzaUk|title=Mulga Snake|publisher=The State of Queensland (Queensland Museum)|work=Animals of Queensland|access-date=26 August 2019}}</ref> The eastern limit of its range runs from [[Gladstone, Queensland|Gladstone]] in central Queensland, and south through [[Gayndah]], [[Dalby, Queensland|Dalby]], the [[Warrumbungles]], southwest to [[Condobolin]] and the vicinity of [[Balranald]] and then across to [[Port Pirie]] in South Australia. The southwestern limit of its range runs from [[Ceduna, South Australia|Ceduna]] in South Australia, west through the northern [[Nullarbor Plain]] to [[Kalgoorlie]], [[Narrogin]] and on coastal plains north of [[Perth]].<ref name=shea08/>
 King brown snakes are habitat generalists,<ref name=shine87/> inhabiting [[woodland]]s, [[Tussock grass|hummock]] [[grassland]]s, [[chenopod]] [[scrubland]]s, and [[gibber]] or sandy deserts nearly devoid of vegetation.<ref name=AM/> Within the arid to semiarid parts of their range, however, they prefer areas of greater moisture such as watercourses.<ref name=shine87/>
@@ Line 61: / Line 59: @@
 ==Behaviour==
-The king brown snake is mostly [[Crepuscular animal|crepuscular]]—active at dusk,{{sfn|Mirtschin|Rasmussen|Weinstein|2017|p=115}} 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.<ref name=AM/><!--cites previous 1.5 sentences--> Across its range, it is more active during the day in cooler climates and at night in hotter climates.<ref name=shine87/>
+The king brown snake is mostly [[crepuscular]]—active at dusk,{{sfn|Mirtschin|Rasmussen|Weinstein|2017|p=115}} 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.<ref name=AM/><!--cites previous 1.5 sentences--> Across its range, it is more active during the day in cooler climates and at night in hotter climates.<ref name=shine87/>
 ===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 [[Spring (season)#Meteorological reckoning|Southern Hemisphere spring]] in southwest Western Australia, mid-spring in the Eyre Peninsula, and with the wet season in the north of the country.<ref name=AM/> The species is [[Oviparity|oviparous]], with one unverified claim of [[viviparity]].<ref name=shine87/> Females produce a clutch of four to 19 [[egg (biology)|eggs]], averaging around 10,{{sfn|Greer|1997|p=225}} with longer females laying larger clutches,<ref name=AM/> generally 39 to 45 days after mating has taken place.{{sfn|Greer|1997|p=218}} Eggs take about 70 to 100 days to hatch.<ref name=AM/> The incubating temperature has been recorded as between {{convert|22|and|32|C|F|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Greer|1997|p=232}} The eggs average {{convert|40.1|mm|in|abbr=on|frac=8}} in length by {{convert|22.9|mm|in|abbr=on|frac=8}} in width and weigh {{convert|13.1|g|oz|abbr=on}} each.{{sfn|Greer|1997|p=231}} Baby snakes average {{convert|22.6|cm|in|abbr=on|frac=8}} in length and weigh {{convert|9.4|g|oz|abbr=on}} on hatching.{{sfn|Greer|1997|p=234}}
+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 [[Spring (season)#Meteorological reckoning|Southern Hemisphere spring]] in southwest Western Australia, mid-spring in the Eyre Peninsula, and with the wet season in the north of the country.<ref name=AM/> The species is [[oviparous]], with one unverified claim of [[viviparity]].<ref name=shine87/> Females produce a clutch of four to 19 [[egg (biology)|eggs]], averaging around 10,{{sfn|Greer|1997|p=225}} with longer females laying larger clutches,<ref name=AM/> generally 39 to 45 days after mating has taken place.{{sfn|Greer|1997|p=218}} Eggs take about 70 to 100 days to hatch.<ref name=AM/> The incubating temperature has been recorded as between {{convert|22|and|32|C|F|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Greer|1997|p=232}} The eggs average {{convert|40.1|mm|in|abbr=on|frac=8}} in length by {{convert|22.9|mm|in|abbr=on|frac=8}} in width and weigh {{convert|13.1|g|oz|abbr=on}} each.{{sfn|Greer|1997|p=231}} Baby snakes average {{convert|22.6|cm|in|abbr=on|frac=8}} in length and weigh {{convert|9.4|g|oz|abbr=on}} on hatching.{{sfn|Greer|1997|p=234}}
 King brown snakes have been reported to live up to 25 years in captivity.<ref name=eipper12/>
@@ Line 71: / Line 69: @@
 ==Diet==
-The king brown snake is a generalist predator, preying on [[frog]]s, [[lizard]]s including small [[monitor lizard|monitors]], [[skink]]s, [[gecko]]s and [[agamid]]s, other snakes including [[Demansia|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 [[Acanthiza|thornbills]], and small [[mammal]]s such as [[rodent]]s and [[Dasyuridae|dasyurids]].<ref name=shine87/> and spiders such as the infamous funnel web spiders, mouse spiders and tarantulas.  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.<ref name="Browne-Cooper2007" /> It is opportunistic, eating a higher proportion of frogs in wetter areas.<ref name=shine87/>
+The king brown snake is a generalist predator, preying on [[frog]]s, [[lizard]]s including small [[monitor lizard|monitors]], [[skink]]s, [[gecko]]s and [[agamid]]s, other snakes including [[Demansia|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 [[Acanthiza|thornbills]], and small [[mammal]]s such as [[rodent]]s and [[dasyurids]].<ref name=shine87/> and spiders such as [[tarantula]]s, [[mouse spiders]], and the infamous [[Australian funnel-web spider|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.<ref name="Browne-Cooper2007" /> It is opportunistic, eating a higher proportion of frogs in wetter areas.<ref name=shine87/>
-King brown snakes are sensitive to [[cane toads in Australia|cane toad toxins]] and have died after eating them.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1086/655116|pmid = 20919631|title = The Ecological Impact of Invasive Cane Toads (''Bufo Marinus'') in Australia|journal = The Quarterly Review of Biology|volume = 85|issue = 3|pages = 253–291|year = 2010|last1 = Shine|first1 = Richard|s2cid = 20689582}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1890/10-0536.1|pmid = 21618921|title = The ecological impact of invasive cane toads on tropical snakes: Field data do not support laboratory-based predictions|journal = Ecology|volume = 92|issue = 2|pages = 422–431|year = 2011|last1 = Brown|first1 = Gregory P.|last2 = Phillips|first2 = Benjamin L.|last3 = Shine|first3 = Richard|s2cid = 25388901}}</ref>
+King brown snakes are sensitive to [[cane toads in Australia|cane toad toxins]] and have died after eating them.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1086/655116|pmid = 20919631|title = The Ecological Impact of Invasive Cane Toads (''Bufo Marinus'') in Australia|journal = The Quarterly Review of Biology|volume = 85|issue = 3|pages = 253–291|year = 2010|last1 = Shine|first1 = Richard|s2cid = 20689582}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1890/10-0536.1|pmid = 21618921|title = The ecological impact of invasive cane toads on tropical snakes: Field data do not support laboratory-based predictions|journal = Ecology|volume = 92|issue = 2|pages = 422–431|year = 2011|last1 = Brown|first1 = Gregory P.|last2 = Phillips|first2 = Benjamin L.|last3 = Shine|first3 = Richard| bibcode=2011Ecol...92..422B |s2cid = 25388901}}</ref>
 ==Venom==
-The king brown snake accounted for 4% of identified snakebites in Australia between 2005 and 2015, with no deaths recorded.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Christopher I. |last1=Johnston |first2=Nicole M. |last2=Ryan |first3=Colin B. |last3=Page |first4=Nicholas A. |last4=Buckley |first5=Simon G. A. |last5=Brown |first6=Margaret A. |last6=O'Leary |first7=Geoffrey K. |last7=Isbister |title=The Australian Snakebite Project, 2005–2015 (ASP-20) |journal=Medical Journal of Australia |year=2017 |volume=207 |issue=3 |pages=119–125 |doi=10.5694/mja17.00094 |pmid=28764620 |hdl=1959.13/1354903 |s2cid=19567016 |url=http://www.emergpa.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/ASP-20.pdf |hdl-access=free |access-date=2019-02-26 |archive-date=2017-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006212626/http://www.emergpa.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/ASP-20.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The last recorded death occurred in 1969,<ref name=Razavi14/> 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 [[Acanthophis|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.<ref name=rowlands69>{{cite journal|last1=Rowlands|first1=J. B.|last2= Mastaglia|first2=F. L.|last3= Kakulas|first3= B, A.|last4= Hainsworth|first4=D.|title=Clinical and pathological aspects of a fatal case of mulga (''Pseudechis australis'') snakebite|journal=Medical Journal of Australia|date=1969|volume=1|issue=5|pages=226–230|pmid=5777902|doi=10.5694/j.1326-5377.1969.tb117007.x|s2cid=36287963}}</ref><!--cites previous 2.5 sentences--> Before this it had been confirmed in one fatality and suspected in another in the early 1960s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Trinca |first1=G. F. |title=The treatment of snakebite |journal=Medical Journal of Australia |date=1963 |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=275–280 |doi=10.5694/j.1326-5377.1963.tb27211.x |pmid=13994169|s2cid=31846703 }}</ref> Venomous snakes normally only bite humans when disturbed. King brown snakes have been noted, however, to bite people who were asleep at the time.<ref name=Razavi14>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.toxicon.2014.04.003 |title=The Australian mulga snake (''Pseudechis australis'': Elapidae): Report of a large case series of bites and review of current knowledge |journal=Toxicon |year=2014 |last1=Razavi |first1=Shahab |last2=Weinstein |first2=Scott A. |last3=Bates |first3=David J. |last4=Alfred |first4=Sam |last5=White |first5=Julian |volume=85 |pages=17–26 |pmid=24726467}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Your Next Nightmare: Venomous Snake Bites People in Their Sleep|date=22 April 2014|access-date=18 October 2019 |work=[[LiveScience]] |url=http://www.livescience.com/45012-mulga-snake-sleep-bites.html}}</ref> Furthermore, a significant number of victims have been snake handlers. These have resulted in a high proportion of bites occurring on upper limbs.<ref name=Razavi14/> The king brown snake is classified as a snake of medical importance by the [[World Health Organization]].<ref name=who>{{cite journal|author=WHO Expert Committee on Biological Standardization |title=Guidelines for the production, control and regulation of snake antivenom immunoglobulins |url=https://www.who.int/bloodproducts/AntivenomGLrevWHO_TRS_1004_web_Annex_5.pdf |access-date=1 January 2019 |pages=224–226 |journal=WHO Technical Report Series |number=964}}</ref>{{efn|1=Snakes of Medical Importance include those with highly dangerous venom resulting in high rates of morbidity and mortality, or those that are common agents in snakebite.<ref name=who/>}}
+The king brown snake accounted for 4% of identified snakebites in Australia between 2005 and 2015, with no deaths recorded.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Christopher I. |last1=Johnston |first2=Nicole M. |last2=Ryan |first3=Colin B. |last3=Page |first4=Nicholas A. |last4=Buckley |first5=Simon G. A. |last5=Brown |first6=Margaret A. |last6=O'Leary |first7=Geoffrey K. |last7=Isbister |title=The Australian Snakebite Project, 2005–2015 (ASP-20) |journal=Medical Journal of Australia |year=2017 |volume=207 |issue=3 |pages=119–125 |doi=10.5694/mja17.00094 |pmid=28764620 |hdl=1959.13/1354903 |s2cid=19567016 |url=http://www.emergpa.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/ASP-20.pdf |hdl-access=free |access-date=2019-02-26 |archive-date=2017-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006212626/http://www.emergpa.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/ASP-20.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The last recorded death occurred in 1969,<ref name=Razavi14/> 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 [[Acanthophis|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.<ref name=rowlands69>{{cite journal|last1=Rowlands|first1=J. B.|last2= Mastaglia|first2=F. L.|last3= Kakulas|first3= B, A.|last4= Hainsworth|first4=D.|title=Clinical and pathological aspects of a fatal case of mulga (''Pseudechis australis'') snakebite|journal=Medical Journal of Australia|date=1969|volume=1|issue=5|pages=226–230|pmid=5777902|doi=10.5694/j.1326-5377.1969.tb117007.x|s2cid=36287963}}</ref><!--cites previous 2.5 sentences--> Before this it had been confirmed in one fatality and suspected in another in the early 1960s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Trinca |first1=G. F. |title=The treatment of snakebite |journal=Medical Journal of Australia |date=1963 |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=275–280 |doi=10.5694/j.1326-5377.1963.tb27211.x |pmid=13994169|s2cid=31846703 }}</ref> Venomous snakes normally only bite humans when disturbed. King brown snakes have been noted, however, to bite people who were asleep at the time.<ref name=Razavi14>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.toxicon.2014.04.003 |title=The Australian mulga snake (''Pseudechis australis'': Elapidae): Report of a large case series of bites and review of current knowledge |journal=Toxicon |year=2014 |last1=Razavi |first1=Shahab |last2=Weinstein |first2=Scott A. |last3=Bates |first3=David J. |last4=Alfred |first4=Sam |last5=White |first5=Julian |volume=85 |pages=17–26 |pmid=24726467|bibcode=2014Txcn...85...17R }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Your Next Nightmare: Venomous Snake Bites People in Their Sleep|date=22 April 2014|access-date=18 October 2019 |work=[[LiveScience]] |url=http://www.livescience.com/45012-mulga-snake-sleep-bites.html}}</ref> Furthermore, a significant number of victims have been snake handlers. These have resulted in a high proportion of bites occurring on upper limbs.<ref name=Razavi14/> The king brown snake is classified as a snake of medical importance by the [[World Health Organization]].<ref name=who>{{cite journal|author=WHO Expert Committee on Biological Standardization |title=Guidelines for the production, control and regulation of snake antivenom immunoglobulins |url=https://www.who.int/bloodproducts/AntivenomGLrevWHO_TRS_1004_web_Annex_5.pdf |access-date=1 January 2019 |pages=224–226 |journal=WHO Technical Report Series |number=964}}</ref>{{efn|1=Snakes of Medical Importance include those with highly dangerous venom resulting in high rates of morbidity and mortality, or those that are common agents in snakebite.<ref name=who/>}}
-The king brown snake can bite repeatedly and chew to envenomate a victim.{{sfn|Sutherland|Tibballs|2001|p=148}} Considerable pain, swelling, and tissue damage often occur at the site of a king brown snake bite.<ref name=Razavi14/> Local [[necrosis]] has been recorded.<ref name=johnston13>{{cite journal|last1=Johnston |first1=C. I. |last2=Brown |first2=S. G. A. |last3=O’Leary |first3=M. A. |last4=Currie |first4=B. J. |last5=Greenberg |first5=R. |last6=Taylor |first6=M. |last7=Barnes |first7=C. |last8=White |first8=J. |last9=Isbister |first9=G. K. |title=Mulga snake (''Pseudechis australis'') envenoming: a spectrum of myotoxicity, anticoagulant coagulopathy, haemolysis and the role of early antivenom therapy—Australian Snakebite Project (ASP-19) |journal=Clinical Toxicology |date=2013 |volume=51 |issue=5 |pages=417–424 |doi=10.3109/15563650.2013.787535|pmid=23586640 |s2cid=25917274 }}</ref> In 1998, a person bitten 9–12 times on his arm required an amputation of the envenomed limb.<ref name=Razavi14/> 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.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Adlam|first=Nigel|date=13 February 2009|title=How I Let a King Brown Bite Me Nine Times|url=http://vhs.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Odatria_2_FEB091.pdf|journal=Odatria|issue=2|page=4|access-date=28 August 2019|archive-date=5 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190305004653/http://vhs.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Odatria_2_FEB091.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> A large king brown snake delivers on average 180{{spaces}}mg of venom in one bite. A {{cvt|2.5|m|adj=on}} long king brown snake milked by snake handler [[Snake Man of La Perouse|John Cann]] produced 1350{{spaces}}mg, and then 580, 920, and 780{{spaces}}mg at three, four, and five months after the first milking.{{sfn|Sutherland|Tibballs|2001|p=148}}<!--cites previous 2 sentences--> This record was broken in 2016, when a king brown snake called "chewi"—also {{cvt|2.5|m|abbr=on}} long—produced 1500{{spaces}}mg of venom at the [[Australian Reptile Park]].<ref>{{cite news|title=2.5m-long king brown snake sets new mark from a single milking |url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-coast/25mlong-king-brown-snake-sets-new-mark-from-a-single-milking/news-story/4c69b099af31f5636c7d5e88da8cad52 |date=7 April 2016 |access-date=7 May 2019 |work=Central Coast Gosford Express Advocate}}</ref> The volume of venom produced in laboratories is equivalent to the amounts produced by the [[king cobra]] (''Ophiophagus hannah'') and [[gaboon adder]] (''Bitis gabonica'').<ref name="Browne-Cooper2007" /> 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 (0.07{{spaces}}mg of 62{{spaces}}mg) was left on the skin.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Morrison|first1=J.J.|last2=Pearn|first2=J.H.|last3=Charles|first3= N.T.|last4=Coulter|first4= A.R.|year= 1983|title= Further studies on the mass of venom injected by elapid snakes|journal=Toxicon|volume= 21|issue=2|pages= 279–284| pmid=6857711| doi= 10.1016/0041-0101(83)90012-0}}</ref> When using 0.1% [[bovine serum albumin]] in [[saline (medicine)|saline]] rather than saline alone, the venom has a [[mice|murine]] median lethal dose ({{LD50}}) of 1.91{{spaces}}mg/kg (0.866{{spaces}}mg/lb) when administered [[subcutaneously]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Broad |first1=A. J. |last2=Sutherland |first2=S. K. |last3=Coulter |first3=A. R. |title=The lethality in mice of dangerous Australian and other snake venom |journal=Toxicon |date=1979 |volume=17 |issue=6 |pages=661–664 |pmid=524395 |doi=10.1016/0041-0101(79)90245-9}}</ref>
+The king brown snake can bite repeatedly and chew to envenomate a victim.{{sfn|Sutherland|Tibballs|2001|p=148}} Considerable pain, swelling, and tissue damage often occur at the site of a king brown snake bite.<ref name=Razavi14/> Local [[necrosis]] has been recorded.<ref name=johnston13>{{cite journal|last1=Johnston |first1=C. I. |last2=Brown |first2=S. G. A. |last3=O'Leary |first3=M. A. |last4=Currie |first4=B. J. |last5=Greenberg |first5=R. |last6=Taylor |first6=M. |last7=Barnes |first7=C. |last8=White |first8=J. |last9=Isbister |first9=G. K. |title=Mulga snake (''Pseudechis australis'') envenoming: a spectrum of myotoxicity, anticoagulant coagulopathy, haemolysis and the role of early antivenom therapy—Australian Snakebite Project (ASP-19) |journal=Clinical Toxicology |date=2013 |volume=51 |issue=5 |pages=417–424 |doi=10.3109/15563650.2013.787535|pmid=23586640 |s2cid=25917274 }}</ref> In 1998, a person bitten 9–12 times on his arm required an amputation of the envenomed limb.<ref name=Razavi14/> 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.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Adlam|first=Nigel|date=13 February 2009|title=How I Let a King Brown Bite Me Nine Times|url=http://vhs.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Odatria_2_FEB091.pdf|journal=Odatria|issue=2|page=4|access-date=28 August 2019|archive-date=5 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190305004653/http://vhs.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Odatria_2_FEB091.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> A large king brown snake delivers on average 180{{spaces}}mg of venom in one bite. A {{cvt|2.5|m|adj=on}} long king brown snake milked by snake handler [[Snake Man of La Perouse|John Cann]] produced 1350{{spaces}}mg, and then 580, 920, and 780{{spaces}}mg at three, four, and five months after the first milking.{{sfn|Sutherland|Tibballs|2001|p=148}}<!--cites previous 2 sentences--> This record was broken in 2016, when a king brown snake named "Chewie"—also {{cvt|2.5|m|abbr=on}} long—produced 1500{{spaces}}mg of venom at the [[Australian Reptile Park]].<ref>{{cite news|title=2.5m-long king brown snake sets new mark from a single milking |url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-coast/25mlong-king-brown-snake-sets-new-mark-from-a-single-milking/news-story/4c69b099af31f5636c7d5e88da8cad52 |date=7 April 2016 |access-date=7 May 2019 |work=Central Coast Gosford Express Advocate}}</ref> The volume of venom produced in laboratories is equivalent to the amounts produced by the [[king cobra]] (''Ophiophagus hannah'') and [[gaboon adder]] (''Bitis gabonica'').<ref name="Browne-Cooper2007" /> 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 (0.07{{spaces}}mg of 62{{spaces}}mg) was left on the skin.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Morrison|first1=J.J.|last2=Pearn|first2=J.H.|last3=Charles|first3= N.T.|last4=Coulter|first4= A.R.|year= 1983|title= Further studies on the mass of venom injected by elapid snakes|journal=Toxicon|volume= 21|issue=2|pages= 279–284| pmid=6857711| doi= 10.1016/0041-0101(83)90012-0|bibcode=1983Txcn...21..279M }}</ref> When using 0.1% [[bovine serum albumin]] in [[saline (medicine)|saline]] rather than saline alone, the venom has a [[mice|murine]] median lethal dose ({{LD50}}) of 1.91{{spaces}}mg/kg (0.866{{spaces}}mg/lb) when administered [[subcutaneously]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Broad |first1=A. J. |last2=Sutherland |first2=S. K. |last3=Coulter |first3=A. R. |title=The lethality in mice of dangerous Australian and other snake venom |journal=Toxicon |date=1979 |volume=17 |issue=6 |pages=661–664 |pmid=524395 |doi=10.1016/0041-0101(79)90245-9|bibcode=1979Txcn...17..661B }}</ref>
-The main toxic agents of king brown snake venom are [[myotoxin]]s hazardous to striated muscles and kidney cells.{{sfn|Mirtschin|Rasmussen|Weinstein|2017|p=115}} 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 ([[Perspiration#Pathological sweating and symptoms|diaphoresis]]), and headache. Impaired clotting ([[coagulopathy]]) is common, and can be diagnosed with an elevated [[partial thromboplastin time|activated partial thromboplastin time]] (aPTT). Symptoms of myotoxicity (muscle damage) include muscle pain and weakness in the presence of an elevated [[creatine kinase]] (CK). King brown snake venom has some [[Hemolysis|haemolytic]] activity, and some patients get a short-term [[Anemia|fall in red blood cells]].<ref name=johnston13/> <!--cites rest of para-->
+The main toxic agents of king brown snake venom are [[myotoxin]]s hazardous to striated muscles and kidney cells.{{sfn|Mirtschin|Rasmussen|Weinstein|2017|p=115}} 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 ([[Perspiration#Pathological sweating and symptoms|diaphoresis]]), and headache. Impaired clotting ([[coagulopathy]]) 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]] (CK). King brown snake venom has some [[haemolytic]] activity, and some patients get a short-term [[Anemia|fall in red blood cells]].<ref name=johnston13/> <!--cites rest of para-->
-A major component of king brown snake venom are [[phospholipase A2]] enzymes, which have diverse effects that are commonly found in snake venoms.{{sfn|Sutherland|Tibballs|2001|p=148}} 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]]s (involved in cell lysis) and [[Arachidonic acid|arachidonate]] (a precursor in inflammatory response). Their venom can lead to rhabdomyolysis <ref>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.</ref>. Despite containing a number of agents with phospholipase A2 activity, king brown snake venom exhibits little neurotoxicity.<ref name=Georgieva11>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1021/pr101248e|pmid = 21417486|title = ''Pseudechis australis'' venomics: Adaptation for a defense against microbial pathogens and recruitment of body transferrin |journal = Journal of Proteome Research|volume = 10|issue = 5|pages = 2440–2464|year = 2011|last1 = Georgieva|first1 = Dessislava|last2 = Seifert|first2 = Jana|last3 = öHler|first3 = Michaela|last4 = von Bergen|first4 = Martin|last5 = Spencer|first5 = Patrick|last6 = Arni|first6 = Raghuvir K.|last7 = Genov|first7 = Nicolay|last8 = Betzel|first8 = Christian |url=https://www.ipen.br/biblioteca/2011/17567.pdf}}</ref>
+A major component of king brown snake venom are [[phospholipase A2]] enzymes, which have diverse effects that are commonly found in snake venoms.{{sfn|Sutherland|Tibballs|2001|p=148}} 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]]s (involved in cell lysis) and [[arachidonate]] (a precursor in inflammatory response). Their venom can lead to rhabdomyolysis.<ref>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.</ref> Despite containing a number of agents with phospholipase A2 activity, king brown snake venom exhibits little neurotoxicity.<ref name=Georgieva11>{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1021/pr101248e|pmid = 21417486|title = ''Pseudechis australis'' venomics: Adaptation for a defense against microbial pathogens and recruitment of body transferrin|journal = Journal of Proteome Research|volume = 10|issue = 5|pages = 2440–2464|year = 2011|last1 = Georgieva|first1 = Dessislava|last2 = Seifert|first2 = Jana|last3 = öHler|first3 = Michaela|last4 = von Bergen|first4 = Martin|last5 = Spencer|first5 = Patrick|last6 = Arni|first6 = Raghuvir K.|last7 = Genov|first7 = Nicolay|last8 = Betzel|first8 = Christian|url = https://www.ipen.br/biblioteca/2011/17567.pdf|access-date = 2019-08-25|archive-date = 2019-08-25|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190825112253/https://www.ipen.br/biblioteca/2011/17567.pdf|url-status = dead}}</ref>
 The venom has multiple proteins with antibiotic activity, including two [[L-amino-acid oxidase]]s (LAO1 and LAO2) that exhibit activity against the pathogenic bacterium ''[[Aeromonas hydrophila]]'', which is commonly present in frogs. Also present are three [[protein isoform]]s of [[transferrin]]; transferrin binds serum iron ([[Iron(III)|Fe<sup>3+</sup>]]), which makes the environment less hospitable for bacteria and hence has an antibiotic effect.<ref name=Georgieva11/> Pseudechetoxin and pseudecin are two proteins that block [[cyclic nucleotide–gated ion channel]]s, including those present in [[retina]]l photoreceptors and [[olfactory receptor neurons]].{{sfn|Mirtschin|Rasmussen|Weinstein|2017|p=116}}
@@ Line 103: / Line 101: @@
 ==Culture==
-Mutitjulu Waterhole at [[Uluru]] marks the site 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/discover/culture/stories/kuniya-liru-story/ |title=The Kuniya and Liru story |website=Parks Australia |access-date=7 May 2019}}</ref>
+Mutitjulu Waterhole at [[Uluru]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/discover/culture/stories/kuniya-liru-story/ |title=The Kuniya and Liru story |website=Parks Australia |access-date=7 May 2019}}</ref>
 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Magowan |first1=Fiona |title=Melodies of Mourning: Music & Emotion in Northern Australia |date=2007 |publisher=University of Western Australia Press |location=Crawley, Western Australia |isbn=978-0-85255-992-5 |page=127}}</ref>
@@ Line 109: / Line 107: @@
 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]] 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).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Webb |first1=T. Theodor |title=Aboriginal Medical Practice in East Arnhem Land |journal=Oceania |date=1933 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=91–98 |jstor=40327447 |doi=10.1002/j.1834-4461.1933.tb00089.x}}</ref>
-In [[Kunwinjku people|Kunwinjku]] country in West Arnhem Land, the king brown snake is known as ''dadbe''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Garde |first1=Murray |title=dadbe |url=https://www.njamed.com/#dadbe |website=Bininj Kunwok Online Dictionary |publisher=Bininj Kunwok Regional Language Centre |access-date=6 Nov 2021}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Luke |title=Seeing the Inside: Bark Painting in Western Arnhem Land |date=1996 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford, United Kingdom |isbn=978-0-19-823354-1 |page=59 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BkcTWwgOoWYC&q=%22king+brown+snake%22+ancestor&pg=PA59}}</ref>
+In [[Kunwinjku]] country in West Arnhem Land, the king brown snake is known as ''dadbe''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Garde |first1=Murray |title=dadbe |url=https://www.njamed.com/#dadbe |website=Bininj Kunwok Online Dictionary |publisher=Bininj Kunwok Regional Language Centre |access-date=6 Nov 2021}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Luke |title=Seeing the Inside: Bark Painting in Western Arnhem Land |date=1996 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford, United Kingdom |isbn=978-0-19-823354-1 |page=59 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BkcTWwgOoWYC&q=%22king+brown+snake%22+ancestor&pg=PA59}}</ref>
 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 language|Yanyuwa]]—was sleeping about {{cvt|1.5|km|mi}} 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1111/1467-9655.12495|title = 'Who do you want to kill?' Affectual and relational understandings at a sorcery rock art site in the southwest Gulf of Carpentaria, northern Australia|journal = Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute|volume = 22|issue = 4|pages = 884–901|year = 2016|last1 = Brady|first1 = Liam M.|last2 = Bradley|first2 = John J.|doi-access = free}}</ref><!--cites para-->