White-lipped snake

Not to be confused with white-lipped python.

The white-lipped snake (Drysdalia coronoides) is a small species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to south-eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania.

White-lipped snake
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Elapidae
Genus:	Drysdalia
Species:	D. coronoides
Binomial name
Drysdalia coronoides (Günther, 1858)
Synonyms[2]
Hoplocephalus coronoides Günther, 1858 Alecto labialis Jan & Sordelli, 1873 Denisonia coronoides — Boulenger, 1896 Denisonia nigra De Vis, 1905 Denisonia coronoides — Kinghorn, 1924 Drysdalia coronoides — Worrell, 1961 Notechis coronoides — Storr, 1982 Drysdalia coronoides — Cogger, 1983

Description

D. coronoides is the smallest of three species of snake found in Tasmania, and is Australia's most cold-tolerant snake, even inhabiting areas on Mount Kosciuszko above the snow line. Growing to only about 40 cm (16 in) in length (including tail), it feeds almost exclusively on skinks.

It belongs to the genus Drysdalia, and is often referred to as the whip snake in Tasmania (whip snake in mainland Australia usually refers to snakes from the genus Demansia which are only found on the mainland). The species gets its common name from a thin, white line that runs along the upper lip, bordered above by a narrow black line.^[3] D. coronoides is viviparous.^[2]