Vermicella

Vermicella is a genus of venomous snakes of the family Elapidae, commonly known as bandy-bandies or hoop snakes. The best known species is the bandy-bandy (V. annulata).

Vermicella
Vermicella annulata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Subfamily: Hydrophiinae
Genus: Vermicella
Gray in Günther, 1858

Species

Six species are recognized as being valid.[1] In mid 2018 a new species of bandy-bandy was discovered in Australia, visually nearly identical to Vermicella annulata. The species named Vermicella parscauda is considerably more venomous, with a toxin that is comparable to that of the red-bellied black snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus).

  • Vermicella annulata (Gray, 1841) – bandy-bandy
  1. One species of Vermicella is the Bandy-Bandy commonly found in Australia. This snake is highly venomous and relatively small sizing between 50 and 100 cm. Bandy-Bandy's use there banded black and white pattern to repel predators by moving rapidly causing a flicker visual allusion.

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Vermicella.

References
  1. Genus Vermicella at The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. pskhun (2018-07-16). "Species New to Science: [Herpetology • 2018] Vermicella parscauda • A New Species of Bandy-bandy (Vermicella: Serpentes: Elapidae) from the Weipa Region, Cape York, Australia". Species New to Science. Retrieved 2018-07-16.

Further reading
  • Gray JE (1858). In: Günther A (1858). Catalogue of the Colubrine Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xvi + 281 pp. (Vermicella, new genus, p. 236).



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