Acanthophis

Acanthophis laevis

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Elapoidea

Superregnum: Eukaryota Cladus: Amorphea Cladus: Obazoa Cladus: Opisthokonta Cladus: Holozoa Cladus: Filozoa Cladus: Choanozoa Regnum: Animalia Subregnum: Eumetazoa Cladus: ParaHoxozoa Cladus: Bilateria Cladus: Nephrozoa Superphylum: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata Cladus: Olfactores Subphylum: Vertebrata Infraphylum: Gnathostomata Cladus: Eugnathostomata Cladus: Osteichthyes Cladus: Sarcopterygii Cladus: Rhipidistia Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes Cladus: Elpistostegalia Cladus: Stegocephali Cladus: Tetrapoda Cladus: Reptiliomorpha Cladus: Amniota Cladus: Sauropsida Classis: Reptilia Cladus: Eureptilia Cladus: Romeriida Cladus: Diapsida Cladus: Neoreptilia Cladus: Parapleurota Cladus: Neodiapsida Cladus: Sauria Cladus: Lepidosauromorpha Superordo: Lepidosauria Ordo: Squamata Cladus: Toxicofera Subordo: Serpentes Cladus: Caenophidia Superfamilia: Elapoidea

Familia: Elapidae
Subfamilia: Hydrophiinae
Genus: Acanthophis
Species (8): A. antarcticus – A. cryptamydros – A. hawkei – A. laevis – A. praelongus – A. pyrrhus – A. rugosus – A. wellsi

Name

Acanthophis Daudin, 1803: 287

• Type genus: Acanthophis cerastinus Daudin, 1803, by monotypy.

References

Primary references

• Daudin, F.M. 1803. Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, des reptiles : ouvrage faisant suite à l'Histoire naturelle générale et particulière, composée par Leclerc de Buffon, et rédigée par C.S. Sonnini. Tome Cinquième. L'Imprimerie de F. Dufart: Paris. 365 pp. + plates LIX–LXX. BHL Reference page. 

Additional references

• Aplin, K.P. & Donnellan, S.C. 1999. An extended description of the Pilbara death adder, Acanthophis wellsi Hoser (Serpentes: Elapidae), with notes on the desert death adder, A. pyrrhus Boulenger, and identification of a possible hybrid zone. Records of the Western Australian Museum 19(3): 277–298. BHL Reference page. 
• Wüster, W., Dumbrell, A.J., Hay, C., Pook, C.E., Williams, D.J. & Fry, B.G. 2005. Snakes across the Strait: trans-Torresian phylogeographic relationships in three genera of Australasian snakes (Serpentes: Elapidae: Acanthophis, Oxyuranus, and Pseudechis). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 34(1): 1–14. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2004.08.018 Reference page. 
• Wallach, V., Williams, K.L. & Boundy, J. 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group: Boca Raton, Florida. 1237 pp. ISBN 9781138034006 Reference page. 
• Maddock, S.T., Ellis, R.J., Doughty, P., Smith, L.A. & Wüster, W. 2015. A new species of death adder (Acanthophis: Serpentes: Elapidae) from north-western Australia. Zootaxa 4007(3): 301–326. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4007.3.1. Preview (PDF). Full article (PDF). Reference page. 
• Ellis, R.J., Kaiser, H., Maddock, S.T., Doughty, P. & Wüster, W. 2021. An evaluation of the nomina for death adders (Acanthophis Daudin, 1803) proposed by Wells & Wellington (1985), and confirmation of A. cryptamydros Maddock et al., 2015 as the valid name for the Kimberley death adder. Zootaxa 4995(1): 161–172. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4995.1.9 Reference page. 

Links

• Uetz, P., Freed, P., Aguilar, R., F. Reyes, J. Kudera & Hošek, J. (eds.) 2026. Acanthophis . The Reptile Database. Accessed on 19 July 2025.

Vernacular names

• Deutsch: Todesottern
• English: Death Adders
• lietuvių: Mirtinosios gyvatės
• Nederlands: Noordelijke doodsadder
• русский: Смертельные змеи

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