Ornamental Snake

Open encyclopedia reference

The ornamental snake (Denisonia maculata) is a small elapid snake found in the Brigalow Belt (both North and South) and Desert Uplands bioregions of Queensland, Australia. Ornamental snakes grow to about 40 centimetres in length and appear to be primarily frog eaters. They are nocturnal, and are thought to shelter in soil cracks during the day. They tend to be found in areas of deeply cracking, alluvial soils.

While not generally regarded as dangerous to humans, bites from this species may result in localised swelling and loss of consciousness. Large specimens should be treated with caution.

Wikipedia contributors, Ornamental snake; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:57:19.050309+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Denisonia maculata (Steindachner, 1867)

Name authority

(Steindachner, 1867)

Common name

Ornamental Snake

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Elapidae

Genus

Denisonia

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
10. suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
11. infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
12. familyElapidae
13. subfamilyHydrophiinae
14. genusDenisonia
15. speciesDenisonia maculata (Steindachner, 1867)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Denisonia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 276 records assigned to Elapidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Denisonia&species=maculata Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:34SYG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.