NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
King brown snake
Pseudechis australis (Gray, 1842)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
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. 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.
Wikipedia contributors, King brown snake; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:07:38.649101+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pseudechis australis (Gray, 1842)
- Name authority
- (Gray, 1842)
- Common name
- King brown snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Elapidae
- Genus
- Pseudechis
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyElapidae
- subfamilyHydrophiinae
- genusPseudechis
- speciesPseudechis australis (Gray, 1842)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pseudechis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Collett's SnakePseudechis colletti Boulenger, 1902 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| False King Brown SnakePseudechis pailsei (Hoser, 1998) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Papuan blacksnakePseudechis papuanus Peters & Doria, 1878 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Australian black snakePseudechis porphyriacus (Shaw, 1794) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pseudechis rossignolii (Hoser, 2000) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pseudechis weigeli (Wells & Wellington, 1987) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Butler's SnakePseudechis butleri Smith, 1982 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Blue-bellied Black SnakePseudechis guttatus de Vis, 1905 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Denisonia brunnea Mitchell, 1951 Mitchell, 1951 | synonym |
| Pseudechis denisonioides Werner, 1909 Werner, 1909 | synonym |
| Naja australis Gray, 1842 Gray, 1842 | synonym |
| Cannia australis aplini Hoser, 2001 Hoser, 2001 | synonym |
| Cannia australis newmani Hoser, 2001 Hoser, 2001 | synonym |
| Pseudechis cupreus Boulenger, 1896 Boulenger, 1896 | ambiguous synonym |
| Pseudechis darwiniensis Macleay, 1878 Macleay, 1878 | synonym |
| Pseudechis platycephalus Thomson, 1933 Thomson, 1933 | synonym |
| Cannia australis burgessi Hoser, 2001 Hoser, 2001 | synonym |
| Pailsus rossignolii Hoser, 2000 Hoser, 2000 | ambiguous synonym |
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.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Pseudechis&species=australis 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:4NM3G. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.