NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Papuan blacksnake
Pseudechis papuanus Peters & Doria, 1878
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 Papuan black snake (Pseudechis papuanus) is a highly venomous snake of the family Elapidae native to New Guinea. Reaching around 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in length, it is a predominantly black snake coloured grey underneath.
Wikipedia contributors, Papuan black snake; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:37:53.739263+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pseudechis papuanus Peters & Doria, 1878
- Name authority
- Peters & Doria, 1878
- Common name
- Papuan blacksnake
- 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 papuanus Peters & Doria, 1878
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 |
|---|---|---|
| King brown snakePseudechis australis (Gray, 1842) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| 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 |
| 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 |
|---|---|
| Panacedechis papuanus trevorhawkeswoodi Hoser, 2009 Hoser, 2009 | 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=papuanus 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:4NM3V. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.