NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Ringed Brown Snake
Pseudonaja modesta (Günther, 1872)
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 ringed brown snake (Pseudonaja modesta) is a species of venomous elapid snake native to a broad swathe of inland Australia, from western New South Wales and Queensland to Western Australia. Albert Günther described it as Cacophis modesta in 1872, from specimens collected in northwestern Australia. The specific name modesta is the Latin adjective "unassuming", "orderly", or "well-behaved", regarded as apt by toxicologist Struan Sutherland, as the snake generally does not bite people. Meanwhile, Charles Walter De Vis described Brachysoma sutherlandi from Carl Creek, Norman River in northwestern Queensland in 1884, and William Macleay described Furina ramsayi, naming it after Edward Pierson Ramsay, in 1885 from a collection from Milparinka in northwestern New South Wales. All three are the same species. Reaching around 50 cm (20 in) in length, the ringed brown snake has grey-brown to red-brown upperparts with a black head and neck split by a cream band, as well as four to seven black bands with cream margins at regular intervals down the length of its body. Its underparts are cream to yellow splotched with orange.
Wikipedia contributors, Ringed brown snake; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:15:10.801122+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pseudonaja modesta (Günther, 1872)
- Name authority
- (Günther, 1872)
- Common name
- Ringed Brown Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Elapidae
- Genus
- Pseudonaja
- 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
- genusPseudonaja
- speciesPseudonaja modesta (Günther, 1872)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pseudonaja. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Ingram's Brown SnakePseudonaja ingrami (Boulenger, 1908) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| DugitePseudonaja affinis Günther, 1872 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pseudonaja aspidorhyncha (Mccoy, 1879) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Speckled Brown SnakePseudonaja guttata (Parker, 1926) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Peninsula Brown SnakePseudonaja inframacula (Waite, 1925) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| GwardarPseudonaja mengdeni Wells & Wellington, 1985 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| GwardarPseudonaja nuchalis Günther, 1858 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Eastern brown snakePseudonaja textilis (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Demansia modesta Loveridge, 1934 Loveridge, 1934 | synonym |
| Brachysoma sutherlandi de Vis, 1884 de Vis, 1884 | synonym |
| Furina ramsayi Macleay, 1885 Macleay, 1885 | synonym |
| Cacophis modesta Günther, 1872 Günther, 1872 | 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=Pseudonaja&species=modesta 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:4P4LX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.