NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Gwardar
Pseudonaja nuchalis Günther, 1858
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
Pseudonaja nuchalis, the northern brown snake or gwardar, is a species of very fast, highly venomous elapid snake native to Australia. Its colour and pattern are rather variable, depending largely on its location.
The name gwardar is a word meaning "go the long way around" in an Aboriginal language . This may be regarded as advice for people who come across the species in the wild: that is, while P. nuchalis is generally cautious, shy, and inclined to retreat rather than attack, it will defend itself if cornered.
Wikipedia contributors, Pseudonaja nuchalis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:22:57.029423+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pseudonaja nuchalis Günther, 1858
- Name authority
- Günther, 1858
- Common name
- Gwardar
- 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 nuchalis Günther, 1858
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 |
| Ringed Brown SnakePseudonaja modesta (Günther, 1872) | 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 |
| 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 acutirostris Mitchell, 1951 Mitchell, 1951 | ambiguous synonym |
| Pseudonaja imperitor Wells & Wellington, 1985 Wells & Wellington, 1985 | synonym |
| Pseudonaja vanderstraateni Wells & Wellington, 1985 Wells & Wellington, 1985 | synonym |
| Pseudonaja jukesi Wells & Wellington, 1985 Wells & Wellington, 1985 | synonym |
| Pseudelaps bancrofti de Vis, 1911 de Vis, 1911 | 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=nuchalis 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:4P4LY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.