NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Eastern brown snake
Pseudonaja textilis (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
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 eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis), often referred to as the common brown snake, is a species of extremely venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to eastern and central Australia and southern New Guinea. It was first described by André Marie Constant Duméril, Gabriel Bibron, and Auguste Duméril in 1854. The adult eastern brown snake has a slender build and can grow to 2 m (7 ft) in length. The colour of its surface ranges from pale brown to black, while its underside is pale cream-yellow, often with orange or grey splotches. The eastern brown snake is found in most habitats except dense forests, often in farmland and on the outskirts of urban areas, as such places are populated by its main prey, the house mouse. The species is oviparous. The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the snake as a least-concern species, though its status in New Guinea is unclear. It is considered the world's second-most venomous land snake after the inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus), based on its LD50 value (subcutaneous) in mice.
Wikipedia contributors, Eastern brown snake; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:19:27.549227+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pseudonaja textilis (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
- Name authority
- (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
- Common name
- Eastern 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 textilis (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
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 |
| GwardarPseudonaja nuchalis Günther, 1858 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Pseudonaja&species=textilis 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:4P4M3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.