NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Desert Death Adder
Acanthophis pyrrhus Boulenger, 1898
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 desert death adder (Acanthophis pyrrhus) is a species of snake native to Australia and is one of the most venomous land snakes in the world. The desert death adder is under threat due to the destruction of habitat.
Wikipedia contributors, Desert death adder; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:14:07.027824+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Acanthophis pyrrhus Boulenger, 1898
- Name authority
- Boulenger, 1898
- Common name
- Desert Death Adder
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Elapidae
- Genus
- Acanthophis
- 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
- genusAcanthophis
- speciesAcanthophis pyrrhus Boulenger, 1898
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Acanthophis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Acanthophis rugosus Loveridge, 1948 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Acanthophis antarcticus pyrrhus | synonym |
| Acanthophis pyrrhus armstrongi Wells & Wellington, 1985 Wells & Wellington, 1985 | 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=Acanthophis&species=pyrrhus 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:8Z4W. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.