Australasian Journal of Herpetology 47:39-41.
Published 9 July 2020.
INTRODUCTION
As part of a wide-ranging audit of the Australian snake fauna,
specimens of the iconic Bandy Bandy Snakes (Genus
Vermicella, Gray, 1841) of all recognized species from across
the range of each were inspected by myself with a view to
ascertaining if there were any hitherto unnamed forms.
The results of that audit were published by Hoser (2019c).
Resolution of the identity of the northern population of V. snelli
(Storr, 1967) was deferred pending a planned field trip to the
region in 2018.
However as a result of unexpected legal proceedings against
trademark infringing, animal abusing thieves, attacking the
Snakebusters and Reptile Party businesses which dragged on
for some years, such a field trip was put off until these finalised,
which appeared to be in early 2020.
However a Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak in Australia, being
part of a global pandemic that had started in China, led the State
of Western Australia closing its borders in April 2020 for an
indefinite period (Laschon and Trigger 2020).
Notwithstanding this effective indefinite shelving of the proposed
field trip, the evidence available in support of recognizing the
north western population of putative V. snelli as a separate
species is compelling and doing so is the purpose of this paper,
even with limited data available.
Delay in recognition of this form as a new species could also
have negative conservation outcomes as outlined by Hoser
(2019a, 2019b) and hence the decision to publish this paper.
MATERIALS, METHODS AND RESULTS
These are effectively the same as for Hoser (2019c).
Besides inspecting live specimens, museum specimens and
quality photos with accurate location data, I also reviewed all
relevant available literature. This included the following:
Boulenger (1896), Cogger (2014), Cogger et al. (1983), Couper
and Covacevich (1996), Covacevich (1971), De Vis (1905),
Derez et al. (2018), Duméril et al. (1851), Gray (1841), Hoser
(1989), Keogh and Smith (1996), Krefft (1869), Longman (1915,
1916), Simpson (1973), Storr (1967) and Wells and Wellington
(1984, 1985) including sources cited therein.
Material relevant to this and related papers was stolen during an
illegal armed raid by government wildlife officers on our research
facility on 17 Aug 2011 and this was not returned in spite of
orders by courts to do so (Court of Appeal Victoria 2014,
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal 2015).
The destructive illegal armed raid was initiated by false
complaints made by associates of the Wüster gang (see Hoser
2015a-f for details).
The actions of the raid and the numerous bogus criminal
charges arising from it, all of which were defended in court and
won by myself (i.e. all claims by the wildlife department were
found to be false) (Court of Appeal Victoria 2014, Victorian Civil
and Administrative Tribunal 2015), delayed the publication of this
paper and others in any form indefinitely.
It also gave the Wüster gang of thieves the opportunity to scoop
me in terms of describing a species now known as V. parscauda
A new species of the Australian Bandy Bandy Vermicella Gray,
1841 (Serpentes: Elapidae) from north-west Australia.
LSIDURN:LSID:ZOOBANK.ORG:PUB:CBC854A2-50FE-4E74-AB62-7FF940C9C506
RAYMOND T. HOSER
LSID urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:F9D74EB5-CFB5-49A0-8C7C-9F993B8504AE
488 Park Road, Park Orchards, Victoria, 3134, Australia.
Phone: +61 3 9812 3322 Fax: 9812 3355 E-mail: snakeman (at) snakeman.com.au
Received 3 April 2020, Accepted 14 April 2020, Published 9 July 2020.
ABSTRACT
Hoser in 2019 reviewed the wide-ranging Bandy Bandy group of snakes, Vermicella Gray, 1841, as defined by
Cogger (2014).
After inspection of specimens from all parts of their range in continental Australia, a greater diversity than
indicated by the then current taxonomy was found.
As a result of that paper, five species and three subspecies were formally recognized.
This paper formally names a sixth valid species for the genus.
Vermicella sloppi sp. nov. has until now been treated as a northern population of V. snelli Storr (1967) as
defined by Storr in that paper.
However genetic divergence across the known biogeographical barrier of the Fortescue River Valley
combined with the morphological divergence of the population, is a compelling argument for recognition of
this population as a separate species.
The new species is formally named Vermicella sloppi sp. nov.in accordance with the rules of the International
Code of Zoological Nomenclature (Ride et al. 1999).
Keywords: Taxonomy; nomenclature; snakes; Elapidae; Australia; Western Australia; New Vermicella; snelli;
new species; sloppi.
