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Antaioserpens albiceps (Boulenger, 1898) NORTH-EASTERN PLAIN-NOSED BURROWING SNAKE (Figs 7, 8, 9, 10) Denisonia rostralis De Vis 1911 Rhynchelaps fuscicollis L��nnberg & Andersson 1915 Material examined. QM J 26286 Coen (13 �� 56 'S, 143 �� 11 'E) QLD. QM J 93026 Lilyvale Creek, Lilyvale (14 �� 29 ' 18 "S, 143 �� 40 ' 42 "E) QLD; QM J 57666 Strathgordon Homestead, old house site (14 �� 41 'S, 142 �� 10 'E) QLD; QM J 23333 Edward River Community, north-west of Cape York (14 �� 54 'S, 141 �� 37 'E) QLD; AM R 46024 between Kuranda and Myola (16 �� 53 'S, 145 �� 36 'E) QLD; QM J 53975 6km west Mareeba (17 ��00'S, 145 �� 22 'E) QLD; QM J 193 Stannary Hills, Atherton Tableland (17 �� 19 ' S 145 �� 13 'E) QLD (Fig. 8); QM J 31055 Mt Garnet (17 �� 41 'S, 145 ��07'E) QLD; QM J 61900 Bluewater Beach, via Townsville (19 �� 11 'S, 146 �� 33 'E) QLD; QM J 61897 Bohle River (19 �� 15 'S, 146 �� 43 'E) QLD; QM J 47948 Hervey Range, Townsville (19 �� 45 'S, 146 �� 36 'E) QLD; QM J 44477 Charters Towers area (20 ��05'S, 146 �� 16 'E) QLD; QM J 53974 no locality data. Diagnosis. A. albiceps is distinguished from all other Australia elapids by the following suite of characters: eyes small; snout weakly shovel shaped, rostral scale lacking an acute transverse cutting edge; nasal and preocular scale separated by prefrontal / supralabial contact; two primary temporal scales; 15 midbody rows; subcaudals divided; a black bar between the eyes and another broad black bar across the nape; dorsal body scales with dark, even edges forming a reticulated pattern. Description. A small fossorial elapid (SVL 180���399 mm, mean = 290, n = 13). Eye small; its diameter subequal, or less, than a straight line vertical distance to the ventral edge of subocular supralabial. Rostral large, about twice as broad as deep, weakly shovel-shaped and lacking an acute transverse cutting edge. Nasals in contact with 1 st two supralabials, undivided. Internasals smaller than prefrontals which extend laterally contacting 2 nd and 3 rd supralabials. Nasal separated from preocular. Frontal longer than its distance from tip of snout and usually subequal in length to parietals (width 56���70 % length). Preocular 1. Postocular 2. Supralabials 6. Temporals 2 + 2; lower primary temporal squarish and notched between the dorsal edges of 5 th and 6 th supralabials. Two pairs of chin shields, the 1 st in broad contact with the first three infralabials. Midbody scale rows 15. Ventrals 131���159 (mean = 145.3, n = 12). Tail short (7.3���12.5 % SVL, mean = 9.7, n = 11). Anal divided. Subcaudals 15���22 (median = 19.1, n = 13), all divided. Colour pattern of holotype (BMNH 1946.1.17.50). The holotype is faded but the dark head and neck markings were still visible when Hal Cogger photographed it between November 1969 and April 1970, as was evidence of its reticulated pattern. The original colour pattern description is as follows: ������Body yellow (red?) above, white beneath; head white, snout and lips speckled with black; a ^ - shaped black band between the eyes and a black spot behind each eye; a large black blotch on the nape.��� Colour pattern of spirit specimens in Qld Museum collection. Head mid - pale brown with a prominent black or dark brown patch that varies in extent. In most specimens it is concentrated around the frontal and preoculars and extends back to the anterior - mid parietals. The pattern on the snout, temporal region and back of head usually breaks into dark flecking but in QM J 93026 the dark markings extend beyond the posterior edge of the parietals. Similarly in QM J 47948 and QM J 23333, the dark markings extend to the tip of the snout. Supralabials pale with heavy dark flecking. A broad black collar on neck ~ 7���11 scales long and ~ 8���12 scales wide; separated from darker head colour by ~ 1���6 rows of paler scales. Body pattern mid-brown (orange to orange brown in life) above, each scale marked with an even, dark edging that gives a reticulated appearance. Venter immaculate, off-white. Chin shields and lower labials marbled with brown. Comparison with similar species. Antaioserpens albiceps is readily distinguished from its only congener, A. warro, by differences in colour pattern (dorsal scales with even dark edges producing a reticulated pattern in A. albiceps vs. dorsal scales with irregular dark edging producing a speckled appearance in A. warro). It is distinguished from all other members of the Vermicella subgroup (Greer 1997)��� Brachyurophis, Neelaps, Simoselaps and Vermicella in possessing two (vs. one) primary temporal scales. Distribution. (Fig. 5). A. albiceps is known from coastal and subcoastal areas from Mapoon Mission (11 �� 58 'S, 141 �� 53 'E), near the tip of Cape York Peninsula, to approximately 160 km NW of Clermont (22 ��08' 59 "S, 146 �� 27 ' 23 "E). The data points on the distribution map are from the Atlas of Living Australia. Most are backed by specimens in the collections of the Queensland Museum and the Australian Museum but some are sight records only. Most of these are closely associated with localities for which A. albiceps vouchers exist. However, no vouchers were collected for the most southerly (22 ��08' 59 "S, 146 �� 27 ' 23 "E) and westerly records (17 �� 28 ' 55 "S, 140 �� 50 ' 34 "E). The former can be verified by examining photographs associated with the WildNet database (Queensland Government - Department of Science Information Technology and Innovation) but the latter could not be confirmed. Habitat. Open forests and woodlands of Cape York Peninsula, Wet Tropics, Einasleigh Uplands, Desert Uplands and Brigalow Belt North bioregions. Only one specimen in the Qld Museum has associated habit data, QM J 93026 which was collected from riparian woodland on a clay soil flat., Published as part of Peck, Patrick J. Couper Stephen R., Emery, Jon-Paul & Keogh, J. Scott, 2016, Two snakes from eastern Australia (Serpentes: Elapidae); a revised concept of Antaioserpens warro (De Vis) and a redescription of A. albiceps (Boulenger), pp. 396-408 in Zootaxa 4097 (3) on pages 402-404, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4097.3.7, http://zenodo.org/record/262014, {"references":["Boulenger, G. A. (1898) Descriptions of two new snakes from Queensland. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 7, 2 (11), 414. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1080 / 00222939808678063","De Vis, C. W. (1911) Descriptions of snakes apparently new. Annals of the Queensland Museum, 10, 22 - 25.","Lonnberg, E. & Andersson, G. L. (1915) Results of Dr. E. Mjoberg's Swedish Scientific Expeditions to Australia 1910 - 1913. VII. Reptiles collected in northern Queensland. Kungliga Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens handlingar, 52 (7), 1 - 9.","Greer, A. E. (1997) The biology and evolution of Australian snakes. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, 358 pp."]}

Antaioserpens warro (De Vis 1884) WARREGO BURROWING SNAKE (Figs 1, 2 A, 3, 4) Specimens examined. Holotype: QM J 188 (Fig. 1) Warro Stn, Port Curtis. QM J 78486, Hill St, Charleville (26 �� 24 'S, 146 �� 14 'E), Qld; QM J 93427, Orkadilla State Forest (26 ��05' 57 "S, 147 �� 13 '01"E), Qld. Diagnosis. A. warro is distinguished from all other Australia elapid snakes by the following suite of characters: eyes small; snout weakly shovel shaped, rostral scale lacking an acute transverse cutting edge; nasal and preocular scale separated by prefrontal / supralabial contact; two primary temporal scales; 15 midbody rows; subcaudals divided; a black bar between the eyes and another broad black bar across the nape; dorsal body scales irregularly dark-edged producing a speckled pattern. Description. A small fossorial elapid (SVL 260���410 mm n = 3). Eye small; its diameter subequal, or less, than a straight line vertical distance to the ventral edge of subocular supralabial. Rostral large, about twice as broad as deep; weakly shovel-shaped and lacking an acute transverse cutting edge. Nasals in contact with 1 st two supralabials, undivided. Internasals smaller than prefrontals which extend laterally contacting the 2 nd or 2 nd and 3 rd supralabials. Nasal separated from preocular. Frontal longer than its distance from tip of snout and subequal in length to parietals (width 54.9���66.3 % length). Preocular 1. Postocular 2. Supralabials 6. Temporals 2 + 2; lower primary temporal squarish and notched between the dorsal edges of 5 th and 6 th supralabials. Two pairs of chin shields, the 1 st in broad contact with the first three infralabials. Midbody scale rows 15. Ventrals 139���150 (mean = 144, n = 3). Anal divided. Tail short (6.5���7.7 % SVL, mean = 7.2, n = 3); Subcaudals 15���17 (mean = 15.7, n = 3), all divided. Colour pattern of holotype (QMJ 188). The holotype is now totally faded with the only record of its original pattern being the following brief description: ���Brown, many of the scales irregularly edged with darker, producing a speckled appearance. On the nape, a very broad lunated collar. Upper surfaces of head, except tips of the occipitals, dark, but paler than nuchal collar��� (De Vis, 1884 a). This description is in all ways consistent with the appearance of the recently collected specimens (QM J 78486 & QM J 93427) discussed below. Colour pattern of recent spirit specimens. Head with a distinct blackish hood that extends from the posterior margin of the parietals, or slightly beyond, to the tip of the snout and becomes increasingly diffuse on the prefrontals, internasals and rostral. Temporal region dark. Supralabials pale with irregular darker edges and flecks; marbled anteriorly. A broad, black collar on neck, ~ 6���8 scales long and ~ 12 scales wide; separated from head pattern by ~ 3���4 rows of paler scales. Body tan to olive brown above, each scale marked with irregular dark edging that produce a speckled pattern. A narrow, dark line sometimes present on caudal vertebral scales (3 / 5 specimens). Venter off-white, with some dark blotching along outer edges of ventral scales. Chin shields and lower labials marbled with brown. Colour pattern of additional material for which there are no vouchers. The specimen from Charleville that was observed, but not photographed, is consistent with the above descriptions. The Mitchell specimen (Fig. 3) is similar in most respects except the head markings are less extensive, only reaching back as far as the mid- parietals. The snout markings are also more diffuse. Comparison with similar species. Antaioserpens warro is readily distinguished from its only congener, A. albiceps, by differences in colour pattern (dorsal scales with irregular dark edging producing a speckled appearance in A. warro vs. dorsal scales with even dark edges producing a reticulated pattern in A. albiceps). It is distinguished from all other members of the Vermicella subgroup (Greer 1997)��� Brachyurophis, Neelaps, Simoselaps and Vermicella in possessing two (vs. one) primary temporal scales. Distribution. (Fig. 5). All recent records come from three localities in south central Qld; Charleville (26 �� 24 'S, 146 �� 14 'E), Mitchell (26 �� 29 'S, 147 �� 28 'E) and Orkadilla State Forest (north of Morven 26 ��05' 57 "S, 147 �� 13 '01"E). Habitat. (Fig. 6). All recent specimens have been recorded from the eastern edge of the Brigalow Belt South and proximate areas of the Mulga Lands Bioregion. QM J 93427, from Orkadilla State Forest, was collected from Poplar Box (Eucalyptus populnea) / Cypress Pine (Callitris glaucophylla) shrubby woodlands with a grassy ground cover on medium to coarse-grained sediments (Sattler & Williams 1999). The Charleville and Mitchell specimens are without habitat descriptions but Poplar Box woodlands similar to the above description also occur at these locations. That one of the Charleville specimens came from a footpath in town suggests that the species can persist, to some degree, in human-impacted habitats. Comments. We propose Warrego Burrowing Snake as a common name for this species after the name of the highway that traverses the recent collection sites. The name North-eastern Plain-nosed Burrowing Snake used by Cogger (2014), but first proposed by Ehmann (1992), refers to A. albiceps., Published as part of Peck, Patrick J. Couper Stephen R., Emery, Jon-Paul & Keogh, J. Scott, 2016, Two snakes from eastern Australia (Serpentes: Elapidae); a revised concept of Antaioserpens warro (De Vis) and a redescription of A. albiceps (Boulenger), pp. 396-408 in Zootaxa 4097 (3) on pages 398-401, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4097.3.7, http://zenodo.org/record/262014, {"references":["De Vis, C. W. (1884 a) Descriptions of new snakes with a synopsis of the genus Hoplocephalus Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland, 1, 138 - 140.","Greer, A. E. (1997) The biology and evolution of Australian snakes. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, 358 pp.","Sattler, P. & Williams, R. (1999) The conservation status of Queensland's bioregional ecosystems. Environmental Protection Agency, Brisbane, 625 pp.","Cogger, H. G. (2014) Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, 1033 pp.","Ehmann, H. (1992) Encyclopedia of Australian Animals, Reptiles. Collins Angus & Robertson Publishers Pty Ltd, Pymble, 495 pp."]}

Peck, Patrick J. Couper Stephen R., Emery, Jon-Paul, Keogh, J. Scott (2016): Two snakes from eastern Australia (Serpentes: Elapidae); a revised concept of Antaioserpens warro (De Vis) and a redescription of A. albiceps (Boulenger). Zootaxa 4097 (3): 396-408, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4097.3.7

Based on a combination of morphological and genetic data, geographically isolated populations of Pygopus from northeastern Queensland, formerly referred to Pygopus lepidopodus (Lacepede), are herein described as a new species. Pygopus robertsi sp. nov. can be diagnosed from its congeners by a suite of scalation characters, including fewer keeled dorsal scales, presence of a single continuous row of supracilaries and a lower number of midbody scale rows. It is also deeply divergent genetically from samples of Pygopus lepidopodus from southern Australia. The known distribution of Pygopus robertsi sp. nov. is similar to that of a number of taxa centred upon relatively dry ecotonal habitats at the western edge of the rainforest blocks of north-eastern Queensland. Additional samples and systematic work will be required to examine the evolutionary divergence of apparently isolated populations of the new species, and the significance of considerable genetic and morphological diversity within remaining populations of Pygopus lepidopodus from south-eastern and southern Australia.

A new limb-reduced skink from the dry rainforest of north Queensland is described as Lerista rochfordensis sp. nov. It is distinguished from its congeners by forelimb absent with no groove or other indication, hindlimb 5–8% SVL with a single clawed digit, and five supraciliary scales. Its narrow distribution coupled with its apparent reliance on dry rainforest, an endangered habitat, meets the criteria outlined for a Vulnerable listing under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Qld).

The Saltuarius swaini lineage comprises four species: S. swaini (Wells & Wellington, 1985), S. wyberba (Couper et al., 1997), S. moritzi n.sp. and S. kateae n.sp. These are diagnosed by scalation and colour pattern differences; high levels of discrimination between these species were obtained in genetic and multivariate morphological analyses. Two species, Saltuarius swaini and S. wyberba, occur in both southeastern Queensland and northeastern N.S.W. The former is a rainforest obligate, the latter saxicolous. Saltuarius moritzi and S. kateae n.spp. are restricted to northeastern N.S.W. The former is widespread and the least specific in geological and substrate associations. The latter is restricted to the Mt Marsh area. The genus has a rainforest ancestry. Divergence within the "S. swaini " lineage may date to the latest Eocene-Early Miocene. We hypothesize that populations of ancestral leaf-tailed geckos would have been severely fragmented since the Mid Tertiary forcing retreat to rainforest refugia and driving allopatric speciation. Some populations shifted from trees to rocks. All four taxa are well-represented in existing reserves. Saltuarius swaini, a species with a continuous rainforest history and low levels of genetic variation, may be disadvantaged by ecological stasis in the face of global warming.