Vermicella Gray ex Günther 1858

Vermicella is a genus of venomous snakes of the family Elapidae, commonly known as bandy-bandies or hoop snakes. The best known species is the bandy-bandy (V. annulata).

Species

Six species are recognized as being valid.^[1] In mid 2018 a new species of bandy-bandy was discovered in Australia, visually nearly identical to Vermicella annulata. The species named Vermicella parscauda is considerably more venomous, with a toxin that is comparable to that of the red-bellied black snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus).

• Vermicella annulata (Gray, 1841) – bandy-bandy

1. One species of Vermicella is the Bandy-Bandy commonly found in Australia. This snake is highly venomous and relatively small sizing between 50 and 100 cm. Bandy-Bandy's use there banded black and white pattern to repel predators by moving rapidly causing a flicker visual allusion.

• Vermicella intermedia Keogh & S.A. Smith, 1996 – intermediate bandy-bandy
• Vermicella multifasciata (Longman, 1915) – northern bandy-bandy
• Vermicella snelli Storr, 1968 – Pilbara bandy-bandy
• Vermicella vermiformis Keogh & S.A. Smith, 1996 – Centralian bandy-bandy
• Vermicella parscauda Derez et al., 2018 – Weipa bandy-bandy.^[2]

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Vermicella.

References