Gould's hooded snake (Suta gouldii), also known commonly as the black-headed snake and Gould's black-headed snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to Western Australia.
Etymology The specific name, gouldii, is in honor of English ornithologist John Gould.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Suta gouldii, p. 104).
Description Adults of S. gouldii have an average snout-to-vent length (SVL) of , and the length of the tail is on average 13.3% SVL. The maximum recorded SVL is .Storr GM (1981). "The Denisonia gouldii species-group (Serpentes, Elapidae) in Western Australia". Records of the Western Australian Museum 8 (4): 501–515. (Denisonia gouldii, pp. 508–512, Figure 4).
Habitat The preferred natural habitats of S. gouldii are forest, shrubland, grassland, and rocky areas.
Reproduction S. gouldii is ovoviviparous. www.reptile-database.org.
Venom Although S. gouldii is venomous, its bite is considered to be of lesser medical significance. A life-threatening envenomation is unlikely, but a debilitating injury is possible.Bush, Brian; Maryan, Brad (2006). Snakes and Snake-like Reptiles of Southern Western Australia: A guide to their identification and medical significance for outdoor workers: An important resource for every regional medical professional. Stoneville, Perth, Western Australia: Snakes Harmful & Harmless. 40 pp. ("Gould's Hooded Snake", p. 23, Figure 40).
References
Further reading Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. . Gray JE (1841). "Description of some new Species and four new Genera of Reptiles from Western Australia, discovered by John Gould, Esq." Annals and Magazine of Natural History, [First Series ] 7: 86–91. (Elaps gouldii, new species, p. 91). Maryan B, Brennan IG, Hutchinson MR, Geidans LS (2020). "What's under the hood? Phylogeny and taxonomy of the snake genera Parasuta Worrell and Suta Worrell (Squamata:Elapidae), with a description of a new species from the Pilbara, Western Australia". Zootaxa 4778 (1): 1–47. Wilson S, Swan G (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. .