Rhinoplocephalus
Rhinoplocephalus is a genus of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The genus is monotypic, containing the sole species Rhinoplocephalus bicolor, known commonly as the square-nosed snake, Müller's snake, or Muller's snake. The species is endemic to south-western Australia.
Geographic distribution
The square-nosed snake is found in the very far southern coastal areas of the Australian state of Western Australia, ranging from approximately Esperance, [Western Australia|Esperance] in the east to somewhere west of Walpole.Habitat
The typical habitat of Rhinoplocephalus bicolor is swampy depressions in low heath and open forest, often overlapping in habitat with Elapognathus minor, the short-nosed snake. The square-nosed snake is often found in disused nests of stick-ants.Description
The square-nosed snake is a small snake species, with male snout-to-vent length averaging and female SVL averaging.The dorsal surface of adult individuals is orange-brown, with orange-red sides fading to a pale cream colour on the ventral surface. Occasional animals can be found that are bright orange across the entire dorsal surface. There is also a strong ontogenetic shift in colour pattern, in which neonates are dorsally blue with a yellow lateral region.