Williams David, Wüster Wolfgang, Fry Bryan Grieg
Department of Pharmacology, Australian Venom Research Unit, School of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic 3010 [corrected] Australia.
Toxicon. 2006 Dec 1;48(7):919-30. doi: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2006.07.016. Epub 2006 Jul 14.
The Australian snake fauna is unique in harbouring more venomous species than non-venomous ones. Although taxonomic research on the elapid snakes of Australia goes back to the late 18th century, in stark contrast to other developed regions of the world (e.g. the continental USA), Australian snake taxonomy is very much in its infancy. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, the taxonomy of Australian snakes has been extraordinarily controversial, and many of the taxonomists involved correspondingly colourful. In this review, we explore the sometimes-tortured history of the taxonomic exploration of the venomous snake fauna of Australia, looking at some of the more colourful and notable contributors and highlighting systematic pitfalls that persist even today.
澳大利亚的蛇类动物群很独特，有毒物种比无毒物种更多。尽管对澳大利亚眼镜蛇科蛇类的分类学研究可以追溯到18世纪末，但与世界其他发达地区（如美国大陆）形成鲜明对比的是，澳大利亚的蛇类分类学仍处于起步阶段。尽管如此，或者也许正因为如此，澳大利亚蛇类的分类一直极具争议，许多参与其中的分类学家也都颇具传奇色彩。在这篇综述中，我们探讨了澳大利亚有毒蛇类动物群分类探索中时而曲折的历史，介绍了一些更具传奇色彩和值得注意的贡献者，并强调了至今仍然存在的系统分类陷阱。
