# Pilbara death adder (*Acanthophis wellsi*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/pilbara-death-adder  
Data as of: 2026-11-14

The pilbara death adder (Acanthophis wellsi) is a species in the family Elapidae, order Squamata. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | up to 52.3 g |
| Length | up to 60 cm |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | desert, shrubland |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3 – 16 |
| Reproduction | Live birth |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | 1 country |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Squamata
- family: Elapidae
- genus: Acanthophis
- species: *Acanthophis wellsi* Hoser, 1998

Synonyms: *Acanthophis donnellani*, *Acanthophis wellsei donnellani*

## Countries on record

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

Australia

## Common questions

### Where does the pilbara death adder live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the pilbara death adder for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

### What kind of animal is the pilbara death adder?

The pilbara death adder (Acanthophis wellsi) belongs to the family Elapidae in the order Squamata.

## Sources

- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b), CC0 1.0, 1.0-dryad-v5. Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b

Cite as: Pilbara death adder (Acanthophis wellsi). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/pilbara-death-adder