Pseudechis
/s(j)uːˈdɛkɪs/ /ˈs(j)uːdɛkɪs/Zoology
noun
A genus of Australasian snakes of the family Elapidae, which consists of large, smooth-scaled venomous snakes, some of which can flatten the neck like a cobra when threatened, and comprises the black snakes and the king brown snake (Pseudechis australis); (also pseudechis) a snake of this genus.
Origin
Late 19th century; earliest use found in Encyclopaedia Britannica. From scientific Latin Pseudechis from ancient Greek ψευδ- + ἔχις viper, probably after German †Trugschlange.