Aquatic Snake Blog

Tay Ninh Mud Snake, Enhydris innominata (Morice, 1875)

Hypsirhina innominata Morice, 1875c Coup d’Oeil sur la Fauna de la Cochinchine Francaise, 1875c:58. Type locality: from Tay-ninh, Cochin China (South Vietnam, on the Cambodian border). Holotype: MHNL 42000338. Hypsirhina jagorii – Tirant, 1885 Notes sur les Reptiles…. De la Cochinchine et du Cambodge, p. 44. Enhydris innominata – Smith 1929 Journal of the Natural History Society of Siam 8:49. Enhydris innominata… Read more

March 26, 2016
Bangkok Mud Snake, Enhydris jagorii (Peters, 1863)

Hypsirhina (Eurostus) jagorii Peters, 1863 Monatsberichte der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, p. 245. Type locality: “Siam.” Restricted here to the vicinity of Bangkok, Thailand. Holotype: ZMA 4746. Hypsirhina smithii Boulenger, 1914 Journal of the Natural History Society of Siam 1:69. Type locality: Mivam Chao Phraya, Bangkok, Thailand. Holotype: – BMNH 1948.1.7.27. Enhydris smithi – Smith, 1929 Journal of the Natural History Society… Read more

March 26, 2016
Mekong Mud Snake, Enhydris subtaeniata (Bourret, 1934)

Hypsirhina jagorii – Morice, 1875 Coup d’Oeil sur la Fauna de la Cochinchine Francaise, p. 58. Hypsirhina Iagorii (sic) – Mocquard, 1907 Revue Coloniale, p. 51. Hypsirhina enhydris subtaeniata Bourret, 1934 Bulletin Genéral de l’Instruction Publique, 9-10, Figure 3. Lectotype herein designated: MNHN 1958.04.74. Type locality: Kompong Speu, Cambodia. 1936 Bourret, 1936:278 [in part]. Bourret (1934) described the lectotype from Kompong… Read more

March 26, 2016
Longtailed Mud Snake, Enhydris longicauda, (Bourret, 1934)

Hypsirhina longicauda Bourret, 1934 Bulletin Générale de l’Instruction Publique, 1934:20. Syntypes MNHN 48.95, 48.96, 38.143. Type locality: Tonlé Sap, Cambodia. Enhydris longicauda – Smith, 1943 Fauna of British India…Reptilia and Amphibia Vol. 3:386. Enhydris innominata longicauda 1971 Saint Girons, Société du Science Naturelles Physiques du Maroc 51:221. Etymology: The name longicauda is undoubtedly derived from the Greek or Latin long meaning “length,” and the Latin cauda meaning “tail”. This… Read more

March 26, 2016
Arafura File Snake, Acrochordus arafurae, McDowell 1979

Acrochordus arafurae Mcdowell 1979: Type locality: Lake Daviumbo, western Province. Distribution Coastal regions of northern Australia and New Guinea. McDowell (1979) gave a more detailed discussion of its distribution. I have edited this slightly. Distribution. In New Guinea, known from the Mimika and Lorentz Rivers (Irian Jaya), the Fly-Strickland River system, including Lake Daviumbo and Lake… Read more

March 26, 2016
Little File Snake, Acrochordus granulatus, (Schneider 1799)

Hydrus Granulatus Schneider 1799 Chersydrus granulatus – Schneider 180x Acrochordus fasciatus Shaw 1802 Pelamis granulatus – Daudin 1803 Hydrus granulatus – Raffles 1822 Acrochordus granulatus – Cantor 1847 Chersydrus annulatus Gray 1849 Chersydrus fasciatus — Dumeril and Bibron, 1854: 41 Distribution. A wide ranging species known from the coastal areas McDowell (1979) describes its distribution as both coasts of the Indian Peninsula, Sri… Read more

March 26, 2016

The most basal Thamnophiine clade recovered by Zaher et al. (2019) included the Liodytes, Clonophis, Haldea, and Virginia genera. These are a mixture of fossorial, terrestrial, and semi-aquatic species. Clonophis exploits an unusual aquatic habitat – crayfish burrows; both Haldea and Virginia are small fossorial species. Liodytes contain some of the most aquatic North American snakes.
The ancestor of North American natricids immigrated from Eurasia sometime before the early Miocene (~19–18 Ma). We know this because the earliest known Western Hemisphere natricid fossils date to the early Miocene, and we know they shared an ancestor because of shared anatomy and DNA.

There are no highly specialized aquatic pythons that converge with the anacondas – the highly aquatic boas. However, some python species are best considered semi-aquatic. The largest pythons (Malayopython reticulatus, Python sebae, Python natalensis, Python bivittatus) use aquatic situations to hunt and thermoregulate. The largest pythons are habitat generalists, but they are also frequently associated with water. The large body size may be possible because of their buoyance in water, making movement more efficient.

The highly aquatic and unique file snakes have loose, baggy skin and minor, rough scales, each with sensory organs. Their short tails are round, prehensile, flat, and sword-like; the eyes and valvular nostrils are dorsally or dorsolateral. Their lack of muscle tone is spectacular and can only be fully appreciated by handling one, a physiological feature restricting them to an entirely aquatic lifestyle. The rough, file-like surface of the skin and its loose folds are used in catching and holding slippery, mucus-covered fish. Their maxillary teeth are similar in size, long, and fluted on the sides and posterior surfaces. The fluted condition is found in many fish-eating snakes.

The two species that compose the genus Farancia are considered some of the most aquatic snakes in North America, but both species are known to wander overland (Steen et al. 2013). Droughts may trigger their movement from a wetland, and excessive rainfall may also trigger their movement. Females will also move overland to nest. Both species take aquatic prey. Semlitsch et al. (1988) have described juvenile emergence in both the Fall and Spring and note that hatchlings may benefit from Fall emergence by feeding before their first winter. However, Fall emergence may present the hatchlings with dried or reduced aquatic habitats, while spring emergence would have abundant habitat and food (larval salamanders).
The members of the genus are known to have maternal attendance of eggs, a highly specific diet of elongated prey, American eels (Anguilla rostrata), and the eel-like salamanders of the genera Siren and Amphiuma.

The largest boas, the highly aquatic anacondas (Eunectes), are relatively well known. The oldest and largest member of the clade (Titanoboa) was aquatic, and today, the most aquatic members of the family are the anacondas of the genus Eunectes.

Anacondas are Neotropical snakes found east of the Andes. Four extant species and one fossil species compose the genus. The clade includes the largest snake, the Green Anaconda, Eunectes murinus, which reaches at least 8 m and has the greatest mass (in females) of any extant snake (250 kg). Eunectes is derived from a Greek word that means “good swimmer.” The aquatic habitats of these snakes are well documented. Pizzatto et al. (2007) found an aquatic habitat to be a synapomorphy for this genus. The large body size, a relatively long tail, and the dorsal positioning of the eyes and nares are all traits associated with life in water.

Aquatic Snake Blog

Tay Ninh Mud Snake, Enhydris innominata (Morice, 1875)

Bangkok Mud Snake, Enhydris jagorii (Peters, 1863)

Mekong Mud Snake, Enhydris subtaeniata (Bourret, 1934)

Longtailed Mud Snake, Enhydris longicauda, (Bourret, 1934)

Arafura File Snake, Acrochordus arafurae, McDowell 1979

Little File Snake, Acrochordus granulatus, (Schneider 1799)