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Mekong Mud Snake, Enhydris subtaeniata (Bourret, 1934)

March 26, 2016 John C. Murphy

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,…

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

March 26, 2016 John C. Murphy

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…

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Arafura File Snake, Acrochordus arafurae, McDowell 1979

March 26, 2016 John C. Murphy

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…

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Little File Snake, Acrochordus granulatus, (Schneider 1799)

March 26, 2016 John C. Murphy

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…

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Beni Anaconda, Eunectes beniensis, Dirksen 2002

March 26, 2016 John C. Murphy

Eunectes beniensis Dirksen 2002. Type Locality: Trinidad, Beni, Bolivia. Holotype: AMNH 101924. Eunectes beniensis is known from relative few specimens from northern Bolivia. The largest specimen was a 3.2 m…

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Green Anaconda, Eunectes murinus (Linnaeus 1758)

March 26, 2016 John C. Murphy

Boa murina Linnaeus 1758:215. Type locality: “America.” Holotype: NHRM Lin. 9. Boa scytale Linnaeus 1758:214 Boa anacondo Daudin, 1803:161 Boa aquatica Wied-Neuwied:824 Eunectes murinus — Wagler 1830:167 Boa gigas Latreille…

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Yellow Anaconda, Eunectes notaeus, Cope 1862

March 26, 2016 John C. Murphy

Eunectes notaeus Cope 1862: 70. Type Locality: Paraguay River and confluents. Holotype: USNM 4707. Eunectes murinus Peracca 1895 Eunectes wieningeri Steindachner 1903 Eunectes notaeus — Kahl et al. 1980: 207…

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De Schauensee’s Anaconda, Eunectes deschauenseei, Dunn and Conant, 1936

March 26, 2016 John C. Murphy

Eunectes deschauenseei Dunn and Conant, 1936, Holotype: ANSP 20891. Type Locality: Probably Marajo Island at the mouth of the Amazon. Distribution and Habitat. The species inhabits swamps and seasonally flooded…

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Tentacled Snake, Erpeton tentaculatus

March 26, 2016 John C. Murphy

Erpeton tentaculatus Lácèpede, 1800: 169. Holotype: MNNH. Type locality: none given. Rhinopirus tentaculatus: Merrem, 1820: 82. Homalopsis herpeton: Schlegel, 1837a, 2: 359. Herpeton tentaculatum: Jan and Sordelli, 1860: 1, pl.…

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Aquatic species are found in many lineages of snakes.

Homalopsids are mostly Southeast Asian Species

Homalopsid snakes have a family-wide distribution throughout the Old World. The Indus River Delta in Pakistan represents the westernmost range limit for Homalopsidae. Eastward, they are distributed throughout much of South Asia, throughout mainland and maritime Southeast Asia, and reaching New Guinea and northern Australia at the eastern margin of their range.

The Thamnophiini are New World natricids, including the Garter Snakes

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.

The large pythons tend to be aquatic

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 File Snakes are some of the most aquatic snakes.

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 Mud Snakes, Farancia, are aquatic North America Dipsadids

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 Boas

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.

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