Description ³

INTRODUCTION

• Mildly Venomous
• Other names : Dog Faced Water Snake.
• Most widely distributed snake of Homalopsidae family.

IDENTIFICATION

• Thick, robust body with highly keeled scales and creamy belly.
• Dorsal color is grey brown sometimes with faint darker crossbands.
• Elongated head broader than neck. Protruding eyes with elliptical pupils.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

• Throughout coastlines of India both in marine and fresh water.
• Inhabit coast, river estuaries, mangroves, tidal rivers and mudflats.
• Hide in crab burrows, under rocks and roots near banks and dense aquatic vegetation.

DIET AND BEHAVIOR

• Mainly feed on fish, eels, crustaceans and frogs.
• Nocturnal species active with dim light too. Mostly aquatic but shows activity on mud too.
• Active and alert in aquatic environment. Usually non-offensive.

Other Mud Snakes ³

3 other species of the family Homalopsidae are found in India.

• Kerala Mud Snake (Dieurostus dussumieri) : Endemic to fresh waterbodies of Kerala.
• Rainbow Mud Snake (Enhydris enhydris) : Around fresh waterbodies in Northeast & Central India.
• Gerard's Water Snake (Gerarda prevostiana) : Coastal India. Around estuaries, mangroves & muddy water.

Fontes e Créditos

1. (c) Sanjaya Kanishka, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Sanjaya Kanishka
2. (c) Vinay Gogula, todos os direitos reservados, uploaded by Vinay Gogula
3. (c) Vinay Gogula, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-SA)

Mais informações

• BioDiversity4All taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HerpMapper
• Snake Database
• The Reptile Database
• VertNet

BioDiversity4All Mapa