The rainbow water snake (''Enhydris enhydris'') is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
of mildly
venom
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a ...
ous,
rear-fanged
A snake skeleton consists primarily of the skull, vertebrae, and ribs, with only vestigial remnants of the limbs.
Skull
The skull of a snake is a very complex structure, with numerous joints to allow the snake to swallow prey far larger than i ...
,
colubrid
Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on ever ...
snake
Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...
,
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...
to
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...
.
Geographic range
''E. enhydris'' is found in southeastern
China,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
(Bangka, Belitung, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Sumatra, We),
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
, central and eastern
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
,
Laos,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
(Malaya and East Malaysia, Borneo, Pulau Tioman),
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
(Burma),
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
(?),
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, Pulau Bangka,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
, and
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
.
Type locality: "''Indiae orientalis''"
References
Further reading
*
Barbour T. 1912. A Contribution to the Zoögeography of the East Indian Islands. ''Memoirs Mus. Comp. Zoöl., Harvard College'' 44 (1): 1-203 + Plates 1–8. (''Enhydris enhydris'', p. 122).
*
Boulenger GA. 1890. ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia.'' London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (''Hypsirhina enhydris'', pp. 376–377).
*Boulenger GA. 1896. ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ), ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (''Hypsirhina enhydris'', pp. 6–8).
*
Cantor T. 1847. Catalogue of the Reptiles Inhabiting the Malayan Peninsula and Islands. ''J. Asiatic Soc. Bengal''
alcutta16 (2): 607–656, 897–952, 1026–1078. (''Homalopsis enhydris'', pp. 946–948).
*
Das I. 2002. ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of India''. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. . (''Enhydris enhydris'', p. 34).
*Das I. 2006. ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Borneo''. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. . (''Enhydris enhydris'', p. 34).
*
Duméril A-M-C,
Bibron G,
Duméril A H-A 1854. ''Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième. Deuxième partie. Comprenant l'histoire des serpents venimeux.'' Paris: Roret. xii + pp. 781–1536. (''Hypsirhina enhydris'', pp. 946–949).
*
Günther ACLG. 1864. ''The Reptiles of British India.'' London: The Ray Society. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xxviii + 452 pp. + Plates I-XXVI. (''Hypsirhina enhydris'', pp. 281–282 + Plate XXII, Figure K).
*
Smith MA. 1943. ''The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes.'' London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (''Enhydris enhydris'', pp. 383–384).
*Stuart BL, Smith J, Davey K, Din P, Platt SG. 2000. Homalopsine watersnakes. The harvest and trade from Tonle Sap, Cambodia. ''Traffic Bull.'' 18 (3): 115–124.
*
Schneider JG. 1799. ''Historiae Amphibiorum naturalis et literariae Fasciculus Primus continens Ranas, Calamitas, Bufones, Salamandras et Hydros in genera et species descriptos notisque suis distinctos.'' Jena, Germany: Frommann. xiii + 264 pp. + one plate. (''Hydrus enhydris'', new species, pp. 245–246).
External links
Homalopsinae.comAcrochordus.com--Includes Information on ''Enhydris'' also
Enhydris
Snakes of China
Reptiles of India
Snakes of Thailand
Reptiles described in 1799
{{Colubrids-stub