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Kapuas mud snake

The Kapuas mud snake (Homalophis gyii) is a species of snake in the family Homalopsidae. The species, which is native to Borneo, can change its epidermal colour spontaneously.[3]

Kapuas mud snake
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Homalopsidae
Genus: Homalophis
Species:
H. gyii
Binomial name
Homalophis gyii
Synonyms[2]
  • Enhydris gyii
    J.C. Murphy, Voris & Auliya, 2005
  • Hypsirhina doriae
    — A.E. Brown, 1902
  • Enhydris doriae
    — Barbour, 1912
  • Enhydris gyii
    — J.C. Murphy, 2007
  • Homalophis gyii
    — J.C. Murphy & Voris, 2014

Etymology

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The common name, Kapuas mud snake, refers to the Kapuas River. The specific name, gyii, is in honor of Burmese herpetologist Dr Ko Ko Gyi.[4]

Habitat

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The preferred natural habitat of H. gyii is freshwater wetlands.[1]

Colour change

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The Kapuas mud snake's chameleon-like behaviour was discovered accidentally in 2005 when a specimen was put in a dark bucket. The snake's skin turned pale white 20 minutes later.[5] Scientists determined the snake to be a new species belonging to the genus Enhydris.

Description

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H. gyii may attain a total length (including tail) of 150 cm (59 in).[citation needed]

Venom

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Like all members of the subfamily Homalopsinae, H. gyii is rear-fanged and mildly venomous.

Reproduction

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H. gyii is viviparous.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Murphy, J. (2010). "Enhydris gyii ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T176679A7282427.en. Accessed on 25 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b Species Homalophis gyii at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  3. ^ Murphy, John C.; Harold K. Voris; Mark Auliya (31 Dec 2005). "A new species of Enhydris (Serpentes: Colubridae: Homalopsinae) from the Kapuas river system, West Kalimantan, Indonesia" (PDF). The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 53 (2): 271–275. (Enhydris gyii, new species). Retrieved 2006-06-27.
  4. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson. Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Enhydris gyii, p. 112).
  5. ^ "Snake displays changing colours". BBC News. 26 June 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-09.

Further reading

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  • Das, Indraneil (2012). A Naturalist's Guide to the Snakes of South-East Asia: Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali. Oxford, England: John Beaufoy Publishing. 176 pp. ISBN 978-1906780708.
  • Gyi, Ko Ko (1970). "A Revision of Colubrid Snakes of the Subfamily Homalopsinae". University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History 20 (2): 47–223. (Enhydris doriae, p. 130).
  • Murphy, John C.; Voris, Harold K. (2014). "A Checklist and Key to the Homalopsid Snakes (Reptilia, Squamata, Serpentes), with the Description of New Genera". Fieldiana: Life and Earth Sciences (8): 1–43. (Homalophis gyii, new combination, p. 23).
  • Stuebing, Robert B.; Inger, Robert F.; Lardner, Björn (2014). A Field Guide to the Snakes of Borneo, Second Edition. Borneo: Natural History Publications. 310 pp. ISBN 978-9838121514.
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