Kapuas mud snake

The Kapuas mud snake (Enhydris gyii ) is a species of snake in the family Homalopsidae. The species, which is native to Borneo, can change its epidermal colour spontaneously.[2]

Kapuas mud snake
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Homalopsidae
Genus: Enhydris
Species:
E. gyii
Binomial name
Enhydris gyii
Murphy, Voris & Auliya, 2005
Synonyms[1]
  • Enhydris gyii
    Murphy, Voris & Auliya, 2005
  • Homalophis gyii
    — Murphy & Voris, 2014

Etymology

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.[3]

Colour change

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.[4] Scientists determined the snake to be a new species belonging to the genus Enhydris.

Description

Enhydris gyii may attain a total length (including tail) of 150 cm (59 in).

Venom

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

Reproduction

Enhydris gyii is viviparous.[1]

References
  1. "Homalophis gyii ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. 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.
  3. Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins; Michael Grayson (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Enhydris gyii, p. 112).
  4. "Snake displays changing colours". BBC News. 26 June 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-09.

Further reading
  • Murphy, John C.; Harold K. Voris (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).
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