Kapuas mud snake

Kapuas mud snake
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Homalopsidae
Genus:	Homalophis
Species:	H. gyii
Binomial name
Homalophis gyii J.C. Murphy, Voris & Auliya, 2005
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

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]

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. ^[4]

Habitat

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

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. ^[5] Scientists determined the snake to be a new species belonging to the genus Enhydris .

Description

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

Venom

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

Reproduction

H. gyii is viviparous. ^[2]

References

1. 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. 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

• 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 History20 (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.

External links

• Data related to Homalophis gyii at Wikispecies
• http://animalpicturesarchive.com/view.php?tid=2&did=22635 Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine