Cerberus rynchops
Encyclopedia
New Guinea bockadam or Dog-faced Water Snake Cerberus rynchops is a species
of a Colubrid snake
found in coastal waters of Asia
and Australia
.
C. rynchops is commonly found in mangrove
s: mudflats, streams, ponds, tidal pools, on algae
patches, and has even been found burrowing into the mud. C. rynchops is rear-fanged and is mildly venomous. An aquatic and nocturnal snake, it feeds mainly on fish and is known to consume eels.
In captivity, it is observed to move in a sidewinding direction on land. It also has a prehensile tail that would suggest it could climb mangrove trees. It is now known, to give birth to live young, numbering from 8 to 30, either in water or on land.
It is a quite docile, mild-tempered and a hardy snake that in recent years it has become a welcome addition to snake hobbyists in the Philippines and also owing its popularity to its bright yellow to orange belly-coloring, mostly of females.
tolerant species found in Australia (North Territory, Queensland, West Australia), New Guinea, Indonesia (Ambon, Babi, Bacan = Batjan, Bali, Bangka, Buru, Butung, Dolak, Enggano, Flores, Goram, Halmahera, Java, Kalimantan, Lombok, Mentawai Archipelago, Nako, Natuna Archipelago, Nias, Riau Archipelago, Roti, Sangihe Archipelago, Saparua, Seram, Simeulue, Singapore, Sulawesi, Sula Archipelago, Sumatra, Sumba, Sumbawa, Talaud Archipelago, Ternate, Timor, We, Western New Guinea, Wetar); Bangladesh, Cambodia, India (including Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Malaysia (Malaya and East Malaysia, incl. Pulau Tioman), Burma (Myanmar), Philippine Islands (including Palawan, Panay, Luzon); Singapore; Sri Lanka; Thailand and Vietnam.
Race novaeguinea is found in Indonesia (Western New Guinea).
Type locality: "Ganjam" (Orissa State, SE India)
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of a Colubrid snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
found in coastal waters of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
C. rynchops is commonly found in mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
s: mudflats, streams, ponds, tidal pools, on algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
patches, and has even been found burrowing into the mud. C. rynchops is rear-fanged and is mildly venomous. An aquatic and nocturnal snake, it feeds mainly on fish and is known to consume eels.
In captivity, it is observed to move in a sidewinding direction on land. It also has a prehensile tail that would suggest it could climb mangrove trees. It is now known, to give birth to live young, numbering from 8 to 30, either in water or on land.
It is a quite docile, mild-tempered and a hardy snake that in recent years it has become a welcome addition to snake hobbyists in the Philippines and also owing its popularity to its bright yellow to orange belly-coloring, mostly of females.
Distribution
This is a saltwaterSeawater
Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% . This means that every kilogram of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts . The average density of seawater at the ocean surface is 1.025 g/ml...
tolerant species found in Australia (North Territory, Queensland, West Australia), New Guinea, Indonesia (Ambon, Babi, Bacan = Batjan, Bali, Bangka, Buru, Butung, Dolak, Enggano, Flores, Goram, Halmahera, Java, Kalimantan, Lombok, Mentawai Archipelago, Nako, Natuna Archipelago, Nias, Riau Archipelago, Roti, Sangihe Archipelago, Saparua, Seram, Simeulue, Singapore, Sulawesi, Sula Archipelago, Sumatra, Sumba, Sumbawa, Talaud Archipelago, Ternate, Timor, We, Western New Guinea, Wetar); Bangladesh, Cambodia, India (including Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Malaysia (Malaya and East Malaysia, incl. Pulau Tioman), Burma (Myanmar), Philippine Islands (including Palawan, Panay, Luzon); Singapore; Sri Lanka; Thailand and Vietnam.
Race novaeguinea is found in Indonesia (Western New Guinea).
Type locality: "Ganjam" (Orissa State, SE India)
External links
- http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Cerberus_rynchops.jpg
- http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Cerberus_rynchops2.jpg
- http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Cerberus_rynchops3.jpg
- http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Cerberus_rynchops4.jpg
- http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Cerberus_rynchops5.jpg
- http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Cerberus_rynchops6.jpg
- http://www.wildsingapore.per.sg/discovery/factsheet/snakedogfaced.htm
- http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/dog-faced_water-snake.htm