Gerarda prevostiana
| Gerard's water snake | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Subfamily: | Homalopsinae |
| Genus: | Gerarda |
| Species: | G. prevostiana |
| Binomial name | |
| Gerarda prevostiana (Eydoux & Gervais, 1822)[1] | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Coluber prevostianus Eydoux & Gervais, 1822 | |
Gerard's water snake or the cat-eyed water snake (Gerarda prevostiana) is a species of water snake found in Asia.
Diet
They feed almost exclusively on crabs, which they tear into bite-sized pieces by pulling them through their coils, in contrast to most other snakes which swallow their prey whole.[3]
Description
Frontal a little longer than broad, shorter than its distance from the end of the snout, or than the parietals; loreal slightly longer than deep, a little smaller than the nasal; one pre- and two post-oculars; temporals 1+2; upper labials 8, fourth entering the eye; 4 lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields, which are much larger than the posterior. Scales in 17 rows. Ventrals 146–158; anal divided; subcaudals 31–34. Uniform dark olive above; three outer rows of scales whitish; upper lip white, rostral dark olive; ventrals and subcaudals whitish, with dark edges.[4]
Total length 41 cm (16 inches); tail 5 cm (2 inches).
Distribution
India, Myanmar (= Burma), Sri Lanka, Thailand, Philippine Islands ( = mindanao), Bangladesh, west Malaysia, and Singapore
References
- ↑ Eydoux, F. & P. Gervais 1822 Voyage de la Favourite. Reptiles. Mag. Zool. Guérin, Paris, 111: 1 - 10
- ↑ Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume III. London.
- ↑ Jayne, B. C., Voris, H. K. & Ng, P. K. L. 2002 Snake circumvents constraints on prey size. Nature 418: 143
- ↑ Boulenger, G. A. 1890. Fauna of British India. Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor & Francis, London. p. 379