''Enhydris'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of slightly

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...

ous,

rear-fanged A snake skeleton consists primarily of the skull, vertebrae, and ribs, with only vestigial remnants of the limbs. Skull The skull of a snake is a very complex structure, with numerous joints to allow the snake to swallow prey far larger than it ...

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Homalopsidae The Homalopsidae are a family of snakes which contains about 28 genera and more than 50 species. They are commonly known as Indo-Australian water snakes, mudsnakes, or bockadams. They are also known as ''ular air'' (lit. "water snake") in Indon ...

. The genus is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the tropical area of Indo-Australian region.

Species

The following 6

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

are recognized: * '' Enhydris chanardi''

Murphy Murphy () ( ga, Ua Murchadha) is an Irish surname and the most common surname in the Republic of Ireland. Origins and variants The surname is a variant of two Irish surnames: "Ó Murchadha"/"Ó Murchadh" (descendant of "Murchadh"), and "Mac ...

& Voris, 2005 * ''

Enhydris enhydris The rainbow water snake (''Enhydris enhydris'') is a species of mildly venomous, rear-fanged, colubrid snake, endemic to Asia. Geographic range ''E. enhydris'' is found in southeastern China, Indonesia (Bangka, Belitung, Java, Kalimantan, Sulaw ...

'' (

Schneider Schneider may refer to: Hospital * Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel People *Schneider (surname) Companies and organizations * G. Schneider & Sohn, a Bavarian brewery company * Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG, the former owner of the D ...

, 1799) * '' Enhydris innominata'' ( Morice, 1875) * '' Enhydris jagorii'' ( W. Peters, 1863) * '' Enhydris longicauda'' ( Bourret, 1934) * '' Enhydris subtaeniata'' (Bourret, 1934) Several additional species have traditionally been placed here, but are now often in genera such as '' Subsessor'' and '' Pseudoferania''. Another species, '' Enhydris smithi'' , was considered to be a valid species by

herpetologists Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning " reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) an ...

M.A. Smith 1943, Das 2010, and

Wallach "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...

et al. 2014, but was considered to be a synonym of ''Enhydris jagorii'' by Cox et al. 1998, and Murphy & Voris 2014. ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atte ...

'': In the list above, a

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bo ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Enhydris''.

Etymology

The specific names, ''jagorii'' and ''smithi'', are in honor of German naturalist

Fedor Jagor Andreas Fedor Jagor (30 November 1816 – 11 February 1900) was a German ethnologist, naturalist and explorer who traveled throughout Asia in the second half of the 19th century collecting for Berlin museums. "Fedor Jagor". German Wikipedia. Ret ...

and British herpetologist

Malcolm Arthur Smith Malcolm Arthur Smith (1875 in New Malden, Surrey – 1958 in Ascot) was a herpetologist and physician working in the Malay Peninsula. Early life Smith was interested in reptiles and amphibians from an early age. After completing a degree in medic ...

, respectively. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Enhydris jagorii'', p. 132; ''Enhydris smithi'', p. 247).

Species

Etymology

References

Further reading