Degen's water snake (''Crotaphopeltis degeni''), also known commonly as Degen's herald snake and the yellow-flanked snake, is a species of snake in the family

Colubridae Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on ever ...

. The species is native to

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''degeni'', is in honor of Swiss-born Edward J. E. Degen (1852–1922), who collected natural history specimens in Africa, and later worked as a taxidermist at the

British Museum (Natural History) The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Crotaphopeltis degeni'', p. 67).

Geographic range

''C. degeni'' is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of ''C. degeni'' are

mesic Mesic may refer to: * Mesic, North Carolina, a town in the United States * Mesic habitat, a type of habitat See also *Mesić (disambiguation) *Mešić Mešić is a Bosnian surname, a patronymic derived from the masculine given name '' Meša'', it ...

savanna and freshwater

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

, at altitudes of .

Behavior

''C. degeni'' is semiaquatic and

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

. It swims well, and during the day it hides in holes in the ground and in vegetation near water.

Diet

''C. degeni''

preys Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

upon

amphibians Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...

and perhaps also upon small fishes.

Reproduction

''C. degeni'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

Clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

size is six eggs.

References

* Barbour T, Amaral A (1927). "Studies on African Opidia". ''Bulletin of the Antivenin Institute of America'' 1 (1): 25–29. (''Crotaphopeltis degeni'', new combination, p. 26). * Boulenger GA (1906). "Additions to the Herpetology of British East Africa". ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' 1906 (2): 570–573. (''Leptodira degeni'', new species, p. 572, figures 97 a-c). * Rasmussen JB (1997). "On two little known African water snakes (''Crotaphopeltis degeni'' and ''C. barotseensis'')". ''Amphibia-Reptilia'' 18 (2): 191–206. * Spawls S, Howell K, Hinkel H, Menegon M (2018). ''Field Guide to East African Reptiles, Second Edition''. London: Bloomsbury Natural History. 624 pp. . (''Crotaphopeltis degeni'', p. 524). Reptiles described in 1906 Reptiles of Africa Crotaphopeltis Reptiles of Cameroon Reptiles of the Central African Republic Reptiles of Ethiopia Reptiles of Kenya Reptiles of South Sudan Reptiles of Tanzania Reptiles of Uganda Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger {{Colubrinae-stub