''Grayia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

s, commonly referred to as

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n water snakes, in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Colubridae Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. C ...

. The genus, which is native to tropical

, is the only genus in the

colubrid Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. Colu ...

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Grayiinae. ''Grayia''

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

are relatively poorly known snakes, at least to herpetologists. Although they are locally abundant, they are notoriously difficult to catch, and occur in areas where field work is difficult. They inhabit seasonal rainforest swamps, streams, and permanent water bodies, eat fish and frogs, and lay eggs in the leaf litter among humid enclosures formed by buttress roots during the dry season. They are unusual in that they deposit their clutch in small batches of three or four eggs at different times at more than one nest site, rather than laying all the eggs at once, a strategy used by some turtles to avoid nest predation, but otherwise undocumented in snakes. At least one species, ''G. ornata'', is used for food and in medicine by people in Gabon, and evidently is known to them to be nonvenomous; a person who has been bitten by a ''Grayia'' snake is believed to be protected for life against bites from other snakes.

Description

Snakes of the genus ''Grayia'' primarily come in very dark colors as to blend in with the forest ground and water. They are medium to large snakes, in total length (tail included), and the tail is 30% or more of the total length, depending on the species.

Etymology

The generic name, ''Grayia'', is in honor of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for a z ...

, Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Grayia'', p. 107; ''G. smythii'', p. 247; ''G. tholloni'', p. 265). who coined many commonly used generic names. 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 ...

''smythii'' is in honor of Norwegian botanist Christen Smith. The specific name ''tholloni'' is in honor of François-Romain Thollon (1855–1896), who was a French collector of natural history specimens in Africa.

Species

These four species are recognized as being valid: www.reptile-database.org. *'' Grayia caesar'' – Caesar's African water snake *'' Grayia ornata'' – ornate African water snake *'' Grayia smithii'' – Smith's African water snake *'' Grayia tholloni'' – Tholloni's African water snake ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

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

Description

Etymology

Species

References

Further reading