Snake family · Mud & water snakes
Homalopsidae
Aquatic, mud-dwelling snakes with upward-facing eyes and nostrils.
About the Homalopsidae family
Homalopsids are aquatic and semi-aquatic snakes of muddy waters, with valved nostrils and eyes set high on the head for life at the surface. Many are rear-fanged. They feed on fish, frogs, and crustaceans.
- Where they live
- Southern and Southeast Asia and northern Australia.
- How to recognize one
- Stout, often drab snakes with upturned nostrils, found in or near muddy water.
- Danger to people
- Rear-fanged with mild venom; not considered dangerous to humans.
Species (45)
Asian BockadamCerberus rynchopsHarmless
Australian BockadamCerberus australisHarmless
Bennett's Mud SnakeMyrrophis bennettiiHarmless
Blackwater Mud SnakePhytolopsis punctataHarmless
Blotched-Lipped Mud SnakeHomalophis doriaeHarmless
Bocourt's Water SnakeSubsessor bocourtiHarmless
Brachyorrhos albusHarmless
Brachyorrhos gastrotaeniusHarmless
Brachyorrhos wallaceiHarmless
Broome Mangrove SnakeMyron resetariHarmless
Cantor's Mangrove SnakeCantoria violaceaHarmless
Cat-eyed Fishing SnakeGerarda prevostianaHarmless
Chanard's Mud SnakeEnhydris chanardiHarmless
Chinese Water SnakeMyrrophis chinensisHarmless
Deuve's Water SnakeHomalopsis nigroventralisHarmless
Gyiophis salweenensisHarmless
Homalopsis semizonataHarmless
Hypsiscopus indonesiensisHarmless
Hypsiscopus wettsteiniHarmless
Jack's Water SnakeHomalopsis mereljcoxiHarmless
Kapuas Mud SnakeHomalophis gyiiHarmless
Keel-bellied Water SnakeBitia hydroidesHarmless
Kerala Mud SnakeDieurostus dussumieriHarmless
Longtailed Mud SnakeEnhydris longicaudaHarmless
Macleay's Water SnakePseudoferania polylepisHarmless
Matana Mud SnakeHypsiscopus matannensisHarmless
Mekong Mud SnakeEnhydris subtaeniataHarmless
Murphy's Mud SnakeHypsiscopus murphyiHarmless
Myrrophis dakkrongensisHarmless
Pahang Mud SnakeKualatahan pahangensisHarmless
Puff-faced Water SnakeHomalopsis buccataHarmless
Rainbow Mud SnakeEnhydris enhydrisHarmless
Reuss' Mud SnakeMiralia alternansHarmless
Rice Paddy SnakeHypsiscopus plumbeusHarmless
Richardson's Mangrove SnakeMyron richardsoniiHarmless
Selangor Mud SnakeRaclitia indicaHarmless
Siebold's Water SnakeFerania sieboldiiHarmless
Southeast Asian BockadamCerberus schneideriiHarmless
Sumatran Mud SnakeSumatranus albomaculataHarmless
Tay Ninh Mud SnakeEnhydris innominataHarmless
Tentacled SnakeErpeton tentaculatumHarmless
White-bellied Mangrove SnakeFordonia leucobaliaHarmless- No photoGyiophis vorisiHarmless
- No photoMyanophis thanlyinensisHarmless
- No photoPalau Dog-faced Mud SnakeCerberus dunsoniHarmless
Genera in the Homalopsidae family
9 genera with two or more species. Open one to read about the group and browse all its snakes.
Keep learning
- What Is a Snake? Anatomy and the BasicsA clear overview of what makes a snake a snake: limbless body plan, anatomy, evolution from lizards, species diversity, and why they are ectothermic.
- How Snakes Move, Hunt, and EatHow snakes move without legs, hunt as ambushers or active foragers, kill by constriction or venom, and swallow prey wider than their head.
- What Do Snakes Eat?All snakes are carnivores. Learn what snakes eat, how diet changes with size and age, how often they feed, and how they hunt and swallow prey.
- Venomous vs Nonvenomous: How to Tell the DifferenceThe folk rules for telling venomous snakes apart, where each one fails, and why location-based identification beats guessing by sight.