Genus · Colubridae
Sordellina
The genus Sordellina contains a single species. It is not considered dangerous to humans.
About South American water snakes
A tiny South American colubrid genus of small, secretive, semi-aquatic snakes that pose no danger to people.
Sordellina is a small genus in the family Colubridae, the largest and most diverse family of snakes worldwide. Colubrids dominate snake faunas across most continents, and the family includes a vast range of harmless ground, water, and tree snakes alongside a minority of mildly venomous rear-fanged species. Sordellina belongs to the New World colubrid radiation found in South America, where it is represented by very few species. The best known member in our database is the Dotted Brown Snake, a small, inconspicuous snake of the region.
Members of Sordellina are small, slender snakes associated with moist and wet habitats, in keeping with their common framing as South American water snakes. In general terms they are recognized by their modest size, smooth or lightly keeled scales, and plain to lightly patterned brown coloration that helps them disappear into leaf litter, damp soil, and the margins of streams and wetlands. Like most small colubrids they are easy to overlook and are rarely encountered, so reliable identification is best confirmed by a regional herpetologist or field guide rather than by general appearance alone.
These are harmless snakes to humans. They are not front-fanged venomous species and are not considered dangerous; small semi-aquatic colubrids of this type feed on prey such as small amphibians, invertebrates, and other small animals they hunt in and around water and damp ground. As a rule, wild snakes should be observed and left alone rather than handled. If anyone is bitten by a snake they cannot confidently identify, treat it seriously and seek medical care: in the United States contact Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222, or call local emergency services.
Sordellina belongs to the Colubridae family (Colubrids). The largest snake family, and the one most snakes you meet belong to. Typically round pupils, a head only slightly wider than the neck, and no heat-sensing facial pit or rattle. Scales may be smooth and glossy or keeled and matte depending on the species.
Danger: Almost all colubrids are harmless. A small number are rear-fanged with medically significant venom, the boomslang and the twig (vine) snakes of Africa being the dangerous exceptions. Most colubrids will flee or bluff rather than bite.
All species (1)
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.