Species of Thailand
Keel-bellied mud snake
Bitia hydroides
John Edward Gray, 1842
In Thai: งูปากกว้างท้องสัน, ngu paak guang thong sann
The keel-bellied water snake (Bitia hydroides) is a marine homalopsine snake. It belongs to the monotypic genus Bitia.
Dentition
Bitia hydroides is noted for its unusual dentition. In all other snakes, any enlarged teeth are located on the dentary or maxilla, with the inner, palatine teeth of the upper jaw being smaller. In Bitia hydroides, the palatine teeth are greatly enlarged. Not enough is known about this animal's feeding behavior or ecology to attempt to infer a function of this peculiar arrangement.
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Scientific classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Subphylum
- Vertebrata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Suborder
- Serpentes
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Bitia
- Species
- Bitia hydroides
Common names
- German: Wasser-Schuppenkopf
- English:
- Keel-bellied mud snake
- Gray's water snake
- Keel-bellied water snake
- Thai: งูปากกว้างท้องสัน, ngu paak guang thong sann
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN3.1)