Wart snake | Horned, Nocturnal, Oviparous | Britannica (original) (raw)

wart snake, (genus Acrochordus), any of three species of fish-eating aquatic snakes occurring from southern Asia to northern Australia, constituting the family Acrochordidae, which is sometimes considered a subfamily of the Colubridae. Wart snakes have thick bodies, loose skins, tiny pyramidal scales that extend across the belly, and valves that close the nostrils when under water.

The Java wart snake, or elephant’s-trunk snake (A. javanicus), is a brown snake that can grow up to 2.9 metres (9.5 feet) long and is found in rivers and coastal waters of Southeast Asia and Indonesia. Observations of captive wart snakes have shown that the rough filelike skin serves to grip fish, which are then quickly swallowed.

The little wart snake, A. granulatus, is somewhat smaller and has a finlike keel of skin on its belly. It ranges from southern Asia to the Solomon Islands. A third type, the Arafura filesnake (A. arafurae), occurs in northern Australia and in New Guinea.

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This article was most recently revised and updated by John P. Rafferty.