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Fordonia leucobalia (SCHLEGEL, 1837)

IUCN Red List - Fordonia leucobalia - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaHomalopsidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Crab-eating (Water) Snake, White-bellied mangrove snake
G: Krebs-Wassertrugnatter 
SynonymHomalopsis leucobalia SCHLEGEL 1837: 345
Fordonia leucobalia — GRAY 1842
Fordonia unicolor GRAY 1849
Hemiodontus leucobalia — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 884
Hemiodontus chalybaeus JAN 1863
Fordonia bicolor THEOBALD 1868
Fordonia papuensis MACLEAY 1877
Fordonia varabilis MACLEAY 1878
Hemiodontus leucobalia — MÜLLER 1880
Fordonia leucobalia — TAYLOR 1922: 115
Fordonia leucobalia — SMITH 1943: 396
Fordonia leucobalia — MANTHEY & GROSSMANN 1997: 352
Fordonia leucobalia — COX et al. 1998: 39
Fordonia leucobalia — COGGER 2000: 625
Fordonia leucobalia — NGUYEN et al. 2009
Fordonia leucobalia — MURPHY & VORIS 2014: 20
Fordonia leucobalia — WALLACH et al. 2014: 298 
DistributionAustralia (Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia)
Bangladesh;
India (Bengal);
Indonesia (Borneo, Irian Jaya, Seram = Ceram, Sumatra, Java; Timor, Ambon); Timor-Leste,
Malaysia (Malaya and East Malaysia);
Myanmar (Burma),
Papua New Guinea
Philippines (Mindanao);
Singapore;
Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam

Type locality: Timor (Indonesia)  
Reproductionovovivparous 
TypesHolotype: RMNH 1161 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Upper labials 5 or 6, third enters orbit; loreal usually absent; scales in ocular ring plate-like; frontal shorter than parietal scales; rear fangs robust, grooved, dorsal pattern uniform slate gray or mottled with red, brown, black, and white (or some combination of these colors) (MURPHY & VORIS 2014). 
CommentSynonymy after COGGER 1983. Has been reported from the Nicobar Islands but is not listed by DAS 1999 for the Nicobar Islands.

Habitat: at least partially coastal and thus considered (partially) “marine”.

Diet: crustaceans

Type species: Homalopsis leucobalia SCHLEGEL 1837 is the type species of the genus Fordonia GRAY 1842. 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Greek leukos (white) plus balios (dappled), referring to the coloration. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) 
References
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