Myrrophis chinensis (GRAY, 1842)

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Higher Taxa	Homalopsidae, Colubroidea, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies
Common Names	E: Chinese Mud Snake G: Chinesische Wassertrugnatter
Synonym	Hypsirhina Chinensis GRAY 1842: 66 Hypsirhina sinensis STANLEY 1915 Enhydris chinensis SMITH 1923 Enhydris chinensis — SMITH 1943: 387 Enhydris chinensis – HEATWOLE 1999 Enhydris chinensis — ZIEGLER 2002: 236 Enhydris chinensis — ZHAO 2006 Myrrophis chinensis — KUMAR et al. 2012 Myrrophis chinensis — MURPHY & VORIS 2014: 31 Myrrophis chinensis — WALLACH et al. 2014: 467
Distribution	S China (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Hainan), N Vietnam (Hoa Binh) Type locality: China
Reproduction	viviparous
Types	Holotype: BMNH 1946.1.2.42
Diagnosis	Diagnosis (genus). The combination of 21–23 dorsal scale rows at mid body and the internasal not in contact with the loreal, distinguish this genus from all other homalopsids with smooth scales and nasals in contact. All members of the Enhydris clade (chanardi, enhydris, jagorii, innominata, longicauda, subtaeniata) have 21 (rarely 23) dorsal scale rows at mid body, and internasals contacting the loreal. The only other homalopsid with smooth scales in 21 rows with the nasal in contact is E. matannensis from Sulawesi; it has upper labials 4+5 contacting the orbit, a divided internasal, and is in the plumbea clade. Diagnosis. Dorsal scale rows in 23 rows reduced to 19 or 21 in front of vent; nasal scales small, diameter same or less than diameter of prefrontal; second pair of chin shields large and distinct; upper postocular smaller than lower postocular. Its congener M. bennettii has 21 scale rows at midbody and large nasal scales [KUMAR et al. 2012].
Comment	Habitat: fresh water; highly aquatic species but it may leave the water occasionally. Similar species: Enhydris bennettii. Diet: primarily fish, but also frogs, crustaceans Type species: Myrrophis chinensis Gray is the type species of the genus Myrrophis KUMAR et al. 2012.
Etymology	Named after its distribution in the Chinese sea. The genus name is derived from the Greek myrr, meaning marsh, and ophis, meaning snake.
References	Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum, Vol. 3. London (Taylor & Francis), xiv + 727 pp. - get paper here Fabre, Anne-Claire; David Bickford, Marion Segall and Anthony Herrel 2016. The impact of diet, habitat use, and behaviour on head shape evolution in homalopsid snakes Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, DOI: 10.1111/bij.12753 - get paper here Gray, J. E. 1842. Monographic Synopsis of the Water Snakes, or the Family of Hydridae. Zoological Miscellany 2: 59-68. - get paper here Heatwole, H. 1999. Sea snakes, 2nd ed. Krieger, Malabar, 148 pp. [review in Copeia 2000 (4): 1136] KARNS, DARYL R.; VIMOKSALEHI LUKOSCHEK; JENNIFER OSTERHAGE; JOHN C. MURPHY & HAROLD K. VORIS 2010. Phylogeny and biogeography of the Enhydris clade (Serpentes: Homalopsidae). Zootaxa 2452: 18–30 [erratum in Zootaxa 2514: 68] - get paper here Kumar, A. Biju; Kate L. Sanders , Sanil George & John C. Murphy 2012. The status of Eurostus dussumierii and Hypsirhina chinensis (Reptilia, Squamata, Serpentes): with comments on the origin of salt tolerance in homalopsid snakes. Systematics and Biodiversity 10 (4): 479-489 - get paper here Mell,R. 1931. List of Chinese snakes. Lingnan Sci. Jour., Canton, 8 [1929]: 199-219. Murphy, J.C. & Voris, H.K. 2014. A Checklist and Key to the Homalopsid Snakes (Reptilia, Squamata, Serpentes), with the Description of New Genera. FIELDIANA: LIFE AND EARTH SCIENCES (8): 1–43 - get paper here Murphy, John C. 2007. Homalopsid Snakes: Evolution in the Mud. Krieger Publishing, Malabar, Florida, 249 pp. Nguyen, S.V., Ho, C.T. and Nguyen, T.Q. 2009. Herpetofauna of Vietnam. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 768 pp. Nguyen, Truong Quang; Tan Van Nguyen, Cuong The Pham, An Vinh Ong & Thomas Ziegler 2018. New records of snakes (Squamata: Serpentes) from Hoa Binh Province, northwestern Vietnam. Bonn zoological Bulletin 67 (1): 15–24 - get paper here Smith, M.A. 1943. The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-Region. Reptilia and Amphibia. 3 (Serpentes). Taylor and Francis, London. 583 pp. Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp. Zhao, E.M. 2006. The snakes of China [in Chinese]. Hefei, China, Anhui Sience & Technology Publ. House, Vol. I, 372 pp., Vol. II (color plates), 280 pp. Zhao,E. & Adler,K. 1993. Herpetology of China. SSAR, Oxford/Ohio, 1-522 Ziegler, T. 2002. Die Amphibien und Reptilien eines Tieflandfeuchtwald-Schutzgebietes in Vietnam. Natur und Tier Verlag (Münster), 342 pp. - get paper here
External links	National Center for Biotechnology Information http://www.snakesoftaiwan.com/Start_Page_EN.htm Google images

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