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Erpeton tentaculatum LACÉPÈDE, 1800

IUCN Red List - Erpeton tentaculatum - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaHomalopsidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Tentacle Snake
G: Tentakelschlange, Fühlerschlange 
SynonymErpeton tentaculé LACÉPÈDE 1800: 169
Erpeton tentaculatus — SHAW & NODDER 1804: plate 624
Erpeton tentaculatum — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 984
Herpeton tentaculatum — GÜNTHER 1861: 195
Herpeton tentaculatum — COPE 1862: 1
Herpeton tentaculatum — SMITH 1943: 401
Erpeton tentaculus — MURPHY & VORIS 1994 (in error)
Erpeton tentaculatus — MANTHEY & GROSSMANN 1997: 350
Erpeton tentaculatum — COX et al. 1998: 38
Erpeton tentaculum — MEHRTENS 1987: 220 (in error)
Erpeton tentaculatum — NGUYEN et al. 2009
Erpeton tentaculatum — MURPHY & VORIS 2014: 19
Erpeton tentaculatum — WALLACH et al. 2014: 284 
DistributionThailand, Cambodia, Vietnam

Type locality: unknown (fide MANTHEY & GROSSMANN 1997)  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesHolotype: MNHN-RA 0022 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Prominent paired rostral appendages make this most easily recognized snake species on the planet.


Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 242 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentHabitat: freshwater (this is a completely aquatic species)

Diet: mostly fish

Type species: Erpeton tentaculatus is the type species of the genus Erpeton LACÉPÈDE 1800. 
EtymologyMost likely named after the fleshy, tentacle-like structures on the head, from Latin tentaculum = feeler.

The genus was apparently named after Greek (h)erpo = crawl, creep, sneak, or (h)erpeton = crawling animal, vermin. 
References
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum, Vol. 3. London (Taylor & Francis), xiv + 727 pp. - get paper here
  • Catania KC 2010. Born Knowing: Tentacled Snakes Innately Predict Future Prey Behavior. PLoS One 5 (6): e10953. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010953 - get paper here
  • Catania, Kenneth C. 2009. Tentacled snakes turn C-starts to their advantage and predict future prey behavior. PNAS 2009 106:11183-1118 - get paper here
  • Chan-ard, T., Parr, J.W.K. & Nabhitabhata, J. 2015. A field guide to the reptiles of Thailand. Oxford University Press, NY, 352 pp. [see book reviews by Pauwels & Grismer 2015 and Hikida 2015 for corrections] - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1862. The dentition of the Siamese river snake, Herpeton tentaculatum. The native country of Gerarda prevostiana. On Rhabdosoma (Catostoma) lineatum. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 14: 1 - get paper here
  • Cox, Merel J.; Van Dijk, Peter Paul; Jarujin Nabhitabhata & Thirakhupt,Kumthorn 1998. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Ralph Curtis Publishing, 144 pp.
  • Das, I. 2012. A Naturalist's Guide to the Snakes of South-East Asia: Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali. Oxford J, ohn Beaufoy Publishing - get paper here
  • Duméril, A. M. C., Bibron, G. & DUMÉRIL, A. H. A., 1854. Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième. Deuxième partie, comprenant l'histoire des serpents venimeux. Paris, Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret: i-xii + 781-1536 - 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
  • Günther, A. 1861. On the dentition of Herpeton tentaculatum. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3) 7: 195 - get paper here
  • Hahn, Donald E. 1973. Comments on Tentacle Structure and Function in Erpeton tentaculatum (Serpentes: Colubridae). Journal of Herpetology 7 (3): 304-306 - get paper here
  • Hanscom, R. J., Higham, T. E., Ryan, D., & Clark, R. W. 2023. Ambush hunting in snakes: behaviour, function, and diversity. In: D. Penning (ed.), Snakes: morphology, function, and ecology. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers - get paper here
  • Holbrook, J.D. & Krysko, K.L. 2011. The Tentacled Snake, Erpeton tentaculatum Lacépède 1800 (Holllalopsidae), in Florida. lRCF REPTIlLES & AMPHlBlANS 18 (1):52
  • Karns, D.R.; Murphy, J.C.; Voris, H.K. & Suddeth, J.S. 2005. Comparison of Semi-aquatic Snake Communities Associated with the Khorat Basin, Thailand. The Natural History Journal of Chulalongkorn University 5(2): 73-90 - get paper here
  • Kunz,K. & Kirchhauser, H. 2002. Fühlerschlange im Vivarium Karlsruhe. Herpetofauna 24 (136): 34 - get paper here
  • Lacépède, B. G. H. 1800. Sur un nouveau genre de serpent. Bull. Sc. Soc. Phil. Paris, 2 (46): 169
  • Lillywhite, Harvey B. 2014. How Snakes Work: Structure, Function and Behavior of the World's Snakes. Oxford University Press, New York, 256 pp
  • MACK, ZOE E.; DONAL M. BOYER, SUSAN CARDILLO & KENNETH J. CONLEY. 2021. A review of mortality in tentacled snakes (Erpeton tentaculatum) in a multi-institution zoological collection between 1966 and 2017. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 52(3): 909–917. - get paper here
  • Manthey, U. & Grossmann, W. 1997. Amphibien & Reptilien Südostasiens. Natur und Tier Verlag (Münster), 512 pp. (ISBN 3-931587-12-6) - get paper here
  • Mehrtens, J.M. 1987. Living snakes of the world in color. Sterling Publ. Co., hic., New York, NY: 480 pp.
  • Murphy, J.C. & Voris, H.K. 1994. A key to Homalopsine snakes. The Snake 26 (2): 123-133
  • 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.
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here
  • Pauwels, O.S.G.; David, P.; Chimsunchart, C. & Thirakhupt, K. 2003. Reptiles of Phetchaburi Province, Western Thailand: a list of species, with natural history notes, and a discussion on the biogeography at the Isthmus of Kra. Natural History Journal of Chulalongkorn University 3 (1): 23-53 - get paper here
  • PAYNE, IMOGEN L.; ANDREW F. RICH, JAVIER LOPEZ, GERARDO GARCÍA & JULIAN CHANTREY. 2021. Coelomic steatitis in tentacled snakes (Erpeton tentaculatum). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 52(3): 1061–1073. - get paper here
  • Saint Girons, Hubert 1972. Notes sur l'Ecologie des Serpents du Cambodge. Zoologische Mededelingen 47: 65-87 - get paper here
  • Shaw, George, Nodder, Elizabeth (Eds.) 1804. The Naturalist's Miscellany [...], Vol. XV. London, Nodder & Co., plates 589-636, 177 unnumbered pages [published in monthly issues between August 1, 1803, and July 1, 1804] - get paper here
  • Smith, M.A. 1914. On the breeding habits of Hypsirhina enhydris and Herpeton tentaculatum (the Tentacle Snake). J. nat. Hist. Soc. Siam 1: 126-7. - 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.
  • Taylor,E.H. 1965. The serpents of Thailand and adjacent waters. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 45 (9): 609-1096 - get paper here
  • Voris, H.K. 2006. Assessment of Biodiversity among Southeast Asian Amphibians and Reptiles. The Natural History Journal of Chulalongkorn University 6(1): 1-10 - get paper here
  • 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.
  • Winokur, R.M. 1977. The Integumentary Tentacles of the Snake Erpeton tentaculatum: Structure, Function, Evolution Herpetologica 33 (2): 247-253. - get paper here
  • Ziegler, T., RAUHAUS, A., NGUYEN, T.Q. & NGUYEN, K.V. 2015. Südlichster Nachweis von Gekko badenii SZCZERBAK & NEKRASOVA, 1994, mit Bemerkungen zur Herpetofauna der Hon-Me-Auffangstation in der Provinz Kien Giang, Südvietnam. Sauria 37 (2): 3 - 14 - get paper here
 
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