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Pseudoferania polylepis (FISCHER, 1886)

IUCN Red List - Pseudoferania polylepis - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaHomalopsidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Macleays Mud Snake, Smooth watersnake 
SynonymHypsirhina polylepis FISCHER 1886: 62
Pseudoferania macleayi OGILBY 1890
Hypsirhina macleayi — BOULENGER 1896
Enhydris polylepis — BOULENGER 1896
Hypsirhina polylepis — LIDTH DE JEUDE 1911: 278
Pseudoferania polylepis — GYI 1970
Enhydris polylepis — COGGER 1983: 212
Pseudoferania polylepis — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985
Pseudoferania harritosi WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 1
Enhydris polylepsis — MEHRTENS 1987: 221
Enhydris polylepis — O’SHEA 1996
Enhydris polylepis — COGGER 2000: 623
Enhydris polylepis — MURPHY 2007: 155
Enhydris polylepis — WILSON & SWAN 2010: 448
Pseudoferania polylepis — MURPHY 2011
Pseudoferrania polylepis — MURPHY 2011 (in error)
Pseudoferania macleayi — WALLACH et al. 2014
Pseudoferania polylepis — MURPHY & VORIS 2014: 32
Enhydris polylepis — SHINE et al. 2019
Pseudoferania polylepis — EIPPER & EIPPER 2024: 291 
DistributionPapua New Guinea, Indonesia (Irian Jaya) [J. Pilgrim, pers. comm.],
Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland)

Type locality: Fly river, Western Province  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesHolotype: MTD (= MTKD) D437, from Fly River, Papua New Guinea, (destroyed), fide Obst (1977).
Holotype: AM R460, from Ripple Creek, Herbert River, Qld. [Pseudoferania macleayi]. 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Moderate-sized snake, reaching 0.8 m, 21–27 rows (usually 23) of dorsal scales at mid-body; nasal in contact, most dorsal scales smooth, but posterior body has keeled scales (MURPHY & VORIS 2014: 32).


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CommentSynonymy after COGGER 1983. MURPHY & VORIS 2014 speculate that the species may be a species complex. WALLACH et al. 2014 treated Pseudoferania macleayi as valid.

Type species: Hypsirhina polylepis FISCHER 1886 is the type species of the genus Pseudoferania OGILBY 1890.

Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. 
EtymologyPresumably named after the Greek polys (many) plus lepis (scale) in reference to the number of midbody scales. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024)

The genus was named after its similarity to the genus Ferania, from Greek pseudo (ψευδο) = false, untrue, mistaken. 
References
  • Cogger, H. G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 7th ed. CSIRO Publishing, xxx + 1033 pp. - get paper here
  • Cogger, H.G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th ed. Ralph Curtis Publishing, Sanibel Island, 808 pp.
  • Eipper T & Eipper S 2024. SNAKES OF AUSTRALIA. Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford, 368 pp. - get paper here
  • Fischer, J. G. 1886. Herpetologische Notizen. Abh. Geb. Naturw. Hamb. 9: 51-67 (1-19) - get paper here
  • Griffiths, K. 1981. Macleay's water snake Enhydris polylepis. Herpetofauna (Sydney) 12: 31-32
  • Gyi, Ko Ko 1970. A revision of colubrid snakes of the sub-family Homalopsinae. Univ. Kans. Publs. Mus. Nat. Hist 20 (2): 44-223 - get paper here
  • Jolly, C., Schembri, B., & Macdonald, S. 2023. Field Guide to the Reptiles of the Northern Territory. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne - get paper here
  • Lidth DE JEUDE, T.W. VAN 1911. Reptilien (Schlangen). Nova Guinea. Résultats de l’expedition scientifique néerlandaise à la Nouvelle Guinée en 1907 sous les auspices de Dr. H.A. Lorenz 9. Leiden (E. J. Brill), pp. 265-287
  • Mehrtens, J.M. 1987. Living snakes of the world in color. Sterling Publ. Co., hic., New York, NY: 480 pp.
  • Murphy, J.C. 2011. THE NOMENCLATURE AND SYSTEMATICS OF SOME AUSTRALASIAN HOMALOPSID SNAKES (SQUAMATA: SERPENTES: HOMALOPSIDAE). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 2011 59(2): 229–236 - get paper here
  • 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.
  • Obst, F. J. 1977. Die herpetologische Sammlung des Staatlichen Museums für Tierkunde Dresden und ihre Typusexemplare. Zool. Abh. Mus. Tierk. Dresden 34: 171-186.
  • Ogilby, J. D. 1890. Description of a new snake from the Herbert River District. Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales (2) 5: 51-52 - get paper here
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here
  • O’Shea,M. 1996. A Guide to the Snakes of Papua New Guinea. Independent Publishing, Port Moresby, xii + 239 pp. - get paper here
  • Shine, Richard; Claire Goiran, Catherine Shilton, Shai Meiri, Gregory P Brown 2019. The life aquatic: an association between habitat type and skin thickness in snakes. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, blz136 - get paper here
  • Somaweera, R. 2009. Snakes of Darwin. Poster, University of Sydney
  • Thomson, D. F. 1935. Preliminary notes on a collection of snakes from Cape York Peninsula. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1935: 723-731 - get paper here
  • Uetz, P.H.; Patel, M.; Gbadamosi, Z.; Nguyen, A.; Shoope, S. 2024. A Reference Database of Reptile Images. Taxonomy 4: 723–732 - 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.
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
 
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