Cerberus (snake)
Appearance
Cerberus (snake) | |
---|---|
Cerberus rynchops | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Homalopsidae |
Genus: | Cerberus Cuvier, 1829 |
Species | |
Five, see text. |
Cerberus (common name dog-faced water snakes) is a small genus of snakes in the family Homalopsidae.
Geographic range and habitat
[edit]Member species of the genus Cerberus are common inhabitants of Southeast Asia's mangrove habitat and mudflats.
Etymology
[edit]The generic name, Cerberus, refers to the dog-like Greek mythological creature Cerberus.[1]
Species
[edit]The following five species are recognized as being valid.[2]
- Cerberus australis (Gray, 1842)
- Cerberus dunsoni Murphy, Voris & Karns, 2012
- Cerberus microlepis Boulenger, 1896
- Cerberus rynchops (Schneider, 1799)
- Cerberus schneiderii (Schlegel, 1837)
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Cerberus.
References
[edit]- ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Genus Cerberus, p. 50).
- ^ Genus Cerberus at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.com.
Further reading
[edit]- Cuvier [G] (1829). Le règne animal distribué d'après son organisation, pour server de base a l'histoire naturelle des animaux et introduction a l'anatomie comparée. Nouvelle édition, revue et augmentée. Tome II. Les reptiles. Paris: Déterville. xv + 406 pp. (Cerberus, new genus, p. 81). (in French).