Acrochordus

The Acrochordidae, commonly known as wart snakes,^[3] Java wart snakes,^[4] file snakes, elephant trunk snakes, or dogface snakes are a monogeneric family of snakes.^[3] The sole genus Acrochordus are basal aquatic snakes found in Australia and tropical Asia, with three species recognized.^[4]

Acrochordus Temporal range: 11.608–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Middle Miocene - present [1]
Acrochordus arafurae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Superfamily:	Acrochordoidea
Family:	Acrochordidae Bonaparte, 1831
Genus:	Acrochordus Hornstedt, 1787
Synonyms[2]
Acrochordidae: List Acrochordina Bonaparte, 1831 Acrochordidae Bonaparte, 1840 Acrochorniens A.M.C. Duméril, 1853 Acrochordidae Jan, 1863 Acrochordinae Boulenger, 1893 Acrochordoidae McDowell, 1975 Acrochordini Dowling & Duellman, 1978 Acrochordus: List Acrochordus Hornstedt, 1787 Chersydrus Cuvier, 1817 Chersidrus Oken, 1817 Acrochordus Gray, 1825 Chersydreas Gray, 1825 Chershydrus Bonaparte, 1831 Verrucator Schlegel, 1837 Chersydraeas Gray, 1849 Potamophis Schmidt, 1852 Chersydraeus Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 Acrochordus Boulenger, 1893

Description

Head of Acrochordus arafurae

All are entirely aquatic, lacking the broad belly-scales found in most other snakes and possessing dorsally located eyes. Their most notable feature is their skin and scales. The skin is loose and baggy, giving the impression of being several sizes too large for the snake, and the scales, rather than overlapping, possess tiny pyramidal projections that led to their common names. Adults grow to between 60 and 243 centimetres (24 and 96 in) in length.

This type of snake are ambush predators, lurking at the bottom of rivers, streams and estuaries, and waiting for fish to approach, which they grip with their coils. The rough scales allow them to hold the fish despite the mucus coating.

Geographic range

Found from western India and Sri Lanka through tropical Southeast Asia to the Philippines, south through the Indonesian island group to Timor, east through New Guinea to the northern coast of Australia to Mussau Island, the Bismarck Archipelago and Guadalcanal Island in the Solomon Islands.^[2]

Relation to humans

These animals are rapidly becoming rare as their hides are used for handbags and leather (stripped of scales, of course). Numerous attempts have been made by both zoos and private reptile collectors to keep them, but in all cases, they have been reluctant to feed and prone to skin infections.

Species

Common name	Scientific name	IUCN Red List Status	Distribution	Picture
Arafura file snake[5]	Acrochordus arafurae McDowell, 1979	LC IUCN[6]	New Guinea and northern Australia.
Little wart snake[7]	Acrochordus granulatus (Schneider, 1799)	LC IUCN[8]	Peninsular India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, the Andaman Islands, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and coastal northern Australia.
Elephant trunk snake[9]	Acrochordus javanicus Hornstedt, 1787	LC IUCN[10]	Southeast Asia from Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, south through Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (Sumatra, Java and Borneo).