Myrrophis chinensis
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The Chinese water snake, Chinese smooth water snake, Chinese mud snake or Chinese rice paddy snake (Enhydris chinensis or Myrrophis chinensis) is a species of mildly venomous, rear-fanged snake, endemic to Asia. Enhydris chinensis is found in China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
As the common name suggests, the Chinese water snake is a highly aquatic species, adapting well to human-altered environments such as fish pools and rice paddies. Enhydris chinensis is considered common, although it has declined in Taiwan and is protected there.
Enhydris chinensis is a relatively small snake reaching total length (including tail) of up to 80 cm (31 in). The Chinese water snake typically feeds on fish and amphibians. Enhydris chinensis are harvested for food and skins, but this is not considered to be threatening its populations.
Enhydris chinensis is used in folk medicine. It is commonly used in the production of Chinese snake oil. Boulenger, G. A. (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guangzhou | 🇨🇳 China |
No species of the same family or order lives in Guangzhou, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Tang Water Snake sighting in Guangzhou on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 24th most-seen of the 28 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, May–July and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tang Water Snake in Guangzhou on a given day, against under 5% in March–April, August and October–January, the lowest months. Those are among Guangzhou's wettest months, with about 200 mm of rain a month against 30 mm in December.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tang Water Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Only Guangzhou, in our data
Guangzhou is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Tang Water Snake sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tang Water Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Guangzhou (7 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
