Acrochordus arafurae
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Acrochordus_arafurae".

Acrochordus arafurae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Acrochordidae Genus: Acrochordus Species: A. arafurae
Binomial name
Acrochordus arafurae McDowell, 1979
Synonyms
Acrochordus javanicus - Boulenger, 1893 Acrochordus javanicus - Flower, 1899 Acrochordus javanicus - Wall, 1903 Acrochordus javanicus - Lidth de Jeude, 1911 Acrochordus javanicus - Barbour, 1812 Acrochordus javanicus - Boulenger, 1914 Acrochordus javanicus - de Rooij, 1917 Acrochordus javanicus - Kinghorn, 1929 Acrochordus javanicus - Thomson, 1935 Acrochordus javanicus - Barrett, 1950 Acrochordus javanicus - De Haas, 1950 Achrochordus javanicus - Mitchell, 1955 Acrochordus javanicus - Kinghorn, 1956 Acrochordus javanicus - Worrell, 1963 Achrochordus javanicus - Cogger, 1964 Acrochordus javanicus - Mitchell, 1964 Acrochordus javanicus - Dunson & Dunson, 1973 Acrochordus javanicus - Cogger, 1975 Acrochordus arafurae - McDowell, 1979[1]

Common names: Arafura file snake.

Acrochordus arafurae is an aquatic snake species found in northern Australia and New Guinea. No subspecies are currently recognized.^[2]

Description

Adults grown to 8.25 ft (2.5 m) in length.^[3] They have amazingly loose skin and are known to prey on large fish, such as eel-tailed catfish. Females are usually larger than males and they have been known to give birth to up to 17 young. The indigenous peoples of northern Australia often hunt these snakes as they are quite common. As the snakes are near immobilized without the support of water the hunters merely throw each newly caught snake on the bank and continue hunting until they have enough. In New Guinea the skin is used to make drums.

See also

• Acrochordidae by common name
• Acrochordidae by taxonomic synonyms

References

External links

• Acrochordus.com
• Species Acrochordus arafurae at The Reptile Database. Accessed 16 August 2007.

This snake article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.