NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Smith's African Water Snake
Grayia smithii (Leach, 1818)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Grayia smithii (Leach, 1818)
- Name authority
- (Leach, 1818)
- Common name
- Smith's African Water Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Grayia
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyColubridae
- subfamilyGrayiinae
- genusGrayia
- speciesGrayia smithii (Leach, 1818)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Grayia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Caesar's African Water SnakeGrayia caesar (Günther, 1863) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ornate African Water SnakeGrayia ornata (Bocage, 1866) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Grayia obscura Chaney, Greenbaum & Pauwels, 2024 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Tholloni's African Water SnakeGrayia tholloni Mocquard, 1897 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Grayia triangularis Bocage, 1866 Bocage, 1866 | synonym |
| Coluber laevis Hallowell, 1844 Hallowell, 1844 | ambiguous synonym |
| Lejonotus schlegelii Jan, 1863 Jan, 1863 | synonym |
| Coluber smythii Leach, 1818 Leach, 1818 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Grayia&species=smithii Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3HBVF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.