NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Costa Rica Water Snake
Hydromorphus concolor Peters, 1859
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
Hydromorphus concolor, also known as the Costa Rica water snake, is a snake of the colubrid family. It is moderately-sized, growing to lengths of 690 mm (27 in) for males and 797 mm (31.4 in) for females. It is widely distributed in Central America from Guatemala south to Panama. It inhabits freshwater rainforest streams in dense lowland and premontane rainforests. It feeds on small crabs, frogs, fish, and Atya shrimp. It is classified as being of least-concern on the IUCN Red List.
Wikipedia contributors, Hydromorphus concolor; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:32:24.962398+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Hydromorphus concolor Peters, 1859
- Name authority
- Peters, 1859
- Common name
- Costa Rica Water Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Hydromorphus
- 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
- subfamilyDipsadinae
- genusHydromorphus
- speciesHydromorphus concolor Peters, 1859
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Hydromorphus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Dunn's Water SnakeHydromorphus dunni Slevin, 1942 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Hydromorphus clarki Dunn, 1942 Dunn, 1942 | 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=Hydromorphus&species=concolor 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:3N7RB. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.