NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Lake Taal Snake
Hydrophis semperi Garman, 1881
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
Hydrophis semperi, commonly known as the Lake Taal snake, Garman's sea snake, the Philippine freshwater sea snake, and the Luzon sea snake, is a rare species of venomous sea snake endemic to Taal Lake on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. It is noted for being one of only two known species of sea snakes that are known to be found almost-exclusively in freshwater and being a very young species, having only evolved after being separated from the ocean in the 16th Century. The only other freshwater sea snake species is Hydrophis sibauensis, while a third species, Laticauda crockeri, occurs in a brackish lake.
Wikipedia contributors, Hydrophis semperi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:06:02.597123+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Hydrophis semperi Garman, 1881
- Name authority
- Garman, 1881
- Common name
- Lake Taal Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Elapidae
- Genus
- Hydrophis
- 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
- familyElapidae
- subfamilyHydrophiinae
- genusHydrophis
- speciesHydrophis semperi Garman, 1881
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Hydrophis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Peters' Sea SnakeHydrophis bituberculatus Peters, 1873 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Slender-necked SeasnakeHydrophis coggeri (Kharin, 1984) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Annulated Sea SnakeHydrophis cyanocinctus Daudin, 1803 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Elegant or bar-bellied seasnakeHydrophis elegans (Gray, 1842) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hydrophis hendersoni (Boulenger, 1903) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Inornate Sea SnakeHydrophis inornatus (Gray, 1849) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pacific seasnakeHydrophis pacificus Boulenger, 1896 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Spiny-headed seasnakeHydrophis peronii (Duméril, 1853) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pelagic Sea SnakeHydrophis platurus (Linnaeus, 1766) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Stoke’s seasnakeHydrophis stokesii (Gray, 1846) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Kloss' Sea SnakeHydrophis klossi Boulenger, 1912 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lambert's Sea SnakeHydrophis lamberti Smith, 1917 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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=Hydrophis&species=semperi 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:3N8BZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.