NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
African Brown Water Snake
Afronatrix anoscopus (Cope, 1861)
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
The African brown water snake (Afronatrix anoscopus) is a species of non-venomous semiaquatic oviparous snake in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. The species, which is monotypic in the genus Afronatrix, is native to West Africa. It is commonly found in many West African countries in freshwater swamps, rivers, streams, ponds, and sometimes brackish bodies of water. This species can grow up to 75 cm, and It preys on other aquatic animals like fish, frogs, tadpoles, and frog eggs.
Wikipedia contributors, African brown water snake; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:42:25.478187+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Afronatrix anoscopus (Cope, 1861)
- Name authority
- (Cope, 1861)
- Common name
- African Brown Water Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Afronatrix
- 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
- subfamilyNatricinae
- genusAfronatrix
- speciesAfronatrix anoscopus (Cope, 1861)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Tropidonotus ferox Günther, 1863 Günther, 1863 | synonym |
| Natrix firestonei Taylor & Weyer, 1958 Taylor & Weyer, 1958 | synonym |
| Helicops gendrii Boulenger, 1910 Boulenger, 1910 | synonym |
| Tropidonotus anoscopus Cope, 1861 Cope, 1861 | 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=Afronatrix&species=anoscopus 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:65H38. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.