Elephant Trunk snake, Wrinkle file snake
The Arafura File Snake is a non-venomous aquatic snake species. This snake was first described by Samuel Booker McDowell in 1979 and its skin is used to make drums in New Guinea.
No
NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
Ca
CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
Pi
PiscivoresA piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. Piscivorous is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophagous. Fish were the die...
Pr
PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
Vi
ViviparousAmong animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
Am
Ambush predatorAmbush predators are carnivorous animals that capture or trap prey by stealth, luring, or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an elemen...
Aq
AquaticAn aquatic animal is an animal, either vertebrate or invertebrate, which lives in water for most or all of its life. It may breathe air or extract ...
No
Non-venomousNo
Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
A
starts withThe most notable feature of file snakes is their skin and scales. The skin is loose and baggy, giving the impression of being several sizes too large for the snake, and the scales, rather than overlapping, are tiny pyramidal projections that led to their common names. Female Arafura file snakes are usually larger than males.
Arafura file snakes can be found in northern Australia and New Guinea. There they live in freshwater habitats such as lagoons, sheltered riverbanks and rivers, lakes, and swamps, floodplains, and may sometimes occur in brackish or inshore marine waters.
Arafura file snakes are entirely aquatic creatures but they can move on land if they need to. These snakes are ambush predators that hunt their prey at night. They lurk at the bottom of rivers, streams, and estuaries, and wait for fish to approach, which they grip with their coils. The rough scales allow them to hold the fish despite the mucus coating.
Arafura file snakes are carnivores (piscivores) and eat almost exclusively fish. They are known to prey on large fish, such as eel-tailed catfish.
Females of this species are viviparous and give birth to 6 and 27 live young. The gestation period takes about 3 months and females reproduce only every 8 to 10 years.
Arafura file snakes don’t face any major threats at present.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Arafura file snake total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.
