title: Siebold's water snake
text: # Siebold's water snake
  
  Siebold's water snake (Ferania sieboldii), also known commonly as Siebold's mud snake and Siebold's smooth water snake, is a species of mildly venomous, rear-fanged snake in the family Homalopsidae. The species is endemic to Asia.
  
  ## Etymology
  
  Both the specific name, sieboldii, and the common name, Siebold's water snake, are in honor of Philipp Franz von Siebold, a German botanist and physician.
  
  ## Geographic range
  
  F. sieboldii is found in Bangladesh, northcentral India, and western Malaysia.
  
  ## Habitat
  
  The preferred natural habitat of F. sieboldii is freshwater wetlands.
  
  ## Description
  
  F. sieboldii has a dorsal pattern of large blotches similar to those of a python, but it is distinctive in having its nostrils on the top of the snout to aid its aquatic lifestyle. It also lacks labial pits.
  
  It may attain a total length (including tail) of 89 cm (35 in). A female of that length had a tail which was 11 cm (4.3 in) long.
  
  ## Reproduction
  
  F. sieboldii is viviparous.
  
  