Wildlifeof China
Checkered Keelback
Colubrid Snakes
Photo: (c) Chayant Gonsalves, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY
Fowlea piscator
Basic stats
Diet
Mainly fish, amphibians and arthropods; occasionally rodents and amphibian eggs
Range
South and Southeast Asia, southern China (Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Yunnan), Taiwan and Indonesia
Size
Snout-vent length up to 1.75 m
The checkered keelback or Asiatic water snake (Fowlea piscator) is a common natricine colubrid found from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka through India, Myanmar and mainland Southeast Asia to southern China, Taiwan and Indonesia. In China it occurs in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi and Yunnan. (The Reptile Database; Wikipedia, general species account)
Adults may reach a snout-vent length of 1.75 m. It feeds mainly on fish, amphibians and arthropods, occasionally on rodents and amphibian eggs, and rarely on birds. Clutches are usually 30–70 eggs, which the female guards until they hatch in 60–70 days, and hatchlings are about 11 cm long. It may lose its tail as an escape mechanism. (Wikipedia, general species account)
Quick answers
- What does the Checkered Keelback eat?
- Mainly fish, amphibians and arthropods; occasionally rodents and amphibian eggs
- Where is the Checkered Keelback found?
- South and Southeast Asia, southern China (Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Yunnan), Taiwan and Indonesia
- How big is the Checkered Keelback?
- Snout-vent length up to 1.75 m