Tentacled Snake Erpeton tentaculatum

The Tentacled Snake is a wholly aquatic snake native to Indochina (Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam). It is the only snake with the horn-like tentacles on its head - they are sensory organs complementing its forked tongue.

The only species in its genus, it is an ambush predator of small fish in slow-moving water of lakes, streams, rice paddies and even estuarine or sea water. Its typical hunting posture is the motionless shepherd's crook shape and it can stay underwater for about half an hour before surfacing to breathe. They grow to between half a metre and just under one metre long and can be light grey-brown or dark grey-brown with cryptic patterns or with stripes. Their venom is not dangerous to humans, only to the fish prey.