Common Brown Water Snake
Lycodonomorphus rufulus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassSquamata
- FamilyLamprophiidae (Lamprophiid Snakes)
- GenusLycodonomorphus (Sub-Saharan Water Snakes)
- SpeciesLycodonomorphus rufulus (Common Brown Water Snake)
The common brown water snake (Lycodonomorphus rufulus) is a species of nonvenomous South African snake. This gentle, harmless snake is by far the most common water snake in southern Africa. It can be found from Cape Town in the south, along the wet east coast of South Africa and inland as far as Gauteng, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe. Throughout its range, its natural habitat is water margins, where it shelters under leaves and logs. It emerges at night to hunt frogs and sometimes rodents. It lays up to 10 eggs at the end of summer. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Kruger National Park
Floodplain Water Snake
Lycodonomorphus obscuriventris
Brown House Snake
Boaedon capensis
Cape Wolf Snake
Lycophidion capense
Black File Snake
Gracililima nyassae
Variegated Wolf Snake
Lycophidion variegatum
Cape File Snake
Limaformosa capensis
Swazi Rock Snake
Inyoka swazicus
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of Common Brown Water Snake at Kruger National Park — not enough to chart months honestly.
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |