False Water Cobra
Hydrodynastes gigas
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassSquamata
- FamilyColubridae (Colúbrids)
- GenusHydrodynastes
- SpeciesHydrodynastes gigas (False Water Cobra)
Hydrodynastes gigas is a New World species of large dipsadine snake endemic to South America. Aglyphous snake with enlarged posterior maxillary teeth, not grooved, associated with Duvernoy's gland secretions. endemic to South America. Common names include false cobra, false water cobra, South American water cobra, and Brazilian smooth snake. It is also sometimes referred to as boipevaçu, ñacaniná or yacaniná, from the Guarani ñakanina ('alert head'), mboi-peba, surucucu-do-pantanal, and víbora ladradora ('barking snake'). A mildly venomous species, the false water cobra is so named because when it is threatened, it "hoods" as a true cobra (genus Naja) does. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Madidi National Park
Tschudi's False Coral Snake
Oxyrhopus melanogenys
Banded Cat-eyed Snake
Leptodeira annulata
Mountain Keelback
Helicops angulatus
Amazon Puffing Snake
Spilotes sulphureus
Linnaeus' Sipo
Chironius exoletus
Northern Woodland Racer
Drymoluber dichrous
Blind Ground Snake
Erythrolamprus typhlus
Tropical Flat Snake
Siphlophis compressus
Central Sipo
Chironius quadricarinatus
Emmel's Ground Snake
Atractus emmeli
Neotropical Snail-eater
Dipsas indica
Norman's Keelback
Helicops polylepis
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of False Water Cobra at Madidi 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 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Anavilhanas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Madidi National Park | 🇧🇴 Bolivia |