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{{Short description|Genus of snakes}}
{{For|the drug with trade name Natrix|Indapamide}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2017}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image              = Natrix natrix persa3.jpg
| image_caption      = ''[[Natrix natrix]]''
| display_parents    = 2
| taxon              = Natrix
| authority          = [[Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti|Laurenti]], 1768
| type_species =''[[Natrix natrix]]''
}}

'''''Natrix''''' is a [[genus]] of [[Old World]] [[snake]]s found mainly across Eurasia (although the range of ''[[Dice snake|Natrix tessellata]]'' extends into Egypt and those of ''[[Natrix astreptophora|N. astreptophora]]'' and ''[[Natrix maura|N. maura]]'' into north-west Africa) in the [[subfamily]] [[Natricinae]] of the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Colubridae]]. They are commonly called '''grass snakes''' and '''water snakes''', but some other snake species also known [[Common name|commonly]] as "grass snakes" and "water snakes" are not in the genus.

==Species==
The genus ''Natrix'' contains five extant species<ref>{{EMBL genus|genus=Natrix}}. www.reptile-database.org.</ref> and at least five extinct ([[fossil]]-only) species.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Scientific name !! Common name !! Distribution
|-
| || ''[[Natrix astreptophora]]'' {{small|([[:es:Víctor López Seoane|Seoane]], 1885)}}|| Iberian grass snake<ref>{{cite news |last1=de Lazaro |first1=Enrico |title=Iberian Grass Snake: Cryptic New Species of Snake Identified |url=http://www.sci-news.com/biology/iberian-grass-snake-natrix-astreptophora-cryptic-new-species-03650.html |work=Sci-News.com |date=February 23, 2016 }}</ref> || Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal), southern France, coastal north-west Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia) 
|-
| [[File:BennyTrapp Natrix helvetica.jpg|120px]] || ''[[Barred grass snake|Natrix helvetica]]'' {{small|([[Bernard Germain de Lacépède|Lacépède]], 1789)}} || barred grass snake<ref>{{cite news |title=New snake species identified in the UK |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40853286 |work=BBC News |date=7 August 2017 }}</ref> || Western Europe, including southern Great Britain
|-
| [[File:Natrix maura (cropped).jpg|120px]] ||''[[Natrix maura]]'' {{small|([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758)}}|| viperine water snake <ref name="eol">"''Natrix'' Laurenti, 1768". Encyclopedia of Life. http://eol.org/pages/35261/overview</ref> ||Portugal, Spain, France, north-west Italy and into Switzerland; north-west Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia)
|-
| [[File:2017.07.17.-17-Tiefer See oder Grubensee-Storkow (Mark)--Ringelnatter.jpg|120px]] || ''[[Grass snake|Natrix natrix]]'' {{small|(Linnaeus, 1758)}} || grass snake <ref name="eol" />|| Mainland Europe from mid Scandinavia to southern Italy, to northern Middle East and Central Asia
|-
| [[File:Würfelnatter Natrix tessellata.jpg|120px]] || ''[[Dice snake|Natrix tessellata]]'' {{small|([[Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti|Laurenti]], 1768)}} || dice snake <ref name="eol" /> || Much of Eurasia, and Egypt
|-
| || †''[[Natrix longivertebrata]]'' {{small|([[Szyndlar]], 1984)}} || extinct species ([[Pliocene]], [[Miocene]]) || Poland, Austria, France<ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Rage |first1 = JC |last2 = Szyndlar |first2 = Z |title = ''Natrix longivertebrata'' from the European Neogene, a snake with one of the longest known stratigraphic ranges |journal = N. Jb. Geol. Palaonth. Mh. |volume = 1986 |issue = 1 |pages = 56–64 |location = Stuttgart |date = 1986 |url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281589987 |access-date = 15 September 2022}}</ref> 
|-
| || †''[[Natrix merkurensis]]'' {{small|Ivanov, 2002}} || extinct species (Miocene)<ref name=Ivanov>{{cite journal |last = Ivanov |first = Martin |title = The oldest known Miocene snake fauna from Central Europe: Merkur-North locality, Czech Republic |journal = Acta Palaeontologica Polonica |volume = 47 |issue = 3 |pages = 513–534 |date = 2002 |url = https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app47-513.html |access-date = 16 September 2022}}</ref> || Czech Republic, France<ref>{{cite web | url = https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=251199 | title = †Natrix merkurensis Ivanov 2002 (water snake) | date = n.d. | website = Fossilworks | access-date = 16 September 2022 }}</ref>
|-
|-
| || †''[[Natrix mlynarskii]]'' {{small|Rage, 1988}} || extinct species ([[Eocene]]–Miocene) || France<ref>{{cite web | url = https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=346184 | title = †Natrix mlynarskii Rage 1988 (water snake) | date = n.d. | website = Fossilworks | access-date = 16 September 2022 }}</ref>
|-
| || †''[[Natrix parva]]'' {{small|Szyndlar, 1984}} || extinct species (Miocene) || Poland<ref>{{cite web | url = https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=64954 | title = †Natrix parva Szyndlar 1984 (water snake) | date = n.d. | website = Fossilworks | access-date = 16 September 2022 }}</ref>
|-
| || †''[[Natrix sansaniensis]]'' {{small|([[Édouard Lartet|Lartet]], 1851)}} || extinct species (Miocene)<ref name=Ivanov/> || Czech Republic, France
|-
|}

''[[Nota bene]]'': A [[Binomial nomenclature|binomial authority]] in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Natrix''.

==Etymology==
''Natrix'' is classical [[Latin]] for a water snake. The word comes from a [[Proto-Indo-European]] root meaning "snake", with cognates in the [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] and [[Germanic language]]s, the latter including the English [[wikt:adder#Etymology 1|adder]]. It was probably influenced through [[folk etymology]] by the Latin ''nare'' and ''natare'' meaning "swim";<ref>{{cite web | title = adder, n.1 | work = OED Online | date = March 2019 | publisher = Oxford University Press | url = http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/2166?rskey=HXKdWQ&result=1&isAdvanced=false | access-date = 6 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = adder | work = Online Etymology Dictionary | url = https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=adder|access-date = 6 May 2019}}</ref> it appears to be a grammatically feminine word for "swimmer".

==Geography==
The refuge of a widely distributed Western European lineage regarding the [[barred grass snake]] commonly known as ''Natrix helvetica ''was most likely located in southern France and outside the classical refuges in the southern European peninsulas. One genetic lineage of the [[Grass snake|common grass snake]] (''N. natrix'') is also distributed in Scandinavia, Central Europe, and the Balkan Peninsula.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kindler |first1=Carolin |last2=Graciá |first2=Eva |last3=Fritz |first3=Uwe |title=Extra-Mediterranean glacial refuges in barred and common grass snakes (Natrix helvetica , N. natrix) |journal=Scientific Reports |date=29 January 2018 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=1821 |doi=10.1038/s41598-018-20218-2 |pmid=29379101 |pmc=5788984 |bibcode=2018NatSR...8.1821K }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*[[Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti|Laurenti JN]] (1768). ''Specimen medicum, exhibens synopsin reptilium emendatam cum experimentis circa venena et antidota reptilium austriacorum''. Vienna: "Joan. Thom. Nob. de Trattnern". 214 pp. + Plates I-V. (''Natrix'', new genus, p.&nbsp;73). (in Latin).

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[[Category:Natrix| ]]
[[Category:Snake genera]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti]]


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