What are the genus & species of the snake that is able to survive for
about a year without water via a sort of hibernation in a dehydrated
state?

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Clarification of Question by max_katz-ga on 05 Jul 2005 12:12 PDT

It may be some sort of estivation or other process not dissimilar to
suspended animation.  I heard about this snake in a nature documentary
I saw years ago, but I think that may be harder to find than the
snake's name, since I can't remember any other details about it.

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 05 Jul 2005 12:27 PDT

I wonder if your nature program may have been about the red-sided
garter snake. There was a National Geographic "Pulse of the Planet"
episode which featured this snake:

"Garter snakes can hibernate for eight months of the year and yet when
they emerge from hibernation they're not gaunt and skinny little
things. They're actually, have only lost less than ten percent of
their weight. So their hibernation could have implications for us in,
believe it or not, in space travel. So we're looking at now sending
people out into space for extended periods of time. That is going to
be, everyone thinks, in some sort of suspended animation. Do garter
snakes have any clues in their physiology that might provide a means
of enabling space travel for long periods of time as well?"

http://www.pulseplanet.com/archive/Jun98/1632.html

"Dr. Robert Mason, the current recipient of the National Science
Foundation?s Young Investigator Award, has been studying a mysterious
phenomenon for over fifteen years: the reemergence of tens of
thousands of red-sided garter snakes?the world?s largest concentration
of snakes?after a winter spent in a state of suspended animation in
subterranean caves."

http://shop.plt.org/product.aspx?c=14_bks_forchildren_snakes(base)&p=102474(base)

If this is your snake, I'll be glad to search for further information about it.

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 07 Jul 2005 11:04 PDT

Have you had time to consider the material I posted above? The
red-sided garter snake seems to me to be the best candidate, and it
has definitely been the subject of a nature documentary. Please let me
know what you think.

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Clarification of Question by max_katz-ga on 07 Jul 2005 13:20 PDT

It's not the red-sided garter snake.  The snake I saw definitely
looked like a bit of snake jerky by the time it was in its state of
suspended animation or hibernation.

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Clarification of Question by max_katz-ga on 07 Jul 2005 13:24 PDT

Also, the state of dormancy was certainly linked to dehydration, and
not cold weather.

When the dryness passes, the snake absorbs moisture through its skin
and resumes normal activity.

Hi Max,

could the "hibernation in a dehydrated state" you mention be this:

Anhydrobiosis
-------------
"A strategy used by some organisms to survive extreme dry spells.
During anhydrobiosis their cells come to contain only minimal amounts
of water. No metabolic activity is performed"...?
The Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy, and Spaceflight
http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/A/anhydrobiosis.html

Anhydrobiosis is one of the forms of Cryptobiosis which means "hidden life".
http://www.answers.com/topic/cryptobiosis-2?hl=anhydrobiosis

The most commonly mentioned organisms that can become anhydrobiotic
seem to be bacteria, yeasts, plants and insects:

"When subjected to drought conditions, some bacteria, yeasts, plants
and animals (rotifers, tardigrades, some nematodes and some
crustaceans) enter a state of suspended animation known as
anhydrobiosis."
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY, NUI MAYNOOTH
http://www.nuim.ie/service/communications/press/060302.shtml

"A variety of organisms can become anhydrobiotic, including bacteria,
yeast, fungi, plants, insects, the tardigrades (see cryptobiosis),
mycophagous (fungi-eating) nematodes, and the brine shrimp Artemia
salina (also known as "Sea Monkeys" when marketed to children)."
The Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy, and Spaceflight
http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/A/anhydrobiosis.html 

However, I didn't find any mention of snakes. Indeed, a report I found
says "Cryptobiotic organisms are known from both the plant and animal
kingdom, but in animals only among INVERTEBRATES."
http://www.sekj.org/PDF/anz40-free/anz40-331.pdf

Which means - no snakes.

Could you maybe remember where or in what context you heard about it?
This could help me to focus the search.

Thank you

Uko

I think maybe you are talking about the Green Anaconda (Eunectes
murinus) a large aquatic species of boa.

I'm pretty sure I may have seen the dcomumentry they you are talking
about a few years ago. The footage of the Anoconda the mud was quite
unusual.

Large pythons and Boas can last many months without food. the Anoconda
survived a severe drought covered in mud.