Ryukyu Odd-tooth Snake

Japanese Name: アカマタ
Chinese Name: 琉球紅斑蛇
English Name: Ryukyu Odd-tooth Snake
Origin: Amami Islands, Okinawa Islands

The Ryukyu Odd-tooth Snake is a non-venomous species that can grow up to 170 cm in length. However, juveniles are particularly aggressive. It is one of the most commonly encountered snakes in Yambaru and is sometimes seen on roads feeding on roadkill frogs, which puts it at risk of secondary roadkill. Its diet is diverse, including frogs, lizards, and other snakes, and it has also been observed preying on newly hatched sea turtles.

This species plays an important role in Okinawan folklore. In the Okinawa Islands, there is a traditional practice called Hamauri (浜下り), in which women cleanse themselves in the sea on the third day of the third lunar month. One legend associated with this tradition tells of a Ryukyu Odd-tooth Snake (Akamataa in the Okinawan dialect) that transformed into a handsome man and seduced a young woman. The woman became pregnant, but when her mother asked about the identity of the father, she was unable to answer.

Suspicious, the mother advised her daughter to secretly sew a thread into the man’s clothing while he slept. The next morning, the man had disappeared, and they followed the thread to a cave in the mountains, where they discovered a large Akamataa. To rid herself of the snake’s offspring, the daughter followed the advice of Okinawan shaman”Yuta”, and cleansed herself in the seawater on the third day of the third lunar month. The snake’s child was then washed away by the waves. Many variations of this legend exist, but the Hamauri ritual continues to this day.