Fowlea piscator (Schneider, 1799)

Hakim, Jonathan, Trageser, Scott J., Ghose, Animesh, Rashid, Sheikh Muhammad Abdur & Rahman, Shahriar Caesar, 2020, Amphibians and reptiles from Lawachara National Park in Bangladesh, Check List 16 (5), pp. 1239-1268 : 1256

Fowlea piscator (Schneider, 1799)

Material examined. BANGLADESH • 1 adult; Syl- het Division, Moulvibazar District , Kamalganj Upazila, LNP, rice paddy field near student dormitory; 24° 20.16′N, 091°49.14′E; 12 Jul. 2013; 19:33; photo voucher ZRC ( IMG) 2.380 .

Identification. This is a medium-sized snake with checkered body pattern and yellowish head with two distinct black streaks across the mouth. Our specimens were missing the black barred collar found in F. schnurrenbergeri (Kramer, 1977) and had dark marks on the neck oriented away from the head rather than towards it as in F. flavipunctatus (Hallowell, 1860) ( Vogel and David 2012) .

Habitat. One of the more commonly observed snakes in LNP, we always found in or near aquatic habitats. While usually encountered in human-created habitats such as rice paddies and village ponds, it was also observed in small frog-heavy ponds in mature forest.

Remarks. SCR observed F. piscator regurgitate two Duttaphrynus melanostictus when palpated, and another regurgitated a live adult Minervarya sp. ( Rahman et al. 2012c). On a third occasion F. piscator was observed preying upon a juvenile H. tigerinus (SVL 73 mm) but released it when disturbed by the human presence. All three regurgitated prey items, as well as the released frog, had been engaged leg first.