Calamaria schlegeli Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854

Figueroa, Alex, Low, Martyn E. Y. & Lim, Kelvin K. P., 2023, Singapore’s herpetofauna: updated and annotated checklist, history, conservation, and distribution, Zootaxa 5287 (1), pp. 1-378 : 151-152

Calamaria schlegeli Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 — Native.

Calamaria Schlegeli A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron &A. Duméril, 1854a: 81–83 . Holotype: RMNH.RENA.10424 (formerly RMNH 68 ), by original designation. Type locality: “ile de Bornéo”, East Malaysia or Indonesia.

Pink-headed Reed Snake

( Figure 17G )

Singapore records.

Calamaria lumbricoidea Schlegel var.— Cantor, 1847b: 908–909, 912.— Cantor, 1847c: 1069, 1074, 1076.— Flower, 1899: 614.

Calamaria leucocephala — Boulenger, 1894: 344.— Flower, 1896: 886.— Flower, 1899: 674.—Ridley, 1899: 208.— Boulenger, 1912: 157.— de Rooij, 1917: 171.—Sworder, 1923: 65 (Bukit Timah [BTNR]).— Smith, 1930: 58.— de Haas, 1950: 569.—Tweedie, 1954: 110.— Marx & Inger, 1955: 193.—Taylor, 1965: 799.

Calamaria schlegeli schlegeli — Inger & Marx, 1965: 157–163 (Bukit Timah [BTNR]; Naval Base; Nee Soon [NSSF]).—Tweedie, 1983: 56.—F.L.K. Lim & M.T.-M. Lee, 1989: 116.—K.K.P. Lim & L.M. Chou, 1990: 54.—L.M. Chou et al., 1994: 105.— David & Vogel, 1996: 54.—R.C.H. Teo & Rajathurai, 1997: 397 (Bukit Timah [BTNR]; Holland Woods [= CF]; Lower Peirce [LPF]).— Iskandar & Colijn, 2001: 47.—Weinell et al., 2020a: 10.

Calamaria schlegeli —F.L.K. Lim, 1991: 60.—K.K.P. Lim & Subharaj, 1992: 6 (Nee Soon Swamp Forest; Old Upper Thomson Road; Rifle Range Road).—K.K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 1992: 61,146.—Wee, 1992: 74 (Lower Peirce Reservoir Park).—K.K.P. Lim & Subaraj, 1994: 6 (Old Upper Thomson Road; Rifle Range Road).—R. Subaraj, 1994: 11 (Bukit Timah Nature Reserve).—R. Subaraj et al., 1995: 3 (Mandai; Old Upper Thomson Road).—K. Lim et al., 1995: 13 (Old Upper Thomson Road).—K. Lim, 1995: 16 (Nee Soon Swamp Forest; Rifle Range Road).— Manthey & Grossmann, 1997: 327.—Chan-ard et al., 1999: 31.—K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 2002: 146.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2008: 96, 160.—K.K.P. Lim et al., 2008: 264.— Das, 2010: 270.—P.K.L. Ng et al., 2011: 273.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2012: 96, 160.— Das, 2012a: 29.—L.K. Wang et al., 2012: 187.—K.W. Chan, 2013b: 89 (Sime Forest [SRF]).— Groenewoud, 2014a: 220–221 (Venus Loop [WNP).—Stuebing et al., 2014: 124.—Wallach et al., 2014: 141.—Chan-ard et al., 2015: 185.—E.K. Chua, 2015: 91.— Das, 2018: 37.—O’Shea, 2018: 137.—R.C.H. Teo & Thomas, 2019: 161, 181.— Charlton, 2020: 115.—K.H. Koh, 2020: 220 (Thomson Nature Park).

Remarks. Some confusion regarding C. schlegeli occurred early on due to its variability in colouration ( Cantor 1847b; Boulenger 1894), with Taylor (1965) even citing Marx & Inger (1955) as stating that the Singapore population may typify a distinct race. However, a review of Marx & Inger (1955) does not corroborate Taylor’s (1965) statement. Cantor (1847b) first reported C. schlegeli from Singapore from a specimen collected by Montgomerie. It was next reported by Boulenger (1894) who examined one specimen collected by Dennys and two specimens from an unknown collector. Sworder (1923) collected two specimens at BTNR. No specimens were deposited at the Raffles Museum early on (Ridley 1899), but Tweedie (1954) later reports seven specimens. There are presently three specimens at LKCNHM with no dates that may be part of Tweedie’s (1954) specimens, but the remaining specimens at LKCNHM were collected after 1994. Inger & Marx (1965) examined three specimens from the Raffles Museum, two from BTNR and one from “Naval Base” (= SNB). Inger & Marx (1965) also examined six additional specimens from Singapore from other museums. After this publication, the next field observation of C. schlegeli was 27 years later ( Table 2 ) when one was found alive at NSSF on 22 May 1992, another found dead on RRR on 7 November 1992, and three additional roadkills were found on OUTR on three separate occasions ( Lim & Subharaj 1992). All published records of C. schlegeli have been from around the broader CNR area, except for the one museum specimen from SNB, one that was seen at CF in 1989 (Teo & Rajathurai 1997), and three fairly recent museum specimens found at BBNP, Bukit Gombak, and Lorong Gambas, bordering Sembawang Air Base.

Occurrence. Wide-ranging. Uncommon.

Singapore conservation status. Near-Threatened.

Conservation priority. Moderate.

IUCN conservation status. Least Concern [2012].

LKCNHM & NHMUK Museum specimens. Singapore (no locality) : BMNH 1882.11.27.2–3 (no date), BMNH 1882.11 .29.2 (no date) , ZRC.2.5012, ZRC.2.5462, ZRC.2.6435 (no date); Bukit Batok Nature Park : ZRC.2.7017 (02-Jul-2013) ; Bukit Gombak: ZRC.2.5726 (04-Jul-2003) ; Bukit Timah Nature Reserve : ZRC.2.3527 (08-Aug-1996) , ZRC.2.3541 (19-Feb-1997) ; Lorong Gambas: ZRC.2.3473 (13-Mar-1994) ; Nee Soon Swamp Forest : ZRC.2.3404 (Aug-1995) ; Old Upper Thomson Road : ZRC.2.6869 (06-Mar-2010) , ZRC.2.7027 (24-Oct-2013) ; Seletar Reservoir Park [ USRP]: ZRC.2.5241 (12-Aug-2001) ; Upper Seletar Reservoir Park : ZRC.2.7026 (14-Oct-2013) ; Upper Seletar Reservoir Road : ZRC.2.6717 (24- Jul-2008) , ZRC.2.7316 (30-Jul-2018) .

Additional Singapore museum specimens. Singapore (no locality): CAS, FMNH; Nee Soon [= NSSWF]: MCZ.

Singapore localities. Bukit Batok Nature Park—Bukit Gombak—Bukit Timah Nature Reserve—Clementi Forest—Lorong Gambas—Lower Peirce Forest—Lower Peirce Reservoir Park—Mandai—Naval Base (not specified)—Nee Soon Swamp Forest—Old Upper Thomson Road—Rifle Range Road—Sime Road Forest—Thomson Nature Park—Upper Seletar Reservoir Park—Upper Seletar Reservoir Road—Windsor Nature Park.

Genus Pseudorabdion Jan, 1862 (1 species)

Pseudorabdion Jan, 1862: 10 (type species: Rabdion torquatum Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 , by monotypy; gender masculine).

Figures

FIGURE 17. A) Dendrelaphis kopsteini, B) Dendrelaphis pictus, C) Dryophiops rubescens, D) Calamaria albiventer, E) Calamaria lovii, F) Calamaria lumbricoidea, G) Calamaria schlegeli, and H) Pseudorabdion longiceps. Photographs by: Law Ing Sind [A, E], Alex Figueroa [B, G], Emmanuel Goh [C], Evan S.H. Quah [D], and Kelvin K.P. Lim [F, H].