Dendrelaphis caudolineatus (Gray, 1834)

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 : 140-142

Dendrelaphis caudolineatus (Gray, 1834) — Native.

Ahaetula [ sic] caudolineata Gray, 1834 [in 1832–1835]: pl. 81, caption. Type material: None designated; type material presumably originally at BMNH, now lost. Type locality: None stated/traced; later designated as “Malayisch Halbinsel” (= Peninsular Malaysia) by Meise & Hennig (1932: 281).

Striped Bronzeback

( Figure 16E )

Singapore records.

Leptophis caudalineatus Cantor, 1847b: 933 .— Cantor, 1847c: 1070, 1074, 1077.

Dendrophis caudolineata — Ģnther, 1864: xxi, 297.— Dennys, 1881b: 3.— Blanford, 1881: 215.— Davison, 1892: 90.

Dendrophis caudolineatus —Theobald, 1876: 229.

Dipsas caudolineata Dennys, 1880a: 3 .

Dendrelaphis caudolineatus —Sclater, 1891a: 35.— Boulenger, 1894: 89.— Flower, 1896: 884.— Hanitsch, 1898: 20.— Flower, 1899: 671.—Ridley, 1899: 208.— Boulenger, 1912: 147.— Hanitsch, 1912b: 16.— de Rooij, 1917: 68.—Sworder, 1923: 64.—Sworder, 1924a: 20 (Pulau Ubin).— Buddle, 1929: 31 (Sembawang Naval Base [= SML]).—K. Lim & F. Lim, 1988b: 49 (Kent Ridge [NUS]).—K. Lim & F. Lim, 1988c: 74 (Mandai Lake Road).—F.L.K. Lim & M.T.-M. Lee, 1989: 11.—K. Lim, 1990a: 8 (Kent Ridge Campus [NUS]).—K.K.P. Lim & L.M. Chou, 1990: 54.—F.L.K. Lim, 1991: 61.—K.K.P. Lim & Subharaj, 1992: 6 (Choa Chu Kang Road Track 11 [CCK]; Old Upper Thomson Road).—K.K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 1992: 65, 146.—K.K.P. Lim, 1993a: 3 (Choa Chu Kang Road [CCK]).—K.K.P. Lim, 1993b: 2 (Old Upper Thomson Road).—K.K.P. Lim & Subaraj, 1994: 5 (Nee Soon Swamp Forest).—K.K.P. Lim & Subaraj, 1994: 6 (Island Club Road [SICC]; Old Upper Thomson Road; Upper Bukit Timah Road).—K.K.P. Lim & Subaraj, 1994: 7 (Botanic Gardens).—L.M. Chou et al., 1994: 105.—R. Subaraj et al., 1995: 2, 3 (Bukit Timah Nature Reserve; Sime Forest [SRF]; Singapore Botanic Gardens).—K. Lim et al., 1995: 14 (Mandai Lake Road; Neo Tiew Road [LCK]).—K. Lim, 1995: 15 (Kent Ridge Campus [NUS]; Neo Tiew Road [LCK]).— Manthey & Grossmann, 1997: 336.—R.C.H. Teo & Rajathurai, 1997: 380.— Cox et al., 1998: 70.—Chan-ard et al., 1999: 31.—K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 2002: 147.— Anonymous, 2003: 92 (Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).— de Lang & Vogel, 2005: 117.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2008: 100, 160.— Das, 2010: 275.—L.L. Grismer, 2011a: 188.—K.K.P. Lim & Cheong, 2011: 9.—P.K.L. Ng et al., 2011: 272.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2012: 100, 161.— Das, 2012a: 34.—N. Baker, 2014a: 13, 14 (Upper Peirce Reservoir Road).—Wallach et al., 2014: 216.—Chan-ard et al., 2015: 188.—E.K. Chua, 2015: 70.—R. Subaraj, 2015: 52 (Upper Seletar Peninsula [= USNF]).— S. Subaraj, 2015: 3 (Upper Seletar Peninsula [= USNF]).—K.K.P. Lim et al., 2016: 181 (Pulau Tekong).— de Lang, 2017: 374.—Will, 2017b: 106 (Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).— Das, 2018: 42.—H.T.W. Tan et al., 2019: 134 (Kent Ridge Park; National University of Singapore Kent Ridge Campus).—R.C.H. Teo & Thomas, 2019: 162, 181 (Bukit Timah Nature Reserve; Dairy Farm Nature Park).— Charlton, 2020: 156.— Cross, 2020b: 1 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).— Cross, 2020g: 1, 2 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).— Cross, 2020h: 7.— Cross, 2020i: 1 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).— Cross, 2020m: 2, 5 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).— Cross, 2020n: 2 (Changi; Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).— Leo et al., 2020: 257.—K.K.P. Lim, 2020: 4 (Changi; Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).

Leptophis caudolineatus — Flower, 1899: 614.

Ahaetulla caudolineata — Smith, 1943: 529.

Ahaetulla caudolineata caudolineata — de Haas, 1950: 534.

Dendrelaphis caudolineatus caudolineatus — David & Vogel, 1996: 74.— Iskandar & Colijn, 2001: 52.

Remarks. Once a widely-distributed species ranging from Thailand south throughout Sundaland, Sulawesi, the Philippines, and Maluku Islands, D. caudolineatus has since been split into eight species (Rooijen & Vogel 2012). The present distribution of D. caudolineatus sensu stricto now covers southern Peninsular Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, and Borneo (Rooijen & Vogel 2012). In Singapore, D. caudolineatus was first reported by Cantor (1847b), however, Smith (1943) listed Singapore as the locality of Hardwicke’s illustrations in Gray (1832–1835) placing the date even earlier. Sworder (1923) classified D. caudolineatus as common, but it went unreported for 59 years ( Table 2 ) until one was seen on a road at the University of Singapore (now NUS) campus at Kent Ridge on 29 September 1988 ( Lim & Lim 1988b). Cross (2020n) recorded a few specimens from Changi and Sime Road Internment Camp between 1944 and 1945. During the 1990s, D. caudolineatus was frequently reported demonstrating how common it is (e.g., Lim & Subharaj 1992; Lim & Subaraj 1994; Teo & Rajathurai 1997). Together with D. pictus , D. caudolineatus is found in forests, and rural areas throughout Singapore ( Baker & Lim 2012), but it is far less frequently seen and abundant than D. pictus (A. Figueroa pers. obs.).

Occurrence. Widespread. Common.

Singapore conservation status. Least Concern.

Conservation priority. Lowest.

IUCN conservation status. Least Concern [2021].

LKCNHM & NHMUK Museum specimens. Singapore (no locality) : BMNH 1880.9.10.19–20 (no date), ZRC.2.3815, ZRC.2.5011 (no date), ZRC.2.5463 (no date), ZRC.2.3826 (18-Aug-1898) , ZRC.2.3829 (6-Sep-1898) , ZRC.2.3808 (13-Sep-1908) ; Bukit Timah: ZRC.2.3811 (28-Feb-1923) ; Bukit Timah Nature Reserve : ZRC.2.6816 (08-May-2009) ; Island Club Road [ SICC]: ZRC.2.6106 (15-Oct-2004) , ZRC.2.6128 (07-Apr-2005) , ZRC.2.6721 (09-Nov-2005) , ZRC.2.6495 (05-Jun-2007) , ZRC.2.6922 (21- Dec-2010) ; Kent Ridge [ NUS]: ZRC.2.3206 (Aug-1990) , ZRC.2.3408 (06-Sep-1995) , ZRC.2.5066 (11- May-2001) , ZRC.2.6306 (16-Feb-2005) ; Kranji: ZRC.2.3807 (25-Mar-1921) ; Mandai Lake Road : ZRC.2.2381 (05-Dec-1988) , ZRC.2.6793 (29-Nov-2008) ; Pulau Ubin: ZRC.2.3809 (13-Mar-1921) , ZRC.2.3804 (28-Aug-1921) , Upper Peirce Reservoir Road : ZRC.2.6060 (no date), ZRC.2.6073 (04-Jul-2004) , ZRC.2.7030 (24-Dec-2013) ; Upper Seletar Reservoir Road : ZRC.2.6718 (26-Aug-2008) ; Venus Drive [ WNP]: ZRC.2.5894 10--2003, ZRC.2.6706 (12-Jun-2008).

Additional Singapore museum specimens. Singapore (no locality): NMW; University of Malay [= NUS]: MCZ; Whitley Road-Mount Pleasant Road: BPBM.

Singapore localities. Bukit Timah (not specified)—Bukit Timah Nature Reserve—Changi—Choa Chu Kang— Dairy Farm Nature Park—Kent Ridge Park—Kranji—Lim Chu Kang—Mandai Lake Road—National University of Singapore Kent Ridge Campus—Nee Soon Swamp Forest—Old Upper Thomson Road— Pulau Tekong—Pulau Ubin—Sembcorp Marine Ltd.—Sime Road Forest—Singapore Botanic Gardens— Singapore Island Country Club—Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve—Upper Bukit Timah Road—Upper Peirce Reservoir Road—Upper Seletar North Forest—Upper Seletar Reservoir Road—Whitley Road— Windsor Nature Park.

Figures

FIGURE 16. A) Ahaetulla mycterizans, B) Ahaetulla prasina C) Chrysopelea paradisi, D) Chrysopelea pelias, E) Dendrelaphis caudolineatus, F) Dendrelaphis cyanochloris, G) Dendrelaphis formosus, and H) Dendrelaphis haasi. Photographs by: Alex Figueroa [A–B, E, G–H], Kelvin K.P. Lim [C], Joys Tan [D], and Law Ing Sind [F].