Hydrophis platurus (Linnaeus, 1766)

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 : 195-196

Hydrophis platurus (Linnaeus, 1766) — Native; Indeterminate.

Anguis platura Linnaeus, 1766: 391 . Type material: None designated; type material apparently lost, according to Peters (1960a: 535) and Stuart (1963: 125). Type locality: None stated/traced; later designated as “ad littus insulae maris pacifici, Pine-isle” (= Isle of Pines, New Caledonia) by Gmelin (1789: 1122).

Pelagic Sea Snake

( Figures 22D & 22E )

Singapore records.

Hydrus pelamis — Cantor, 1847c: 1057.

Hydrophis (Pelamis) bicolor — Jan, 1863: 109.

Pelamis bicolor — Dennys, 1880a: 3.— Blanford, 1881: 216.

Hydrophis bicolor — Jan & Sordelli, 1870 –1881: pl. 40 II 4.

Hydrus platurus — Flower, 1896: 891.— Hanitsch, 1898: 20.— Flower, 1899: 686.—Ridley, 1899: 209.— Barbour, 1912: 129.— Boulenger, 1912: 181.— Hanitsch, 1912b: 17.— de Rooij, 1917: 224.— Smith, 1920: 6.—Sworder, 1923: 68.

Pelamis platurus — Smith, 1926: 116.— Smith, 1943: 477.

Pelamis platura — Cox et al., 1998: 35.— Das, 2010: 324.— Das, 2012a: 103.—Wallach et al., 2014: 540.

Pelamis platyurus [sic]—K.K.P. Lim & L.M. Chou, 1990: 55.—K.K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 1992: 149.— L.M. Chou et al., 1994: 106.—K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 2002: 149.

“ Pelamis ” —P.K.L. Ng et al., 2011: 302.

Hydrophis platura — Das, 2018: 115.

Remarks. Well-known for being one of few tetrapods with the largest distributional ranges (spanning across the Indo-Pacific oceans), and for being the only sea snake that is pelagic and inhabits the eastern Pacific, the occurrence of H. platurus in Singapore is known from only four museum specimens, and from Cantor (1847c) who first reported it from Singapore saying that it was rare based on catches in fishing nets. Jan (1863) reported one specimen at ZMH, and Dennys (1880a) and Blanford (1881) reported another at the Raffles Museum which should be ZRC.2.2157. Smith (1920) referred to a specimen (“no. 938”) from Singapore (i.e., MCZ R-938) (Smith 1926). Inspection of this specimen shows that it was collected by Putnam in 1857 at Singapore Harbour. The last museum specimen, and latest record of H. platurus , is ZRC.2.2156 which was collected on 2 February 1926 off Katong ( Fig. 22D ). As mentioned above, intensive surveys are required to determine the present status of H. platurus in Singapore.

Occurrence. Known from a few specimens predating 1926. Rare.

Singapore conservation status. Endangered.

Conservation priority. Highest.

IUCN conservation status. Least Concern [2017].

LKCNHM & NHMUK Museum specimens. Singapore (no locality) : ZRC.2.2157 (no date); Katong : ZRC.2.2156 (02-Feb-1926) .

Additional Singapore museum specimens. Singapore (no locality): MCZ, ZMH.

Singapore localities. Katong*—Singapore Harbour.

Figures

FIGURE 22. A) Calliophis intestinalis, B) Hydrophis hardwickii, C) Hydrophis hardwickii, D) Hydrophis platurus, E) Hydrophis platurus, F) Hydrophis schistosus, G) Hydrophis schistosus, and H) Hydrophis spiralis. Photographs by: Kelvin K.P. Lim [A–B, D, F], Evan S.H. Quah [C, G], Alex Figueroa [E], and Sanjaya Bandara [H].