Stegonotus muelleri Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854:682

Leviton, Alan E., Siler, Cameron D., Weinell, Jeffrey L. & Brown, Rafe M., 2018, Synopsis of the Snakes of the Philippines A Synthesis of Data from Biodiversity Repositories, Field Studies, and the Literature, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences (Oxford, England) 64 (14), pp. 399-568 : 443-444

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.11512589

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12692617

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03B38B5C-8459-FFEB-FFDC-FA95FC8EFCED

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Stegonotus muelleri Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854:682
status

 

Stegonotus muelleri Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854:682 View in CoL

Photo figures 60–61 View FIGURE

Müller’s Ratsnake

Stegonotus mülleri Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854:682 .

Spilotes samarensis Peters, 1861:685 View in CoL (type locality: “ Cubo-Cubo , Insel Samar ”; holotype: ZMB 4294 View Materials )

Stegonotus muelleri Boulenger, 1893:367 View in CoL .— Sanguila, Cobb, Siler, Diesmos Alcala, and Brown, 2016:96, fig. 71.

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE SPECIMEN (S).— Samar Id., Philippines. Holotype: MNHN 848 About MNHN .

PHILIPPINE DISTRIBUTION (ENDEMIC) ( Map 35C [p. 146]).— Dinagat, Leyte (Prov.: Leyte, Southern Leyte), Mindanao (Prov.: Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Davao del Sur, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Sarangani, South Cotabato, Surigao del Norte), Samar.

REMARKS.— In his review of the Philippine species of Lycodon, Leviton (1965) commented on Boulenger’s reference to Stegonotus muelleri (Boulenger [1893:367]) , which, according to Boulenger was based on Stegonotus mülleri Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril (1854:682) . At the time Leviton stated that he was “restricting the nominal genus Stegonotus to include but a single species, S. mülleri ” (Leviton [1965:120]) then known from Samar Island in the Philippines, as had been reported on by Boulenger, who had also included Peters’ Spilotes samarensis ( Peters [1861:685]) , also from Samar, in the synonymy of S. muelleri . Unfortunately, and at the same time, Leviton overlooked a specimen that was resident in the Stanford University collections, now at the California Academy of Sciences (CAS-SU 13233), that bears the locality Mercedes, Samar Island, Philippines, collected 25 July 1945 by Ralph F. Annereaux. An examination of this animal and with reference to both Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril and to Boulenger, indicates that this is a much larger snake than any of the known species of Lycodon , and it likely does indeed represent a distinct group that should be recognized in the Philippines. Furthermore, recent investigations indicate that it is rather widespread throughout the northern Mindanao PAIC islands of Leyte, Samar, Dinagat, and eastern Mindanao ( Sanguila et al. [2016]).

Whether or not the Papuan species that have been assigned to the genus Stegonotus are indeed related to the Philippine species is an open question as is the possibility of differentiation between Samar-Leyte populations versus those from Mindanao (sensu Peters 1861).

CONSERVATION STATUS [IUCN].— Near Threatened [2016] ver. 3.1

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Repitilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Colubridae

Genus

Stegonotus

Loc

Stegonotus muelleri Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854:682

Leviton, Alan E., Siler, Cameron D., Weinell, Jeffrey L. & Brown, Rafe M. 2018
2018
Loc

Stegonotus muelleri

SANGUILA, M. B. & K. A. COBB & C. D. SILER & A. C. DIESMOS & A. C. ALCALA & R. M. BROWN 2016: 96
2016
Loc

Spilotes samarensis

PETERS, WILHELM 1861: 685
1861
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