Naja sumatrana (Müller, 1887), Muller, 1887

Teynié, Alexandre, David, Patrick & Ohler, Annemarie, 2010, Note on a collection of Amphibians and Reptiles from Western Sumatra (Indonesia), with the description of a new species of the genus Bufo, Zootaxa 2416, pp. 1-43 : 27

Naja sumatrana (Müller, 1887)

( Fig. 8 )

Material examined. MHLCLFE C212 (female; SVL 806 mm, TaL 141 mm), near Lubukbasung, Province of Sumatera Barat, elev. ca. 150 m. Four other specimens photographed but not collected: 1 sub-adult, near Lubuksao, Province of Sumatera Barat, elev. ca 400 m; 1 juvenile, in the vicinity North of Bangko, Province of Jambi; 2 adult, captive specimens, reported from Maninjau, Province of Sumatera Barat.

Taxonomic comments. All these specimens are typical of the species as definied by Wüster (1996). All belong to the “black” morph but two have the upper surface of head light. All specimens have pale supralabials and wide light areas on the throat and anterior ventral scales.

Distribution on Sumatra. Provinces of Aceh, Sumatera Utara, Sumatera Barat, Riau, Jambi, Bengkulu, Sumatera Selatan, and Lampung; also the islands of Bangka and Belitung and Riau Archipelago ( David & Vogel, 1996).

Biology. Specimen MHLCLFE C212 was found dead on road in August in a cultivated area. The subadult specimen from Lubuksao was collected in a ditch along a road in a forest tract at about 1930 hours during a rainy night in November. The juvenile from Bangko was obtained in a November morning while it was active in tall grasses near a lowland marsh.

Although this species is considered to be a spitting cobra, none of these specimens really tried to spit venom in spite of our numerous trials. However they adopted a defensive posture and tried to bite the camera.

Figures

FIGURE 8. Naja sumatrana (Müller, 1887). Specimen not preserved.