Chrysopelea pelias (Linnaeus, 1758)

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 : 139-140

Chrysopelea pelias (Linnaeus, 1758) — Native.

Coluber Pelias Linnaeus, 1758: 224 . Holotype: NRM 83 , by original designation. Type locality: “[h]abitat in Indiis ” (= India), in error.

Twin-barred Tree Snake

( Figure 16D ; Kranji Woodland)

Singapore records.

Chrysopelea chrysochlora — Boulenger, 1896: 199.— Flower, 1896: 891.— Hanitsch, 1898: 20.— Flower, 1899: 685.—Ridley, 1899: 209.— Boulenger, 1912: 178.— de Rooij, 1917: 214.—L.M. Chou et al., 1980: 71.—J.K.Y. Low et al., 1994: 158.— Cross, 2020k: 1 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).— Cross, 2020l: 1 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).

Chrysophelea [sic] chrysochlora — Hanitsch, 1912b: 18.

Chrysopelea peleas [sic]—Sworder, 1923: 67.

Chrysopelea pelias — de Haas, 1950: 586.—F.L.K. Lim & M.T.-M. Lee, 1989: 65, 117.—K.K.P. Lim & L.M. Chou, 1990: 54.—K.P. Lim, 1991a: 3 (Nee Soon Swamp Forest).—F.L.K. Lim, 1991: 68.—K.K.P. Lim & Subharaj, 1992: 7 (Rifle Range Road; Old Upper Thomson Road).—K.K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 1992: 69, 146.—Wee, 1992: 74 (Lower Peirce Reservoir Park).—K.K.P. Lim, 1993a: 3 (Old Upper Thomson Road; Pulau Ubin).—K.K.P. Lim, 1993b: 2 (Old Upper Thomson Road).—K.K.P. Lim & Subaraj, 1994: 5 (Upper Peirce Reservoir Road [NSSF]).—L.M. Chou et al., 1994: 105.— K.K.P. Lim, 1994b: 216, 331.—K. Lim, 1995: 16 (Upper Seletar Reservoir Park).—R. Subaraj, 1995: 33, 35 (Pulau Ubin).—P.K.L. Ng et al., 1995: 116.— David & Vogel, 1996: 73.— Manthey & Grossmann, 1997: 334.—R.C.H. Teo & Rajathurai, 1997: 379, 380 (Lower Peirce East Forest [LPF]; Main Road [BTNR]; Nee Soon Range [NSSF]; Rifle Range Forest).— Cox et al., 1998: 66.—Chan-ard et al., 1999: 31.— Iskandar & Colijn, 2001: 50.—K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 2002: 147.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2008: 98, 160.—K.K.P. Lim et al., 2008: 264.—T.M. Leong & Foo, 2009: 311–315 (Bukit Kallang [SRF]).— Das, 2010: 272.—L.L. Grismer, 2011a: 185.— Ismail et al., 2010: 222.—P.K.L. Ng et al., 2011: 272.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2012: 98, 160.— Das, 2012a: 32.—L.K. Wang et al., 2012: 84.—Stuebing et al., 2014: 153.—S.K. Tan, 2014: 70 (Nee Soon Swamp Forest).—S.K. Tan & K.K.P. Lim, 2014a: 72 (Nee Soon Swamp Forest).—Wallach et al., 2014: 168.—Chan-ard et al., 2015: 194.—E.K. Chua, 2015: 95.—R. Subaraj, 2015: 55 (Night Safari).—S. Subaraj, 2015: 6 (Night Safari).— de Lang, 2017: 121.— Das, 2018: 39.—R.C.H. Teo & Thomas, 2019: 161, 181 (Bukit Timah Nature Reserve; Hindhede Nature Park).—Toh, 2019: 52 (Lower Peirce Trail [LPRP]).— Charlton, 2020: 151.—K.K.P. Lim, 2020: 2, 4 (Sime Road Internment Camp [= SICC]).—I. Neo & W.K. Ting, 2022: 1 (Hindhede Nature Park).

Remarks. Early accounts of C. pelias from Singapore all refer to a specimen deposited at NHMUK collected by Dennys (e.g., Boulenger 1896; Flower 1899; de Rooij 197), with Flower (1896) being the first to report on that specimen. Sworder (1923) did not provide any remarks on C. pelias , but mentioned that it is “not so common” as C. paradisi suggesting he may have seen a few individuals in the wild. Specimens ZRC. 2.3556 –2.3558 from Kranji were likely collected by him given the year and location. Aside from these two specimens, all other museum specimens were collected after 1992, except for BPBM 7146 collected in 1954 by Hendrickson at the old University of Malaya campus at Bukit Timah. Assuming that Sworder (1923) examined actual specimens, the next reported field observation of C. pelias was 68 years later ( Table 2 ) when one was seen at NSSF on 27 March 1991 ( Lim 1991a). However, a record from 1945 ( Cross 2020k) was just recently published ( Lim 2020). Many of the subsequent records of C. pelias were of individuals found dead-on-road ( Lim & Subharaj 1992; Lim 1993 a, b, 1995; Lim & Subaraj 1994; Teo & Rajathurai 1997; Teo & Thomas 2019) indicating it leads a secretive lifestyle. Interestingly, four recent records involved C. pelias feeding on G. monarchus ( Leong & Foo 2009; Tan 2014; Tan & Lim 2014a; Toh 2019). The individual in Figure 16D was photographed at Kranji Woodland on 25 February 2022.

Occurrence. Restricted to CNR and surrounding Nature Parks and forests, and Pulau Ubin. Uncommon.

Singapore conservation status. Near-Threatened.

Conservation priority. Moderate.

IUCN conservation status. Least Concern [2012].

LKCNHM & NHMUK Museum specimens. Singapore (no locality) : BMNH 1880.9 .10.22 (no date) , ZRC.2.3560; Adam Drive : ZRC.2.6121 (11-Feb-2005) ; Botanic Gardens: ZRC.2.7073 (26-Jan-1995) ; Central Catchment Nature Reserve : ZRC.2.6055 (no date); Island Club Road [ SICC]: ZRC.2.6218 (Jun-2006) , ZRC.2.6771 (10-Sep-2008) ; Kranji: ZRC.2.3557 (23-Jan-1923) , ZRC.2.3558 (03-Feb-1923) , ZRC.2.3556 (Mar-1923) ; Lorong Banir [= SF]: ZRC.2.6954 (19-Oct-2011) ; Lower Peirce Forest : ZRC.2.6084 (18- Aug-2004) ; Mandai Lake Road : ZRC.2.6731 (11-Aug-2008) , ZRC.2.6707 (13-Jun-2008) , ZRC.2.6835 (25-Jul-2009) ; Mandai Track 15: ZRC.2.6795 (03-Dec-2008) ; Old Upper Thomson Road : ZRC.2.3364 (19-Jul-1992) , ZRC.2.6061 (20-Aug-2003) , ZRC.2.6727 (07-Aug-2008) , ZRC.2.6871 (06-Mar-2010) , ZRC.2.6921 (14-Dec-2010) , ZRC.2.6995 (15-Sep-2012) , ZRC.2.7081 (07-Sep-2014) , ZRC.2.7119 (24- Feb-2015) , ZRC.2.7296 (01-Oct-2017) ; Punggol: ZRC.2.3576 (1986); Rifle Range Road : ZRC.2.7068 (25-Apr-2014) ; Seletar: ZRC.2.3559 (1930); Upper Peirce Reservoir Road : ZRC.2.6038 (05-May-2004) , ZRC.2.6174 (19-Jan-2006) , ZRC.2.6819 (21-Apr-2009) , ZRC.2.7032 (02-Jan-2014) .

Additional Singapore museum specimens. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve: UWBM; Old Upper Thomson Road: UWBM; University of Malaya [= NUS Bukit Timah]: BPBM; Upper Peirce Reservoir: UWBM.

Singapore localities. Adam Drive—Bukit Timah Nature Reserve—Hindhede Nature Park—Kranji—Kranji Woodland—Lower Peirce Forest—Lower Peirce Reservoir Park—Mandai Lake Road—Mandai Track 15—National University of Singapore Bukit Timah Campus—Nee Soon Swamp Forest—Night Safari— Old Upper Thomson Road—Pulau Ubin—Punggol—Rifle Range Forest—Rifle Range Road—Sime Road Forest—Singapore Island Country Club—Springleaf Forest—Upper Peirce Reservoir Road—Upper Seletar Reservoir Park.

Genus Dendrelaphis Boulenger, 1890 (6 species)

Dendrelaphis Boulenger, 1890: 339 (type species: Ahaetulla caudolineata Gray, 1834 [in 1832–1835], by monotypy; gender masculine).

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].