Pareas margaritophorus (Jan, 1866)

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 : 217-218

Pareas margaritophorus (Jan in Bocourt, 1866)— Non-native; Established.

Leptognathus margaritophorus Jan in Bocourt, 1866: 8. Holotype: MNHN-RA 599, by original designation. Type locality: “des provinces méridionales du Royaume de Siam” (= southern provinces of Thailand).

White-spotted Slug Snake

( Figure 25B )

Singapore records.

Pareas margaritophorus —B. Lee & P.K. Koh, 2005: 340 (Khatib Bongsu [= KBNP]; Mandai Road, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2008: 112, 165.—F.L.K. Lim, 2009: 464.—D.C.J. Yeo & C.S.W. Chia, 2010: 35.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2012: 112, 161.—S.K. Tan & K.K.P. Lim, 2013a: 8 (Pulau Punggol Barat).—Wallach et al., 2014: 536.—R. Subaraj, 2015: 55 (Night Safari).—S. Subaraj, 2015: 7 (Night Safari).—I.S.Y. Chew, 2017: 105 (Portsdown Road).— Hauser, 2017: 41, 43.—Iesha, 2018: 41 (Hillview Avenue).—van den Burg et al., 2020: 2.— Charlton, 2020: 91.—Siow & Figueroa, 2020: 54 (East Coast Park [“footpath between KPE Ventilation Building A and Marina Bay Golf Driving Range”]; Singapore Botanic Gardens [“near Trellis Garden”]).—Vogel et al., 2020: 547, 562.

Remarks. Pareas margaritophorus is believed to be non-native to Singapore due to its distribution from southern Myanmar east to China, and south to northern Peninsular Malaysia (Wallach et al. 2014); however, a record from Endau-Rompin National Park was overlooked, which extends the species range into southern Peninsular Malaysia (Wood et al. 2008). Lee & Koh (2005) expressed doubt of P. margaritophorus being introduced into Singapore because it is not commercially traded, but did not discussed the possibility of it entering the country as a stowaway. Nonetheless, if P. margaritophorus was native to Singapore it would have been recorded much earlier in history given how often it has been sighted recently.

The first record of P. margaritophorus from Singapore was of a dead specimen found at Khatib Bongsu on 26December 2004 and deposited at LKCNHM as ZRC.2.6115 ( Lee & Koh 2005).In that note, Lee & Koh (2005) also discussed an individual that was photographed along Mandai Road in 2003 and another dead specimen found at SBWR on 15 April 2005 that were not collected. Since then, P. margaritophorus has been recorded numerous times, mainly in open and disturbed habitats all throughout Singapore (Siow & Figueroa 2020). An unpublished record brought to our attention involved one photographed at AP on 20 July 2010 (Z.Y. Tan pers. comm.).

Occurrence. Wide-ranging. Uncommon.

Singapore conservation status. Not Applicable.

Conservation priority. None, non-native species.

IUCN conservation status. Least concern [2012].

LKCNHM & NHMUK Museum specimens. Khatib Bongsu : ZRC.2.6115 (26-Dec-2004) , ZRC.2.6199– ZRC.2.6200 (03-Jul-2006) ; Mandai Lake Road : ZRC.2.7399 (24-Jul-2019) ; Neo Tiew Lane 2 [ KM] : ZRC.2.6742 (22-Sep-2006) ; Night Safari: ZRC.2.7352 (19-Jun-2019) ; Pulau Punggol Barat : ZRC.2.7018 (18-Aug-2013) ; Pulau Ubin: ZRC.2.6945 (06-Nov-2011) , ZRC.2.7289 (05-Oct-2017) ; Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve : ZRC.2.6213 (19-Aug-2006) .

Additional Singapore museum specimens. No specimens.

Singapore localities. Admiralty Park—East Coast Park—Hillview Avenue—Khatib Bongsu Nature Park—Kranji Marshes—Mandai Lake Road—Mandai Road—Night Safari—Portsdown Road—Pulau Punggol Barat— Pulau Ubin—Singapore Botanic Gardens—Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

Family Pythonidae Fitzinger, 1826 (2 species)

Pythonoidea Fitzinger, 1826: 11, 27, 28, 54 (type genus Python Daudin, 1803 ).

Genus Malayopython Reynolds, Niemiller & Revell, 2014 (1 species)

Malayopython Reynolds, Niemiller & Revell, 2014: 211 (replacement name for Constrictor Wagler, 1830 , preoccupied by Constrictor Laurenti, 1768 ; type species: Python schneideri Merrem 1820 [= Boa reticulata Schneider, 1801 ], by subsequent designation by Fitzinger [1843: 24]; gender masculine).

Figures

FIGURE 25. A) Asthenodipsas laevis, B) Pareas margaritophorus, C) Malayopython reticulatus, D) Python brongersmai, E) Python brongersmai, F) Argyrophis muelleri, G) Indotyphlops braminus, and H) Ramphotyphlops lineatus. Photographs by: Evan S.H. Quah [A, E], Alex Figueroa [B–C, G], Kelvin K.P. Lim [D, H], and Nick Baker [F].