Calamaria albiventer (Gray, 1835)

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 : 149

Calamaria albiventer (Gray, 1835) — Native; Indeterminate.

Changulia albiventer Gray, 1835 [in Gray, 1832–1835]: pl. 86, figs. 6–9, caption. Syntypes (3): BMNH 1946.1 .2.10 (formerly BM 1860.3.19.1269a–b) and 1946.1.2.18 (formerly BM 1898.9.22.39), by original designation. Type locality: “ Penang ” (= Penang Island ), Peninsular Malaysia.

White-bellied Reed Snake

( Figure 17D )

Singapore records.

Calamaria albiventer — Inger & Marx, 1965: 94.—Tweedie, 1983: 57.—K.K.P. Lim & L.M. Chou, 1990: 54.—K.K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 1992: 146.—L.M. Chou et al., 1994: 105.— David & Vogel, 1996: 48.— Iskandar & Colijn, 2001: 42.—K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 2002: 146.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2008: 169.— Das, 2010: 264.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2012: 169.—Wallach et al., 2014: 134.— Quah et al., 2018: 490.

Remarks. Calamaria albiventer is a rare species being known from only 12 specimens: nine specimens from four locations throughout Peninsular Malaysia ( Fig. 17D ); one specimen from Singapore, and; two specimens from one locality in Sumatra (Quah et al. 2018a). The Singapore record is a specimen that was collected by Thomson in 1906 presently catalogued as CAS 14940 ( Inger & Marx 1965). Notes attached to the specimen state that it was purchased in Tokyo, Japan in 1906 suggesting the record is unreliable. However, CAS has numerous specimens collected by Thomson in Singapore from 1899, 1906 and 1908. Given this knowledge, the fact that C. albiventer does not occur in Japan, along with its rarity and distribution, we accept that the specimen was indeed collected in Singapore. Therefore, we consider C. albiventer to be native to Singapore.

Occurrence. Only known from one museum specimen from 1906. Likely extirpated.

Singapore conservation status. Not Evaluated.

Conservation priority. Immediate priority, if rediscovered.

IUCN conservation status. Least Concern [2012].

LKCNHM & NHMUK Museum specimens. No specimens.

Additional Singapore museum specimens. Singapore (no locality): CAS

Singapore localities. No published localities.

Figures

FIGURE 17. A) Dendrelaphis kopsteini, B) Dendrelaphis pictus, C) Dryophiops rubescens, D) Calamaria albiventer, E) Calamaria lovii, F) Calamaria lumbricoidea, G) Calamaria schlegeli, and H) Pseudorabdion longiceps. Photographs by: Law Ing Sind [A, E], Alex Figueroa [B, G], Emmanuel Goh [C], Evan S.H. Quah [D], and Kelvin K.P. Lim [F, H].