Aipysurus eydouxii ( Gray, 1849 )

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 : 188-189

Aipysurus eydouxii ( Gray, 1849) — Native.

Tomogaster Eydouxii Gray 1849: 59 . Holotype: BMNH 1946.1 .6.86 (formerly BM III.10.1.a), by original designation. Type locality: “Indian Ocean”.

Beaded Sea Snake

( Figure 21D & 21E )

Singapore records.

Aepysurus [sic] anguilliformis — Boettger, 1892: 420.

Aipysurus eydouxii — Boulenger, 1896: 304.— Boettger, 1898: 114.— Boulenger, 1912: 195.—Hanitsch, 1913: 17.—Sworder, 1923: 71.— Smith, 1926: 14.—K.P. Lim, 1990a: 9 (Kampung Bahru Beach [ PU]).—K.K.P. Lim & L.M. Chou, 1990: 54.—K.K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 1992: 92, 148.—L.M. Chou et al., 1994: 105.—R. Subaraj, 1995: 33, 35 ( PU).— Iskandar & Colijn, 2001: 127.—K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 2002: 148.— Das, 2010: 318.—P.K.L. Ng et al., 2011: 302.—Sanders et al., 2012: 8, 13, 18.—Wallach et al., 2014: 22.—Thomas & F.L.K. Lim, 2014: 38–39 (Noordin Beach [ PU]).—R.K.H. Yeo, 2014: 50 (Changi Beach).—Chan-ard et al., 2015: 262.— Leviton et al., 2018: 458.

Aipysurus eydouxi — Flower, 1896: 893.— Flower, 1899: 688 (Serangoon Road).—Ridley, 1899: 209.— de Rooij, 1917: 219.—Smedley, 1931b: 54.—Tweedie, 1940: 86 (Siglap).

Aepysurus [sic] eydouxii — de Haas, 1950: 589.

Remarks. Aipysurus eydouxii was first recorded in Singapore by Boettger (1892) who mentioned three specimens were collected during Storm’s mission aboard a Ļbeck steamer. This record was substantiated a few years later in 1896 by Flower (1899) who found an individual on flooded land near Serangoon Road. Smedley (1931b) noted a female specimen at the Raffles Museum collected in Singapore in 1906, but no specific information was provided. Subsequent records include four specimens that were taken in 1933 and 1934 from seine nets at Siglap (Tweedie 1940), several specimens collected by Voris and Jeffries in 1981, specimen ZRC.2.2338 which was collected from Changi Beach Road in October 1988, and a dead specimen found at Kampung Bahru Beach, Pulau Ubin on 12 November 1990 ( Lim 1990a). Between Tweedie (1940) and Lim (1990a), 56 years elapsed since A. eydouxii was reported ( Table 2 ). No additional records of A. eydouxii were documented until 2013 when one was found dead at Noordin Beach, Pulau Ubin on 9 January 2013 (Thomas & Lim 2014) and a live specimen was found crawling on sand at Changi Beach on 26 May 2013 (Yeo 2014). However, Figure 21E was taken at Chek Jawa, Pulau Ubin in August 2002, and LKCNHM has specimens collected from Berting Bronok on 30 May 2002 (ZRC.2.5441), from Johor Straits off Yishun Dam on 8 September 2005 ( Fig. 21D ) (ZRC.2.6143), and from Chek Jawa, Pulau Ubin on 23 August 2015 (ZRC.2.7291).

Occurrence. Known from a few observations. Rare.

Singapore conservation status. Endangered.

Conservation priority. Highest.

IUCN conservation status. Least Concern [2010].

LKCNHM & NHMUK Museum specimens. Singapore (no locality) : BMNH 1897.2 .3.19 (no date); Berting Bronok : ZRC.2.5441 (30-May-2002) ; Changi Beach Road : ZRC.2.2338 (Oct-1988) ; Pulau Ubin: ZRC.2.3172 (12-Nov-1990) ; ZRC.2.7002 (10-Jan-2013) , ZRC.2.7291 (23-Aug-2015) ; Seletar Dam [= Yishun Dam ] : ZRC.2.6143 (08-Sep-2005) ; Siglap: BMNH 1935.11.10.1–4 (no date), ZRC.2.2020– ZRC.2.2022 (20-Oct-1933) , ZRC.2.2023 (Jun-1934) ; Tuas: ZRC.2.2027 (26-Jan-1981) .

Additional Singapore museum specimens. Singapore (no locality): FMNH, SAMA, QM.

Singapore localities. Berting Bronok—Changi Beach—Changi Beach Road—Pulau Ubin—Serangoon Road*— Siglap*—Tuas—Yishun Dam.

Genus Bungarus Daudin, 1803 (1 species)

Bungarus Daudin, 1803a: 434 (type species: Bungarus annularis Daudin, 1803 [= Pseudoboa faciata Schneider, 1801 ], by subsequent monotypy by ICZN [1982: 22. Opinion 1201]; gender masculine).

Figures

FIGURE 21. A) Xenochrophis vittatus, B) Sibynophis melanocephalus, C) Cylindrophis ruffus, D) Aipysurus eydouxii, E) Aipysurus eydouxii, F) Bungarus fasciatus, G) Calliophis bivirgatus, and H) Calliophis gracilis. Photographs by: Thio Hui Bing [A], Alex Figueroa [B], Nick Baker [C], Kelvin K.P. Lim [D], Ria Tan [E], Law Ing Sind [F], Mary-Ruth Low [G], and Evan S.H. Quah [H].