Lycodon subcinctus H. Boie

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 : 167-168

Lycodon subcinctus H. Boie in F. Boie, 1827— Native.

Lycodon subcinctus H. Boie in F. Boie, 1827: 551. Lectotype: specimen described and illustrated in Russell (1801: 44, pl. 41), designated by Wallach et al. (2014: 404). Type locality: “ Java ”, Indonesia via lectotype designation.

Banded Wolf Snake

( Figure 19D )

Singapore records.

Ophites subcinctus —Peters,1859:269.— Dennys, 1880a:3.— Dennys, 1881b:3.—R.C.H. Teo& Rajathurai, 1997: 382 (Lower Peirce East Forest [LPF]).

Ophites subcinctus var.— Blanford, 1881: 216, 222.

Lycodon subcinctus —Sclater, 1891a: 16.— Boulenger, 1893: 359.— Flower, 1896: 881.— Hanitsch, 1898: 19.— Flower, 1899: 665.—Ridley, 1899: 207.— Boulenger, 1912: 133.— Hanitsch, 1912b: 16.— de Rooij, 1917: 108.—Sworder, 1923: 62.— Buddle, 1929: 17 (Sembawang Naval Base [= SML]).— de Haas, 1950: 551.—K. Lim & F. Lim, 1988b: 49 (Upper Peirce Reservoir Park).—K. Lim, 1988e: 63.—K.K.P. Lim & L.M. Chou, 1990: 54.—F.L.K. Lim, 1991: 63 (Nee Soon [NSSF]).—K.K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 1992: 145.—P.K.L. Ng & K.K.P. Lim, 1992: 260.—Wee, 1992: 74.—L.M. Chou et al., 1994: 105.—K.K.P. Lim, 1994b: 331.—K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 2002: 146.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2008: 104, 161.—K.K.P. Lim et al., 2008: 164, 265 (Pulau Tekong).— Das, 2010: 284.—P.K.L. Ng et al., 2011: 273.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2012: 104, 161.— Das, 2012a: 49.—D.J.J. Ng et al., 2013: 88 (Nee Soon Swamp Forest).—Wallach et al., 2014: 404.—M.-R. Low & Wei, 2014: 192 (Gangsa Track [GF]).—K.K.P. Lim et al., 2016: 184 (Pulau Tekong).—Tay, 2017: 154–155 (Upper Seletar Reservoir Park).— Das, 2018: 59.— Charlton, 2020: 180.—K.K.P. Lim, 2020: 2, 4 (Sime Road Internment Camp [= SICC]).—R. Tan et al., 2022 (Upper Seletar Reservoir Park).

Lycodon subcinctus subcinctus — David & Vogel, 1996: 98.—Daltry & W̧ster, 2002: 95.

Elaphe melanura — Cross, 2020f: 1, 2 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).

Lycodon sp. — Cross, 2020j: 1 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).— Cross, 2020l: 1 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).

Elaphe? melanura — Cross, 2020n: 1, 7 (Sime Road Camp [= SICC]).

Remarks. Known from Singapore since Peters (1859) first examined a specimen at ZMB collected by Jagor, L. subcinctus has rarely been encountered in Singapore ( Baker & Lim 2012). Dennys (1880a) and Blanford (1881) reported a specimen at the Raffles Museum, Sclater (1891a) examined a specimen at ZSI collected by Gardiner, and Boulenger (1893) examined two specimens at NHMUK collected by Dennys and Blanford. After Flower (1896, 1899b) reported collecting two specimens, the latter one in December 1896, L. subcinctus was not reported again from Singapore until Buddle (1929) observed four specimens 43 years later at SNB ( Table 2 ), and then Cross (2020n) recorded a few specimens in 1944 and 1945 that he misidentified as C. flavolineatus or as Lycodon sp. ( Lim 2020) . Then, L. subcinctus went unreported for another 43 years until a dead specimen was found on 11 August 1988 at UPRR ( Lim 1988e). However, BPBM 7471 was collected on 18 October 1958 at Eng Neo Avenue Forest by Hendrickson. Since then, L. subcinctus has only been recorded five more times, in November 2006 at Pulau Tekong ( Lim et al. 2016), on 13 October 2011 at NSSF ( Fig. 19D ) (Ng et al. 2013), on 8 July 2014 at GF ( Low & Wei 2014), on 20 October 2017 at USRP (Tay 2017), and the latest on 18 February 2022 at USRP (Tan et al. 2022).

Occurrence. Restricted to CNR and surrounding Nature Parks and forests, and PT. Rare.

Singapore conservation status. Critically Endangered.

Conservation priority. Highest.

IUCN conservation status. Least Concern [2012].

LKCNHM & NHMUK Museum specimens. Singapore (no locality) : BMNH 1880.9 .10.25 (no date) , BMNH 1882.11 .27.6 (no date) , BMNH 1897.2 .3.5 (no date); Upper Peirce Reservoir Road : ZRC.2.2335 (11- Aug-1988) .

Additional Singapore museum specimens. Singapore (no locality): NMI, ZMB; Eng Neo Avenue Forest: BPBM

Singapore localities. Eng Neo Avenue Forest—Gangsa Forest—Lower Peirce Forest—Nee Soon Swamp Forest— Pulau Tekong—Sembcorp Marine Ltd.*—Singapore Island Country Club—Upper Peirce Reservoir Park— Upper Peirce Reservoir Road—Upper Seletar Reservoir Park.

Genus Oligodon H. Boie in F. Boie in Fitzinger, 1826 (3 species)

Oligodon H. Boie in F. Boie in Fitzinger, 1826: 29, 56 (type species: Coluber bitorquatus H. Boie in F. Boie, 1827, by monotypy; gender masculine).

Figures

FIGURE 19. A) Liopeltis tricolor, B) Lycodon capucinus, C) Lycodon subannulatus, D) Lycodon subcinctus, E) Oligodon octolineatus, F) Oligodon purpurascens, G) Oligodon signatus, and H) Ptyas carinata. Photographs by: Evan S.H. Quah [A], Alex Figueroa [B, E, G], Mary-Ruth Low [C], Daniel J.J. Ng [D], Benjamin Y.H. Lee [F], and Law Ing Sind [H],