Cerberus schneiderii (Schlegel, 1837)

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 : 206-208

Cerberus schneiderii (Schlegel, 1837) — Native.

Homalopsis schneiderii Schlegel, 1837: 171 , 341–343, pl. 13, figs. 6, 7. Lectotype: RMNH.RENA.1173, designated by Murphy et al. (2012: 17). Type locality: “à Java, à Amboine et à une petite île voisine de cette dernière qui s’appelle Saparua, à la Nouvelle Guinée et à Timor” (= Java, Indonesia;Ambon Island, Indonesia; Saparua Island ; New Guinea, and; Timor-Leste, Indonesia); later restricted to “Timor” (= Timor-Leste), Indonesia via lectotype designation .

Sunda Dog-faced Water Snake

( Figure 23H )

Singapore records.

Cerberus boaeformis — Girard, 1858b: 170 (Ryan’s Hill [= Bukit Pasoh Road]).

Cerberus rhynchops s. boaeformis —Steindachner, 1867: 67.

Cerberus rhynchops (non-Schneider, 1799)— Dennys, 1880a: 3.— Blanford, 1881: 215.—Sclater, 1891a: 54.— Boulenger, 1896: 17.— Flower, 1896: 888 (Changi; Tanglin [= TF]).— Boettger, 1898: 88.— Hanitsch, 1898: 20.— Flower, 1899: 679.—Ridley, 1899: 208.— Hanitsch, 1912b: 16.—D.S. Johnson, 1964: 66.— Chuang, 1973: 4.—D.S. Johnson, 1973b: 136.—L.M. Chou et al., 1980: 71.—F.L.K. Lim & M.T.-M. Lee, 1989: 115.—F.L.K. Lim, 1991: 71.—J.K.Y. Low et al., 1994: 158.—Sharma, 2007: 280.

Hurria rhynchops (non-Schneider, 1799)—Sworder, 1923: 66.—Sworder, 1924a: 20 (Pulau “Bukum” [= Pulau Bukom]; Pulau Sudong).

Cerberus rhyncops [sic] (non-Schneider, 1799)— Buddle, 1929: 30 (Sembawang Naval Base [= SML]).

Cerberus rynchops (non-Schneider, 1799)— Smith, 1930: 61 (“Selitar” [= Seletar]).—L.M. Chou, 1988a: 58 (Pasir Ris Park [PRPM]).— Gremli, 1988: 60.—K. Lim & F. Lim, 1988c: 74 (Pulau Buloh [SBWR).—K. Lim, 1989h: 64 (Pulau Ubin).—K. Lim, 1990a: 8 (Kampung Melayu [Pulau Ubin]; Sungei Buloh Bird Sanctuary [= SBWR]; Yishun Heronry [= SKB]).—K.K.P. Lim & L.M. Chou, 1990: 54.—D.S. Johnson, 1992: 90.—K.K.P. Lim & Subharaj, 1992: 7 (Pasir Ris Mangrove [PRPM]; Sembawang River [Senoko]; Sungai Seletar Dam [= Yishun Dam]).— K.K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 1992: 76, 147.—K.K.P. Lim, 1993a: 4 (Kampung Melayu [Pulau Ubin]; Pasir Ris Mangroves [PRPM]).—K.K.P. Lim & Subaraj, 1994: 7 (Pulau Ubin).—L.M. Chou et al., 1994: 105.—R. Subaraj et al., 1995: 3 (Pasir Ris Mangroves [PRPM]; Sungei Buloh Besar [SBWR]; Sungei Buloh Nature Park [= SBWR]).—K. Lim, 1995: 16 (Pasir Ris Mangroves [PRPM]; Sungei Buloh Besar [SBWR]; Sungei Ubin Ponds [Pulau Ubin).—R. Subaraj, 1995: 35 (Pulau Ubin).—Chan-ard et al., 1999: 31.—P.K.L. Ng & Sivasothi, 1999: 144.— Iskandar & Colijn, 2001: 88.— Jayne et al., 2002: 143.— Karns et al., 2002: 488 (Pasir Ris Park Mangroves).—K.P. Lim & F.L.K. Lim, 2002: 147.—Voris & J.C. Murphy, 2002: 1626 (“Pasar” Ris [PRPM]).— Anonymous, 2003: 92 (Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).— Fry et al., 2003a: 447.— Fry et al., 2003b: 2050.—R. Tan & A. Yeo, 2003: 41 (Chek Jawa Shore [Pulau Ubin]).— Karns et al., 2005: 86.—E.K. Chua, 2007b: 75.—J.C. Murphy, 2007: 72.—H.T.W. Tan et al., 2007: 82.—Usherwood et al., 2007: 358 (Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2008: 109, 161.—P.K.L. Ng et al., 2008: 164.—R. Subaraj, 2008: 110.— Chim, 2009: 3 (Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).—M.F.C. Ng, 2009: 59, 109 (Semakau Landfill [PS]).—E.K. Chua, 2010: 93.— Das, 2010: 325.—H.T.W. Tan et al., 2010: 111.—M.A.H. Chua, 2011: 282 (Semakau Landfill [PS]).—L.L. Grismer, 2011a: 182.—P.K.L. Ng et al., 2011: 502.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2012: 109, 161.— Das, 2012a: 106.— Davison et al., 2012: 109.—M.F.C. Ng, 2012: 68, 146 (Semakau Landfill [PS]).—Voris & J.C. Murphy, 2012: 195.—Chan-ard et al., 2015: 243.—Lv et al., 2015: 233.— de Souza, 2017: 16.

Cerberus rynchops rynchops (non-Schneider, 1799)— de Haas, 1950: 578.— Gyi, 1970: 164–166, 169 (Jurong River).— David & Vogel, 1996: 114.— de Lang & Vogel, 2005: 154.

Cerberus schneiderii —J.C. Murphy et al., 2012: 17, 34.— Chim & Diong, 2013: 811–825 (Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).—Tay & Wind, 2013a: 100 (Pasir Ris Park Mangroves]).— Chim, 2014: 112 (Saint John’s Island).—J.C. Murphy & Voris, 2014: 13.—Wallach et al., 2014: 155.—D.L. Yong et al., 2014: 202, 203.—K.K.P. Lim et al., 2016: 184 (Pulau Tekong).—Willson & Winne, 2016: 267.— de Lang, 2017: 279.— Das, 2018: 124.— Leviton et al., 2018: 416.—A. Tay, 2019b: 80 (Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).— Charlton, 2020: 96–97.—C.J. Tan, 2020: 58 (Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve [Migratory Bird Trail]).— Figueroa & McCleary 2021: 1283.—K.H. Koh & Chanani-Parikh, 2021: 1 (Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).

“dog-faced water snake”—A. Tan, 2021f (Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).

“water snake”— Danao, 2020 (Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).

Remarks. Previously known as C. rynchops, Murphy et al. (2012) redescribed the populations from Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines as C. schneiderii based on morphological and molecular differences. Cerberus schneiderii is very common and abundant throughout its range (Murphy 2007), and in Singapore, Chim & Diong (2013) estimated that it reaches densities of up to 1.02 individuals per km 2. Cerberus schneiderii was first reported from Singapore by Girard (1858b) based on a specimen that was caught at Ryan’s Hill (= Bukit Pasoh Road, Tanjong Pagar) in 1841. At that time, Tanjong Pagar was situated along the coast and was covered in mangrove forest (Yee et al. 2011). The longest C. schneiderii went unreported was 41 years ( Table 2 ), between Buddle (1929) who found it common in ditches and drains, and Gyi (1970) who examined four specimens deposited at MCZ. Presently, C. schneiderii is the only coastal homalopsid that has been found on Singapore’s offshore islands. The population sizes on the offshore islands are unknown, but on PS it seems fairly common (Ng 2012) and on PT it appears to be rare as it is only known from one record from July 2012 ( Lim et al. 2016).

Occurrence. Wide-ranging. Common.

Singapore conservation status. Least Concern.

Conservation priority. Lowest.

IUCN conservation status. Not Evaluated.

LKCNHM & NHMUK Museum specimens. Singapore (no locality) : BMNH 1880.9 .10.12 (no date) , BMNH 1930.12.2.9–1 (no date)1, ZRC.2.4408 (no date), ZRC.2.5074 (no date), ZRC.2.5447– ZRC.2.5459 (no date), ZRC.2.4391 (1899); Changi : BMNH 1968.773 (no date) , ZRC.2.4412, ZRC.2.4416– ZRC.2.4417 (1927); Choa Chu Kang Road : ZRC.2.4390 (no date); Kranji River : ZRC.2.4404 (no date); Lim Chu Kang : ZRC.2.5043 (23-Apr-2001); Lim Chu Kang Mangroves : ZRC.2.5191 (25-Aug-2001); Loyang : ZRC.2.6408 (24-Sep-1959); Loyang Mangroves : ZRC.2.5618– ZRC.2.5619 (20-Dec-2002); Mandai : ZRC.2.6406– ZRC.2.6407 (17-Sep-2003); Mandai Mangroves : ZRC.2.5004 (1999), ZRC.2.5042 (05-Apr-2001); Pasir Ris Park Mangroves : ZRC.2.4577 (10-Jun-1999) , ZRC.2.7001 (25-Mar-2011) , ZRC.2.7091 (24-Oct-2013); Pulau Senang : ZRC.2.4394 (Jun-1951); Pulau Ubin : ZRC.2.4413 (1905); Seletar Island : ZRC.2.6403 (06-May-2003) , ZRC.2.6405 (06-Aug-2003); Seletar River : BMNH 1983.969 – 971 (no date); Simpang North : ZRC.2.6404 (18-Jun-2003); Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve : ZRC.2.3174– ZRC.2.3188 (07-Nov-1990) , ZRC.2.5022, ZRC.2.5024– ZRC.2.5030 (07-Feb-2001) , ZRC.2.5023 (07-Feb-2001) , ZRC.2.5034– ZRC.2.5040 (24-Feb-2001) , ZRC.2.5031– ZRC.2.5033 (19-Mar-2001) , ZRC.2.5041 (23- Mar-2001); Sungei Khatib Bongsu : ZRC.2.2558 (17-Mar-1990) , ZRC.2.6402 (09-Apr-2003); Tanjong Rhu : ZRC.2.4400 (Dec-1951) .

Additional Singapore museum specimens. Singapore (no locality): ANSP, CAS, FMNH, NMW, SAMA, SMNS, ZMB, ZMO, ZMUC; Jurong Prawn Ponds: BPBM & MCZ; Ryan’s Hill [= Bukit Pasoh Road]: USNM.

Singapore localities. Bukit Pasoh Road—Changi—Choa Chu Kang Road—Jurong Prawn Ponds—Kranji River— Lim Chu Kang—Lim Chu Kang Mangroves—Loyang—Loyang Mangroves—Mandai (not specified)— Mandai Mangroves—Pasir Ris Park Mangroves—Pulau Bukom—Pulau Seletar—Pulau Semakau—Pulau Senang—Pulau Sudong—Pulau Tekong—Pulau Ubin—Saint John’s Island—Seletar—Sembcorp Marine Ltd.—Senoko—Simpang—Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve—Sungei Jurong—Sungei Khatib Bongsu— Sungei Seletar—Tyersall Forest—Tanjong Rhu—Yishun Dam.

Genus Enhydris Latreille in Sonnini & Latreille, 1801 (1 species)

Enhydris Latreille in Sonnini & Latreille, 1801: 200–201 (type species: Enhydris caerulea Latreille in Latreille & Sonnini, 1801 [= Hydrus enhydris Schneider, 1799 ], by subsequent designation by M.A. Smith, 1943: 380; gender feminine).

Figures

FIGURE 23. A) Hydrophis stokesii, B) Hydrophis stokesii, C) Laticauda colubrina, D) Naja sumatrana, E) Ophiophagus hannah, F) Bitia hydroides, G) Cantoria violacea, and H) Cerberus schneiderii. Photographs by: Kelvin K.P. Lim [A], Christopher J. Jolly [B], Philip Vogrinc [C], Alex Figueroa [D, G–H], Francis L.K. Lim [E], and Evan S.H. Quah [F].