Singapore’s herpetofauna: updated and annotated checklist, history, conservation, and distribution
Author
Figueroa, Alex
Author
Low, Martyn E. Y.
0000-0001-7927-7149
martyn.low@nus.edu.sg
Author
Lim, Kelvin K. P.
0000-0002-0638-9198
kelvinlim@nus.edu.sg
text
Zootaxa
2023
2023-05-18
5287
1
1
378
http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5287.1.1
journal article
53474
10.11646/zootaxa.5287.1.1
90d83153-c065-4771-9ac7-35dda67996b5
1175-5326
7960319
78E23714-8973-4755-BC94-0A751D7D2B37
Acrochordus granulatus
(Schneider, 1799)
—
Native.
Hydrus Granulatus
Schneider, 1799: 243–244
.
Type
material: None designated;
type
material originally at Lampi Museum (= MLH) now apparently lost, according to
McDowell (1979: 79)
.
Type
locality: None stated/traced; later designated as “India” by Smith (1943: 134).
Banded File Snake
(
Figure 15G
)
Singapore
records.
Chersydrus granulatus
—
Gray, 1842b: 63
.—Sclater, 1891a: 45.—
Boulenger, 1893: 174
.—
Flower, 1896: 878
.—
Boettger, 1898: 16
.—
Flower, 1899: 658
.—Ridley, 1899: 198, 207 (Botanical Gardens).—
Boulenger, 1912: 116
.—
de Rooij, 1917: 43
.—Sworder, 1923: 60.—Sworder, 1924a: 20 (Pulau Sudong).—K. Lim & F.
Lim, 1988b: 50
(Yishun).—F.L.K. Lim & M.T.-M. Lee, 1989: 115.— K.K.P. Lim & L.M. Chou, 1990: 53.—F.L.K. Lim, 1991: 53.—L.M.
Chou
et al.
, 1994: 105
.
Chersydrus annulatus
—
Gray, 1849: 61
.
Acrochordus granulatus
—L.M.
Chou
et al.
, 1980: 71
.—Subharaj & K.K.P.
Lim, 1991a: 3
(Mandai Mangroves).—K.K.P. Lim & F.L.K.
Lim, 1992: 49
, 144.—J.K.Y.
Low
et al.
, 1994: 158
.—K. Lim, 1995: 15 (Sungei Mandai Kechil).—
David & Vogel, 1996: 44
.—
Manthey & Grossmann, 1997:
296.—Chan-ard
et al.
, 1999: 29.—P.K.L. Ng & Sivasothi, 1999: 145.—
Iskandar & Colijn, 2001: 34
.—K.P. Lim & F.L.K.
Lim, 2002: 145
.—
de Lang & Vogel, 2005: 54
.—E.K.
Chua, 2007b: 36
(Chek
Jawa
[Pulau Ubin]).—H.T.W. Tan
et al.
, 2007: 80.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2008: 92, 160.— P.K.L. Ng
et al.
, 2008: 167.—M.F.C. Ng, 2009: 59, 109 (Semakau Landfill [PS]).—H.T.W. Tan
et al.
, 2010: 110.—M.A.H.
Chua, 2011: 281
.—P.K.L. Ng
et al.
, 2011: 313.—T.H. Ng, 2011: 91–93 (Changi Beach; Lower Seletar Reservoir; Lim Chu Kang Mangroves; Siglap; Simpang; Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve; Tanjong Katong; Telok Kurau; Tuas).—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2012: 92, 160.—M.F.C. Ng, 2012: 69 (Semakau Landfill [PS]).—
Chim, 2014: 112
.—I.S.
Law, 2014a: 211
(Sungei Tampines [Pasir Ris Park Mangroves]).—Thomas, Barnett & Zinny, 2014: 191 (Sungei Tampines [Pasir Ris Park Mangroves]).—Wallach
et al.
, 2014: 7.—Chan-ard
et al.
, 2015: 156.—
Groenewoud, 2015a: 40
(Sembawang Park).—J. Teo & M.D.Y.
Khoo, 2016: 182–184
(Kallang Basin [
Marina Reservoir
]).—
Beng, 2017: 84
(Semakau Landfill [PS]).—
de Lang, 2017: 47
.—
Charlton, 2020: 74
.—L.M.
Chou
et al.
, 2020: 84–85
.—
Iesa, 2021: 1
(Pasir Ris Beach).
Remarks.
Gray (1842b)
first reported
A. granulatus
in
Singapore
based on a museum specimen deposited at NHMUK by Hardwicke (
Gray 1849
).
Gray (1849)
later used the specimen as the type (
syntype
) specimen to describe
Chersydrus annulatus
(
Table 1
), a subjective synonym of
A. granulatus
. Additional early specimens include a specimen at ZSI (Sclater 1891a), at SMF (
Boettger 1898
), one Ridley (1899) received that was collected from a road near SBG, and one Sworder (1924a) collected at Pulau Sudong on
24 May 1923
. The next report for
A. granulatus
comes 57 years later (
Table 2
) when
Chou (1980)
comments that it is found in mangroves. Concurrently, Voris and Jeffries collected numerous specimens from Jurong Prawn Pond, a kelong off Lim Chu Kang, and from Tuas during their sea snake study during the early 1980s (see
Elapidae
below). Their data shows that
A. granulatus
is common in
Singapore
, having caught upwards of
22 specimens
in one day. Primarily an occupant of marine habitats, freshwater populations exist in
Singapore
due to the creation of reservoirs (Ng 2011; Teo &
Khoo 2016
). A recently reported record documented mating behaviour of this species at Pasir Ris Beach on
15 August 2021
(
Iesa 2021
).
Occurrence.
Wide-ranging. Common.
Singapore
conservation status.
Near-Threatened.
Conservation priority.
Lowest.
IUCN conservation status.
Least Concern [2022].
LKCNHM
&
NHMUK
Museum
specimens.
Singapore
(no locality)
:
BMNH 1946.1
.1.40 (no date [
syntype
of
Chersydrus annulatus
);
Changi Beach:
ZRC
.2.6081 (
19-Jan-2004
)
,
ZRC
.2.7400 (
04-Jul-2019
);
Kranji
:
ZRC
.2.2253 (
25-Mar-1964
);
Kranji Mangroves
:
ZRC
.2.2252 (no date);
Lim Chu Kang
:
ZRC
.2.5373 (
30-Mar-1982
);
Lim Chu Kang Mangroves
:
ZRC
.2.3466–
ZRC
.2.3468 (
27-Dec-1995
);
Lower Seletar Reservoir
:
ZRC
.2.6808 (
25-Feb-2009
);
Mandai Mangroves
:
ZRC
.2.3278 (
28-Aug-1991
)
,
ZRC
.2.7087 (
05-Jul-2014
) [mudflats];
Pulau Sudong
:
ZRC
.2.3120 (
24-May-1923
);
Punggol
:
ZRC
.2.2254 (
15-Jan-1982
);
Siglap
:
BMNH
(no #) (no date),
ZRC
.2.3115–
ZRC
.2.3117 (
27-Jun-1933
)
,
ZRC
.2.3118 (1938);
Simpang
:
ZRC
.2.6082 (
13-Aug-2004
);
Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
:
ZRC
.2.6936–
ZRC
.2.6937 (
20- May-2011
);
Tanjong Katong
:
ZRC
.2.3113–
ZRC
.2.3114 (
03-Nov-1919
);
Telok Kurau
:
ZRC
.2.3119 (
29- Jun-1933
);
Tuas
:
ZRC
.2.2183–
ZRC
.2.2190,
ZRC
.2.2612–
ZRC
.2.2662 (
20-Mar-1984
)
.
Additional
Singapore
museum specimens.
Singapore
(no locality):
BPBM
,
FMNH
,
MCZ
,
NMW
,
QM
,
UMMZ
;
Siglap:
CAS;
Tuas:
LSUMZ
.
Singapore
localities.
Changi Beach—Jurong Prawn Ponds—Kranji—Kranji Mangroves—Lim Chu Kang— Lim Chu Kang Mangroves—Lower Seletar Reservoir—Mandai Mangroves—
Marina Reservoir
—Pasir Ris Beach—Pasir Ris Park Mangroves—Pulau Semakau—Pulau Sudong—Pulau Ubin—Punggol— Sembawang Park—Siglap—Simpang—Singapore Botanic Gardens*—Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve— Sungei Mandai Kechil—Tanjong Katong—Telok Kurau—Tuas—Yishun.
Family
Colubridae Oppel, 1811
(42 species)
Colubrini Oppel, 1811: 47, 50, 69 (
type
genus
Coluber
Linnaeus, 1758
).
Subfamily
Chrysopeleinae Cope, 1893
(12 species)
Chrysopeleinae Cope, 1893
: 481 (
type
genus
Chrysopelea
H. Boie
in F. Boie, 1826 [see Figueroa, 2022: 595).
Genus
Ahaetulla
Link, 1807
(3 species)
Ahaetulla
Link, 1807: 73–74
(
type
species:
Coluber mycterizans
Linnaeus, 1758
, by subsequent designation by
Meise & Hennig, 1932: 296
; gender feminine).