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
Enhydris enhydris
(Schneider, 1799)
—
Native.
Hydrus
Enhydris
Schneider, 1799: 245–246
.
Lectotype
: specimen described and illustrated by Russell (1796: 35, pl. 30), designated by Wallach
et al.
(2014: 270). Type locality: “Indiae orientalis” (= East
India
, i.e., Southeast Asia); later restricted to “lake of Ankapilly, coast of Coromandel,
India
” via
lectotype
designation.
Rainbow Water Snake
(
Figure 24A
; Sungei Kadut Drive)
Singapore
records.
Hypsirhina enhydris
—
Boulenger, 1896: 7
.—
Flower, 1896: 887
.—
Flower, 1899: 676
.—Ridley, 1899: 208.—
Boulenger, 1912: 160
.—
de Rooij, 1917: 181
.
Enhydris enhydris
—Sworder, 1923: 66.—Tweedie, 1953: 83.—Tweedie, 1961: 86.—
Gyi, 1970: 92
.— Tweedie, 1983: 99.—F.L.K. Lim & M.T.-M. Lee, 1989: 73, 116.—F.L.K. Lim, 1991: 72.—K.K.P. Lim & F.L.K.
Lim, 1992: 147
.—
David & Vogel, 1996: 116
.—
Cox
et al.
, 1998: 40
.—
Iskandar & Colijn, 2001: 90
.—K.P. Lim & F.L.K.
Lim, 2002: 147
.—
de Lang & Vogel, 2005: 251
.—J.C. Murphy, 2007: 238.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2008: 169.—F.L.K. Lim, 2009: 464.—K.K.P.
Lim & D’Rozario, 2009: 9–11
(Neo Tiew Road [LCK]; Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).—
Das, 2010: 326
.—L.L.
Grismer, 2011a: 195
.—P.K.L. Ng
et al.
, 2011: 502.—N. Baker & K.P. Lim, 2012: 169.—
Das, 2012a: 107
.—N.
Baker & Thomas, 2013: 47
(Kranji Marshes).—Thomas
et al.
, 2014: 309.—Wallach
et al.
, 2014: 269.—Chan-ard
et al.
, 2015: 239.—
Kwan & Pascoe, 2015: 102
, 103 (Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).—
de Lang, 2017: 284
.—
Das, 2018: 125
.—Serin & R. Subaraj, 2018: 35 (Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).—
Charlton, 2020: 98
.—
Leo
et al.
, 2020: 257
.—
Figueroa
et al.
, 2022: 1
(Kranji Way).—
Kurniawan
et al.
, 2022: 113
.
Enhydris enhydris enhydris
—
de Haas, 1950: 576
.
Xenopeltis unicolor
—E.K.
Chua, 2010: 101
[misidentified
E. enhydris
] (Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve).
Remarks.
In a note documenting the first record of reproduction of
E. enhydris
in
Singapore
,
Figueroa
et al.
(2022)
discussed the status of this species in
Singapore
. Considered non-native (
Lim & D’Rozario 2009
;
Baker & Lim 2012
;
Charlton 2020
),
Figueroa
et al.
(2022)
asserted that
E. enhydris
is most likely native to
Singapore
.
Lim & D’Rozario (2009)
reported a dead individual found on Neo Tiew Road on
13 April 2008
, and a live specimen seen at SBWR on
13 September 2008
. The only record before this is an early specimen (BMNH 1870.1.14.4) collected prior to 1896 (
Boulenger 1896
). Given the long absence between these records, and that northwestern
Singapore
is dedicated to agrotechnological farming,
Lim & D’Rozario (2009)
suggest that
E. enhydris
was introduced into
Singapore
with imported aquatic plants. However,
E. enhydris
inhabits stagnant and slow-moving aquatic habitats such as rice paddies, canals, ditches, lakes, and rivers, including degraded areas and urban areas (Murphy 2007), making the wetlands, freshwater marshes, ponds, and farms found around northwestern
Singapore
ideal habitat. Thus, given this information and that
E. enhydris
ranges widely from
Sri Lanka
north along eastern
India
to
Nepal
, east to southeastern
China
, and south through Peninsular
Malaysia
to
Indonesia
, including
Sumatra
, Borneo,
Java
, and
Sulawesi
(Murphy 2007),
Figueroa
et al.
(2022)
reasoned that it is a native species that is rare in
Singapore
. Including the record of
Figueroa
et al.
(2022)
, there are nine published records of
E. enhydris
from
Singapore
. In addition, one of us (A. Figueroa pers. obs.) observed one in a drain along Sungei Kadut Drive on
17 December 2020
(
Fig. 24A
) bringing the total to 10. We follow
Figueroa
et al.
(2022)
and designate
E. enhydris
as native. Intensive surveys are needed to better understand the occurrence of
E. enhydris
in
Singapore
.
Occurrence.
Restricted to Choa Chu Kang and Kranji. Rare.
Singapore
conservation status.
Not Evaluated.
Conservation priority.
Highest.
IUCN conservation status.
Least Concern [2010].
LKCNHM
&
NHMUK
Museum
specimens.
Singapore
(no locality)
:
BMNH 1870.1
.14.4 (no date);
Kranji Reservoir
:
ZRC
.2.7337 (
29-Nov-2018
);
Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
:
ZRC
.2.7088 (
14-Nov-2014
)
.
Additional
Singapore
museum specimens.
No specimens.
Singapore
localities.
Kranji Marshes—Kranji Reservoir—Kranji Way—Lim Chu Kang—Nee Soon Swamp Forest—Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve—Sungei Kadut Drive.
Genus
Fordonia
Gray, 1842
(1 species)