''Calamaria schlegeli'' is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
snake
Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...
in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Colubridae
Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. C ...
.
[ The species is known commonly as the red-headed reed snake,][ Iskandar D, Grismer LL (2012)]
''Calamaria schlegeli''.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 18 February 2016. white-headed reed snake, and pink-headed reed snake.
Ecologyasia. It is native to Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
, where it occurs in the Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...
(Malaysia, Singapore), Borneo
Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
(Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia), and in several Indonesian islands, including Sumatra
Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
, Java
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
, Bali
Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
.[
]
Etymology
The specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''schlegeli'', is in honor of German herpetologist
Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...
Hermann Schlegel
Hermann Schlegel (10 June 1804 – 17 January 1884) was a German ornithologist, herpetologist and ichthyologist.
Early life and education
Schlegel was born at Altenburg, the son of a brassfounder. His father collected butterflies, which stimulated ...
.[
]
Identification
The key identification characters for ''C. schlegeli'' are modified maxillary teeth and scale characteristics. The third and fourth upper lip scales touch the eye. The mental scale
The mental scale, or mental, in snakes and other scaled reptiles refers to the median plate on the tip of the lower jaw. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca & London: Comstock Publishing A ...
does not touch the anterior chin shields
Chin shields or chinshields, genials scales on a snake are scales found on the underside of the snake's head towards the anterior and touching the lower labial scales.
Chin shields to the front of the snake (towards the snout) are called anterio ...
. The nasal scale
In reptiles, the nasal scale refers to the scale that encloses the nostril. Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. .
Somet ...
s are oriented laterally. There is considerable geographic variation. Preocular scales
In scaled reptiles, the ocular scales are those forming the margin of the eye.Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. ''Handbook of Snakes''. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . The name originates from the term which is Latin f ...
are present in snakes from Singapore and Malaya, but absent in those from Java, and sometimes present on those from Borneo and Sumatra.
This nonvenomous red-headed snake is sometimes confused with the venomous blue Malayan coral snake (''Calliophis bivirgatus
''Calliophis bivirgatus'' is a species of snake in the family Elapidae known commonly as the blue coral snake or blue Malayan coral snake. '') and the red-headed krait (''Bungarus flaviceps
The red-headed krait (''Bungarus flaviceps'') is a large and highly venomous elapid snake with dramatic coloration. The red-headed krait can grow to a length of up to . It lives in lowland rain forest, including those on islands, but it is consi ...
''), in an example of Batesian mimicry
Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry where a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a predator of them both. It is named after the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates, who worked on butt ...
where a non-venomous animal protects itself by appearing similar to a venomous one.
Biology
''C. schlegeli'' lives in forest undergrowth. It sometimes emerges on paths and in yards and gardens.[ It burrows for cover and feeds on small prey such as worms and insects.][
]
References
Further reading
* Boulenger GA (1894). ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ.'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I-XX. ("''Calamaria schlegelii'' ic, p. 345).
* Das I (2006). ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Borneo''. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 143 pp. . (''Calamaria schlegeli'', p. 27).
* Duméril A-M-C, Bibron G
Gabriel Bibron (20 October 1805 – 27 March 1848) was a French zoologist and herpetologist. He was born in Paris. The son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hire ...
, Duméril A ">H-A(1854). ''Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième''. ''Première partie. Comprenant l'histoire des serpents non venimeux.'' General Herpetology or Complete Natural History of the Reptiles, Volume 7. First Part, Containing the Natural History of Nonvenomous Snakes Paris: Roret. xvi + 780 pp. (''Calamaria schlegeli'', new species, pp. 81–83). (in French).
schlegeli
Snakes of Southeast Asia
Reptiles of Brunei
Reptiles of Indonesia
Reptiles of Malaysia
Reptiles of Singapore
Reptiles of Borneo
Reptiles described in 1854
Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril
Taxa named by Gabriel Bibron
Taxa named by Auguste Duméril
{{Calamaria-stub