Calamaria+schlegeli

 Fig. 1: Pink-headed Reed Snake by Seshadri K.S.( Creative Commons License [|CC BY-SA][|3.0])
 * Pink-headed Reed Snake **
 * //Calamaria schlegeli// Duméril, Bibron & Duméril 1854 **

=** 1. NAME & ETYMOLOGY **=

// Calamaria schlegeli // Duméril, Bibron & Duméril 1854 1]toc
 * Binomial name: **

**Common names:** Pink-headed Reed Snake, White-headed Reed Snake, Red-headed Reed Snake

**Subspecies:** // Calamaria schlegeli schlegeli // Duméril, Bibron & Duméril 1854; //Calamaria schlegeli cuvieri// Jan 1862

//Calamaria schlegeli// was named in honor of a German herpetologist, Hermann Schlegel (1804 -1884). It is commonly coined as "reed snake" due to the cylindrical shape of its body 2].
 * Etymology: **

[ Back to top ]

=** 2. DIAGNOSIS **=
 * [[image:Ecology Asia_pink-headed-reed-snake_4647.jpg width="520" height="390"]] || [[image:bluecoral2.jpg width="506" height="380"]] ||
 * Fig 2: Pink-headed Reed Snake has no colouration on its tail (Photo credit and permission: Nick Baker) || Fig.3: Malayan Blue Coral Snake has a red tail (Photo credit and permission: Evan S. H. Quah)

Note: This is NOT Pink-headed reed snake !!! ||

The Pink-headed Reed Snake (Fig. 2), which is not known to be venomous, bears a high resemblance to the venomous Malayan Blue Coral Snake (//Calliophis bivirgatus//) (Fig. 3). Both species generally have a bright pink/red head and a dark-coloured dorsum 3]. The small-sized Pink-headed Reed Snake (about 45 cm) is much shorter than the medium-sized Malayan Blue Coral Snake (about 1.85 m) 4], but it can get confusing when encountered with juveniles. Their high resemblance, coupled with similar habitat range, makes it easy to confuse the two species for each other.

Look out for the red tail and bright blue stripes on sides of the belly. The Pink-headed Reed Snake (Fig. 2) does NOT have these two features, they belong to the Malayan Blue Coral Snake (Fig. 3) 5].

[ Back to top ]

=** 3. DESCRIPTION **=

Original description (in French): Duméril, A.M.C., G. Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854. Erpétologie générale ou Histoire Naturelle complète des Reptiles. Vol. 7 (partie 1). Paris, xvi + 780 S. [|Get paper here].



Fig. 4: Pink-headed Reed Snake in palm. (Photo credit and permission: Kurt) The Pink-headed Reed Snake is a small snake (Fig. 4) that can take relatively variable forms 6] and its most noticeable variations are in head and venter coloration (compare Fig. 5 and 6). A detailed description of the adult Pink-headed Reed Snake is in Table 1 below.

Juveniles look similar to the adults, except that black bands are present on the posterior half of the belly 2].
 * [[image:Kurt_calamaria schlegeli anatomy.jpg width="512" height="395" link="http://orionmystery.blogspot.sg/"]] || [[image:taxo4254/snakereedpink (Norman Lim).jpg width="514" height="389"]] ||
 * Fig. 5: Pink-headed Reed Snake from Pahang, Malaysia. (Photo credit and permission: Kurt) || Fig. 6: Pink-headed reed snake from Singapore (Photo credit and permission: Norman Lim) ||

__ Table 1: Description of the adult Pink-headed Reed Snake 4] __ (Glossary provided)

// C. s. schlegeli // : red or orange // C. s. cuvieri // : dark brown || Smooth dorsum Dorsal colour: - dark brown or black - displays blue-green iridescence under light Venter yellow unpatterned (*can also be grey-white 3]) || MID-BODY: 13 VENTRAL: 130-180 SUBCAUDAL: 19-44; paired
 * ** Feature ** || **Description** ||
 * Total Length || Around 45 cm ||
 * Head || Short; indistinct from neck
 * Eye || Small; pupil rounded ||
 * Nasal || As large as eye ||
 * Teeth || Modified maxillary teeth: 9-10 ||
 * Body || Slender; cylindrical
 * Tail || Tapering ||
 * Scales || __ Scale rows __

__ Head scales __ Loreal: Absent Preocular: present or absent Postocular: Single Supralabials: 5; III-IV contact orbit Infralabials: 5; three infralabials contact anterior chin shields

__Anal scale__: Entire ||

As a result of its relatively-variable forms, the Pink-headed Reed Snake has numerous **synonyms** 11]:

//Calamaria leucocephala// DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854: 83 //Calamaria agamensis// BLEEKER 1859 (fide BOULENGER 1887) //Calamaria nigro-alba// GÜNTHER 1864 //Calamaria martapurensis// EDELING 1865 //Calamaria dumerili// BLEEKER 1860 //Calamaria sinkawangensis// BLEEKER 1860 //Calamaria schlegeli// — JAN 1865 //Calamaria iris// BOETTGER 1873 //Calamaria leucocephala// — MERTENS 1930 //Calamaria leucocephala// — TWEEDIE 1954 //Keiometopon booliati// TAYLOR 1962 //Calamaria schegeli// — INGER & MARX 1965: 162 //Calamaria schlegelii// — MANTHEY & GROSSMANN 1997: 327 //Calamaria schlegelii// — INGER & VORIS 2001 //Calamaria schegeli// — HOWARD & GILLESPIE 2007 (in error)

//Calamaria cuvieri// JAN 1862 //Calamaria cuvieri// — JAN 1865 //Calamaria leucocephala// BOULENGER 1894 (non DUMÉRIL & BIBRON), part. //Calamaria agamensis// BOULENGER 1894 (non BLEEKER), part.

[ Back to top ]


 * 4. GLOSSARY **

Fig. 7: Head scales of a snake 7]
 * ** Term ** || ** Meaning ** ||
 * Maxillary || Belonging to upper jaw ||
 * Dorsum || Upper surface ||
 * Venter || Bottom surface/Belly ||
 * Subcaudal || Underside of tail ||
 * [[image:taxo4254/Head scales used in key.png link="taxo4254/Calamaria schlegeli#7"]] ||

[ Back to top ]

=** 5. VENOMOUS? **=

The Pink-headed Reed Snake is commonly considered as non-venomous 6]8] and as a member of the genus //Calamaria//, its bite is believed to be harmless 9]. However, an entry documented in the Singapore Biodiversity Records ([|Get paper here]) reveals that the snake may not be as harmless as popularly believed.

Fig. 8: Bite on index finger by Pink-headed Reed Snake (Photo credit and permission: David Groenewoud) 10] || After picking up a 40 cm Pink-headed Reed Snake in the Venus Drive forest, David Groenewoud (contributor of entry) was bitten and chewed “in the index finger” (Fig. 8).
 * [[image:Snake bite on index finger of contributor.png width="368" height="453"]]

He then experienced: - numbness in hand and arm, - burning sensation and stinging pain in hand and arm, and - mild stiffening of muscles around the jaws

These symptoms subsided in a little less than 2 hours, although “some short periods of numbness in the hand were experienced well into the next afternoon“ 10]. ||

The venomousness of the Pink-headed Reed Snake thus requires further investigation. Nonetheless, being small and secretive, the species is more likely to flee than attack, if not under threat. A good guide would be to stay away rather than confront it.

[ Back to top ]

=** 6. BIOLOGY **=


 * Behaviour, Diet and Reproduction **

The Pink-headed Reed Snake is nocturnal and semi-fossorial, i.e. partly adapted to burrowing and living underground 2]. Due to such behaviour and its small size, there is a paucity of information regarding the Pink-headed Reed Snake's biology.

It is known that the Pink-headed Reed Snake consumes frogs, small invertebrates (such as slugs 4]) and small insects 3]. In addition, the species is oviparous, i.e. egg-laying, but its clutch size remains unknown 4].

[ Back to top ]

= **7. DISTRIBUTION** =

7.1 Worldwide
Fig. 9: IUCN distribution of Pink-headed Reed Snake 12] || According to multiple sources, the Pink-headed Reed Snake can be found in Singapore, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Bali and Thailand 3]4]11].
 * [[image:taxo4254/IUCN distribution_Calamaria_schlegeli.png width="527" height="386"]]

However, all the aforementioned countries or regions are reflected in the current IUCN distribution map with the exception of Thailand (Fig. 9). As such, its presence in Thailand is uncertain. ||

** 7.2 Singapore **

 * media type="custom" key="28085965" align="center" || The Pink-headed Reed Snake is native to Singapore 13].

The Gardens' Bulletin (Singapore) of 1997 lists a total of 26 records for this species. Most of the records are from Lower Pierce (11 records) and Bukit Timah (8 records) 14].

In 2014, a sighting at the Venus Drive forest was documented in the Singapore Biodiversity Records (as mentioned previously) 10]. ||

[ Back to top ]

=** 8. HABITAT **=

The habitat of the species ranges from forests (both lowland and highland) to agricultural fields, gardens, road-cuts and paths. It is also known to hide under stones, logs, or leaf litter 2].

Video of the Pink-Headed Reed Snake at night in Singapore below (Video permission and credit: Lou Boyer):

media type="youtube" key="AoaOqUuvL4g" width="560" height="315" align="center"

[ Back to top ]


 * 9. CONSERVATION STATUS **

The existence of the Pink-headed Reed Snake does not appear to be under threat at present.

Last assessed on 1 September 2011 by IUCN, the species is a Least Concern species due to its widespread presence and lack of major threats. It is also found within protected areas 12].

The species is also not listed in CITES or the Singapore Red Data Book.

**10. TYPE INFORMATION** 15]

**Holotype**: Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (RMNH) 10424; 25 cm (RMNH is now known as Naturalis Biodiversity Center)

**Type locality**: "ile de Borneo" (Kalimantan, Indonesia)

**Syntype**: Museo Civico di Storia Naturale de Milano (//C. s. cuvieri//) [ Back to top ]

**11. TAXONAVIGATION** 16]

**Kingdom** Animalia **Phylum** Chordata **Class** Reptilia **Subclass** Lepidosauria **Order** Squamata **Suborder** Serpentes **Infraorder** Alethinophidia **Family** Calamariidae **Subfamily** Calamariinae

[ Back to top ]

=** 12. PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIP **=

** 12.1 Within genus //Calamaria// **
Fig. 10: Dendogram for 44 //Calamaria// species. 6]. ||
 * [[image:Calamaria dendogram.png width="539" height="746"]]

Phylogeny within genus //Calamaria// __remains unresolved__.

A dendogram for the phenetic relationship within genus //Calamaria// is however available (Fig. 10) 6]. This dendogram was developed by Inger & Marx in 1965 based on mean morphological character differences of 44 //Calamaria// species which have modified teeth. __No phylogenetic relationship is implied__ by this dendogram because it is purely based on morphological similarities.

Despite the increasing popularity of molecular studies, molecular data is still lacking for most //Calamaria// species, including the Pink-headed Reed Snake. More data is required for the construction of a phylogenetic tree for the genus //Calamaria//. ||

** 12.2 Within advanced snakes (Serpentes, Caenophidia) **
Fig. 11: Part of best phylogenetic tree for caenophidian (advanced) snakes based on 12S, 16S and c-mos 17] || A recent paper by Zaher et al. (2009) 17] presented a molecular phylogenetic analysis of caenophidian (advanced) snakes based on 131 terminal taxa. The only two //Calamaria// species which have available molecular data - //Calamaria yuannanensis and Calamaria pavimentata// - were included in the analysis as a combined terminal taxa. The sequences used in the analysis are from one nuclear gene (c-mos) and two mitochondrial genes (12S and 16S rRNA).
 * [[image:taxo4254/Molecular phylogeny of advanced snakes.png width="523" height="741"]]

The published phylogenetic tree (Fig. 11) was found using Directed optimization under Maximum Parsimony analyses that is implemented in POY 4.1 (phylogenetic analysis program).

Within Clade 20, genus //Calamaria// is in a monophyletic group with genus //Colubrinae// (Clade 21) with relatively strong support - moderate bootstrap support of 75 and strong Bremer support of 11. || [ Back to top ]
 * Note: Numbers above branches indicate bootstrap support values while numbers below branches indicate Bremer support values. ||  ||

=** 13. GENBANK RECORDS **=

There are currently no genetic data available for the Pink-headed Reed Snake. Check the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database for more updates.

Back to top]

= = = REFERENCES = [1] Duméril, A. M. C., G. Bibron & A. H. A. Duméril, 1854. Erpétologie générale ou Histoire Naturelle complète des Reptiles. Vol. 7 (partie 1). Paris, xvi + 780 S. http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/45973#/summary [2] Lim F. L. K. & M. T. M. Lee, 1989. Fascinating snakes of Southeast Asia: an introduction. Tropical Press. [3] Baker, N., 2015. Snakes of SE Asia: Pink-headed Reed Snake. [|http][|://][|www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/pink-headed_reed-snake.htm] (Accessed 11 November 2015) [4] Das, I., 2015. A field guide to the reptiles of South-East Asia. Bloomsbury Publishing, 384 pp. [5] Yeo, R. 2013. The Tide Chaser: Snakes (Phylum Chordata: Suborder Serpentes) of Singapore. [](Accessed 11 November 2015) [6] Inger, R. F. & H. Marx, 1965. The systematics and evolution of the Oriental colubrid snakes of the genus //Calamaria//. Fieldiana Zoology, 49: 1-304. [7] Clarke, D. N., W. Kunkel, J. P. Chippaux & K. Jackson, 2012. Snakes of Western and Central Africa: head scales used in key. [|http][|://people.whitman.edu/~][|clarkedn/characterglossary.html] (Accessed 11 November 2015) [8] Baker, N. & K. K. P. Lim, 2012. Wild Animals of Singapore. A Photographic Guide to Mammals, Reptiles, Amphibians and Freshwater Fishes. Updated edition. Draco Publishing and Distribution Pte. Ltd. Nature Society (Singapore). 180 pp. (not avail online) [9] Stuebing, R. B., R. F. Inger & B. Lardner, 2014. A Field Guide to the Snakes of Borneo. Second edition. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. viii + 310 pp. [10] Groenewoud, D., 2014. Pink-headed reed snake at Venus Drive forest with a note on its bite. Singapore Biodiversity Records, 2014: 220-221. [] [11] Uetz, P. & J. Hallermann, 2015. The Reptile Database: //Calamaria schlegeli// DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL, 1854. [] (Accessed 11 November 2015) [12] Iskandar, D. & L. Grismer, 2012. //Calamaria schlegeli//. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012: e.T191990A2024825. [] (Accessed 11 November 2015) [13] NParks, 2014. Reptile: List of reptile species present in Singapore. [] (Accessed 11 November 2015) [14] Teo, R. C. H. & S. Rajathurai, 1997. Mammals, reptiles and amphibians in the nature reserves of Singapore–diversity, abundance and distribution. The Gardens’ Bulletin, Singapore 49.2 (1997): 397. [|http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/43613672#page/399/mode/1up] [15] Wallach, V., K. L. Williams & J. Boundy, 2014. Snakes of the World: A catalogue of living and extinct species. CRC Press, p. 141. [] (Accessed 11 November 2015) [16] Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond & T. A. Dewey, 2015. The Animal Diversity Web. [](Accessed 11 November 2015) [17] Zaher, Hussam, et al. Molecular phylogeny of advanced snakes (Serpentes, Caenophidia) with an emphasis on South American Xenodontines: a revised classification and descriptions of new taxa. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (São Paulo) 49.11 (2009): 115-153. http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0031-10492009001100001&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en