Crab-eating Snake
Fordonia leucobalia (Schlegel, 1837)
Also calledKrebs-Wassertrugnatter (deu) · Serpiente Acuática de Manglar (spa) · Ular bakau (ind) · vodnářka krabožravá (ces) · Крабоед Шлегеля (rus) · งูปลาหัวเทา (tha) · 白斑食蟹蛇 (zho)
First described in: Schlegel, H. Essai sur la physionomie des serpens. Partie Descriptive.
Fordonia is a genus of aquatic snakes in the family Homalopsidae. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species Fordonia leucobalia, commonly known as crab-eating water snake and white-bellied mangrove snake. It is a common resident of mangrove swamps and tropical tidal wetlands from the coast of Southeast Asia to Indonesia and the coasts of Northern Australia.
Individual F. leucobalia reach up to a meter in length, and are brown or gray in color with a white belly. There is significant color variation. Some have spots. The anatomy reflects the snake's water-living lifestyle: the eyes are located atop the head, and the nostrils have valves that close when the snake dives.
Descriptions from checklists and floras indexed by GBIF
discussion
REMARKS. — Wallach et al. (2014: 293) include Luzon in their distribution statement but we know of no confirmed record for its occurrence there.
Synopsis of the Snakes of the Philippines A Synthesis of Data from Biodiversity Repositories, Field Studies, and the Literature
distribution
PHILIPPINE DISTRIBUTION. — Mindanao (fide Wallach et al. [2014: 293]). GENERAL DISTRIBUTION (OTHER THAN PHILIPPINES). — India (Bengal), Myanmar, Vietnam, Nicobar Ids., Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia (Java, Sumatra, Timor) to northern Australia.
Synopsis of the Snakes of the Philippines A Synthesis of Data from Biodiversity Repositories, Field Studies, and the Literature
materials_examined
TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE SPECIMEN (S). — Timor, Indonesia. Lectotype: RMNH 1161 (designated by Iskandar and Colijn [2001: 92]).
Synopsis of the Snakes of the Philippines A Synthesis of Data from Biodiversity Repositories, Field Studies, and the Literature
discussion
Remarks. When F. leucobalia was first reported from Singapore, it was described as a new species, Hemiodontus chalybaeus (Table 1) from one specimen deposited at ZMH (Jan 1863) that is no longer extant. Boulenger (1890 a) later synonymised it with F. leucobalia noting that Jan (1863) recognised the specimen as a different species because it had the internasal scale missing. Following Jan (1863), F. leucobalia was also reported from specimens at ZSI (Sclater 1891 a), a specimen purchased by Hanitsch in September 1898 (Hanitsch 1899), two specimens collected by Sworder (1923) at Kranji, and one specimen at the Raffles Museum from 1927 from Changi (Smith 1930). Then, F. leucobalia went unreported for 62 years (Table 2) until Lim (1989 h) documented one found in a drain on reclaimed land at Changi Central on 15 October 1989. Next, a dead one was encountered in a disused prawn pond at SBWR on 15 August 1992 (Lim & Subharaj 1992), and a live one was found at LCKNP on 28 September 1993 (Lim 1995). Most commonly seen at PRPM, surprisingly the population from there was not reported until Karns (2002). Several reported observations from PRPM involved F. leucobalia being predated upon. First
Singapore’s herpetofauna: updated and annotated checklist, history, conservation, and distribution
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Fordonia leucobalia in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
From the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence records (GBIF.org), with Wikipedia and the Source Library. GBIF species 5223392.