Thursday, June 01, 2006

Puff-faced Water Snakes (Homalopsis buccata)

I (together with Ria Tan, Chan Kwok Wai, and Charlene Yeong) visited a freshwater pond in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve on 19 May 2006, at about 8 pm, and found that the Puff-faced Water Snakes (Homalopsis buccata) are particularly abundant. They are probably the only other snakes in Singapore, besides the Dog-faced Water Snakes (Cerberus rynchops), to appear in high densities. These nocturnal snakes are more or less confined to freshwater habitats, such as rivers, ponds, and canals (Lim & Lee, 1989; Lim & Lim, 1992; Cox et al., 1998).

We sighted both juveniles and adults, which have slightly different scale colourations and patterns. Females give birth to 2-20 young of about 230 mm in a litter (Lim & Lee, 1989; Cox et al., 1998). This species can grow to a little over 1 m in length (Lim & Lee, 1989; Lim & Lim, 1992; Cox et al., 1998).

We also witnessed an adult and a juvenile fighting over a prey (Tilapia?)! The tinier one, as expected, lost the tug-of-war. Puff-faced Water Snakes are also known to consume frogs (Cox et al., 1998). Due to their appetite for freshwater fish, these snakes are considered pests in ornamental fish farms (Lim & Lee, 1989; Lim & Lim, 1992).

There are mixed accounts on the temperament of this mildly-venomous species. Lim & Lee (1989) claimed that it has a vicious temper and will bite severely if roughly handled. But according to Lim & Lim (1992), this is one gentle snake!


Puff-faced Water Snake inhabits most of Southeast Asia, including southern Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore (Cox et al., 1998).






From left to right: Front of head; Left side of head; Dorsal side of head; Ventral side of head; Dorsal side of body; Ventral side of body; Ventral side of tail and anal plate.

* All photographs from Mr Chan Kwok Wai.

REFERENCES

Cox, M. J., van Dijk, P. P., Nabhitabhata, J. & Thirakhupt, K., 1998. A photographic guide to snakes and other reptiles of Peninsula Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd, p. 12.

Lim, F. L. K. & Lee, M. T. M., 1989. Fascinating Snakes of Southeast Asia – an Introduction. Tropical Press, Kuala Lumpur, p. 30.

Lim, K. K. P. & Lim, F. L. K., 1992. A Guide To The Amphibians & Reptiles Of Singapore. Singapore Science Centre, p. 147.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the clear info!
I was walking on flipflops at night and bitten in my foot by this species september first 2006 in Surin, Thailand. The snake was about 60cm long, darker colored than on your photos. Nobody at the hospital could identify the snake, of which I had quickly taken 2 digital photos after the bite. 14 hours in hospital later there were still no symptoms of any poison, so I was allowed to leave.
Later I bought 'Snakes and other reptiles of Thailand and south-east asia' (asia books), it was very obvious from the photo on page 42 that this was what bit me.

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