Stegonotus muelleri Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854:682

Photo figures 60–61

Müller’s Ratsnake

Stegonotus mülleri Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854:682.

Spilotes samarensis Peters, 1861:685 (type locality: “ Cubo-Cubo, Insel Samar ”; holotype: ZMB 4294)

Stegonotus muelleri Boulenger, 1893:367.— Sanguila, Cobb, Siler, Diesmos Alcala, and Brown, 2016:96, fig. 71.

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE SPECIMEN (S).— Samar Id., Philippines. Holotype: MNHN 848.

PHILIPPINE DISTRIBUTION (ENDEMIC) (Map 35C [p. 146]).— Dinagat, Leyte (Prov.: Leyte, Southern Leyte), Mindanao (Prov.: Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Davao del Sur, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Sarangani, South Cotabato, Surigao del Norte), Samar.

REMARKS.— In his review of the Philippine species of Lycodon, Leviton (1965) commented on Boulenger’s reference to Stegonotus muelleri (Boulenger [1893:367]), which, according to Boulenger was based on Stegonotus mülleri Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril (1854:682). At the time Leviton stated that he was “restricting the nominal genus Stegonotus to include but a single species, S. mülleri ” (Leviton [1965:120]) then known from Samar Island in the Philippines, as had been reported on by Boulenger, who had also included Peters’ Spilotes samarensis (Peters [1861:685]), also from Samar, in the synonymy of S. muelleri. Unfortunately, and at the same time, Leviton overlooked a specimen that was resident in the Stanford University collections, now at the California Academy of Sciences (CAS-SU 13233), that bears the locality Mercedes, Samar Island, Philippines, collected 25 July 1945 by Ralph F. Annereaux. An examination of this animal and with reference to both Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril and to Boulenger, indicates that this is a much larger snake than any of the known species of Lycodon, and it likely does indeed represent a distinct group that should be recognized in the Philippines. Furthermore, recent investigations indicate that it is rather widespread throughout the northern Mindanao PAIC islands of Leyte, Samar, Dinagat, and eastern Mindanao (Sanguila et al. [2016]).

Whether or not the Papuan species that have been assigned to the genus Stegonotus are indeed related to the Philippine species is an open question as is the possibility of differentiation between Samar-Leyte populations versus those from Mindanao (sensu Peters 1861).

CONSERVATION STATUS [IUCN].— Near Threatened [2016] ver. 3.1