Added 1 April 2007. Last updated 7 December 2015.
Short snakes endemic to the Philippines: formerly considered Lycodon species. They are distinguished by cylindrical bodies, indistinct necks and short and broadly truncated snouts, with round pupils. The eyes are small. Boulenger characterised the genus as follows: maxillary and dentary bones angularly bent inwards anteriorly; three or four anterior teeth, in both jaws, increasing in size, the last large and fang-like, followed after an interspace by 12 or 13 small maxillary teeth; hypapophyses developed throughout the vertebral column. Scalation is smooth, with apical pits, in 17 rows.
Both species are terrestrial, being found in original, secondary growth, coconut and abaca groves, where they can be found under rotting logs and debris or decaying leaves and branches on the forest floor. Alcala considered both species common in 1986.
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Scientific Name |
Common Name |
Distribution |
Size |
Notes |
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Cyclocorus |
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C. lineatus |
Northern Triangle-Spotted Snake
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Philippines |
36½cm (m), 39½cm (f)
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On Panay this species was found in 2000 in disturbed secondary growth and forested riparian habitats at elevations from sea level to 1,400m: see Links. Scalation details: 8 supralabials, of which 3 border the eye; 2 anterior temporals usually present; 17 scale rows at midbody; 142-164 ventrals, 33-59 unpaired subcaudals; anal is undivided. Coloration (in preservative): dorsally light to dark brown with indistinct darker vertebral and dorsolateral lines; ventrally cream to whitish with numerous dark brown or blackish spots, usually triangular-shaped, and a series of small whitish spots along the lateral edge of each ventral. Reproduction details: none available. |
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C. l. lineatus |
Philippines (Luzon, Polillo and Mindanao) |
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C. l. alcalai |
Philippines (Negros, Cebu, Tablas, Masbate, Caluya, Guimaras, Pacijan, Panay and Inampulugan Islands) |
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C. nuchalis |
Southern Triangle-Spotted Snake |
Philippines (Basilan, Camiguin, Leyte, Mindanao and Samar Islands) |
23½cm (m) |
Scalation details: 7-8 supralabials, of which 2-3 border the eye; 1 anterior temporal usually present; 17 scale rows at midbody; 124-144 ventrals, 41-58 unpaired subcaudals; anal may be divided or undivided. Coloration (in preservative): dorsally light to dark brown with indistinct darker vertebral and dorsolateral lines; ventrally cream to whitish with few or no dark triangular-shaped spots, and any whitish spots along the lateral edge of each ventral are very small or absent altogether. Reproduction details: none available. |
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C. n. nuchalis |
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C. n. taylori |
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Guide to Philippine Flora and Fauna. Volume X, Amphibians and Reptiles, Prof. Angel C Alcala, Natural Resources Management Centre, Ministry of Natural Resources and University of the Philippines, 1986. Very useful field guide to the herps of this area, which is usually under-represented in literature. One slight drawback is that the photographs are black-and-white and the descriptions of colour for many species are drawn from preserved specimens: otherwise this book is to be recommended if you can obtain a copy. We acknowledge our debt to this book for the details given in this section.
www.malampaya.com gives a listing of Mindoro species.
Asiatic Herpetological Research 9/2 (2000) gives a listing of Panay species, including a description of the discovery of C. l. alcalai on this island.
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