SEAVR 2023: 015‐016
ISSN: 2424‐8525
Date of publication: 15 June 2023
Hosted online by ecologyasia.com

Record of Northern Philippine Temple Pit Viper (Tropidolaemus subannulatus)in Davao de Oro Province, Mindanao Island, Philippines
Roger T. SARMIENTO & Lemuel S. DIADULA
rtsarmiento@carsu.edu.ph (Sarmiento), lem.diadula14@gmail.com (Diadula)

Observer: Lemuel S. Diadula.
Photograph by: Lemuel S. Diadula.
Subject identified by: Roxan G. Eupenia, Russel Evan L. Venturina, Arturo G. Gracia, Jr.
Location: Barangay Awao, Municipality of Monkayo, Davao de Oro Province, Mindanao Island, Philippines.
Elevation: 300 metres ASL.
Habitat: Lowland secondary forest and agroforest.
Date and time: 28 March 2023, 11:00 hrs.
Identity of subject:
Northern Philippine Temple Pit Viper, Tropidolaemus subannulatus (Reptilia: Squamata: Viperidae).
Description of record:
A male Tropidolaemus subannulatus (Fig. 1) was encountered during fieldwork near the forest edge, in a semi‐
closed canopy area. The snout‐vent length of the snake was approximately 70 cm. After the photographic
documentation, the snake was released unharmed at the same location.

Figure 1.

© Lemuel S. Diadula15

Remarks:
Following the morphological description provided by Vogel et al. (2007), the snake was identified as a male
Tropidolaemus subannulatus. Locally known as “dupong”, the snake has the following morphologicalcharacteristics: (i) the inter‐nasals separated by 2 scales, never in contact, (ii) a background color in the shades ofgreen, (iii) crossbands around the red and white, white spots or white and red spots in males and juveniles; (iv) thebelly is uniform, and (v) scales on both head and chin are strongly keeled.
Tropidolaemus subannulatus occurs in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. It is widely distributed in thePhilippines and known to occur on the islands of Balabac, Basilan, Bohol, Cebu, Dinagat, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao(Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Oriental, Zamboanga City), Negros, Palawan, Panay,Polillo, Romblon, Samar, and Sulu Archipelago (Jolo, Siasi, Sibutu, Tawi‐Tawi, Tumindao) (Alcala 1986; Vogel et al.
2007; Brown et al. 2013; Leviton et al., 2018; Malaki et al. 2020; Amarga and Supsup 2020; Supsup et al. 2020). The
presence of this species on Mindanao has been reported previously. However, this observation is the first recordfor Davao de Oro Province.
References:Alcala, A.C. (1986). Guide to Philippine Flora and Fauna Volume X. amphibians and Reptiles. Manila: Natural
Resources Management Center and University of the Philippines. xiv + 195p.
Amarga, A.K.S. and Supsup, C.E. (2020). First report of Tropidolaemus subannulatus (Gray 1842) from Romblon
Island Group, Central Philippines. Southeast Asia Vertebrate Records 2020: 47‐49.
Auliya, M., Dehling, M., Inger, R.F., Iskandar, D., Vogel, G., Diesmos, A.C. and Sy, E. (2012). Tropidolaemus
subannulatus.
TheIUCNRed
ListofThreatened
Species
2012:e.T192241A2060104.
https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012‐1.RLTS.T192241A2060104.en. Accessed on 09 April 2023.
Brown, R.M., Siler, C.D., Oliveros, C.H., Welton, L.J., Rock, A., Swab, J., van Weerd, M., von Beijnen, J., Rodriguez, D.,
Jose, E., Diesmos, A.C. (2013). The amphibians and reptiles of Luzon Island, Philippines, VII: The herpetofauna ofCagayan and Isabela Provinces, Northern Sierra Madre Mountain Range. ZooKeys 266: 1‐120.
Leviton, A.E., Siler, C.D., Weinell, J.L. and Brown, R.M. (2018). Synopsis of the snakes of the Philippines: a synthesisof data from biodiversity repositories, field studies, and the literature. Proceedings of the California Academy ofSciences 64(14): 399‐568.
Malaki, A.B.B., Alcazar, S.M.T., Lillo, E.P., Rosales, R.C., Redoblado, B.A., Diaz, J.L.B., Buot, Jr., I.E. (2020) First
distribution record of North Philippine temple pitviper (Tropidolaemus subannulatus Gray 1842) on Cebu Island,Philippines. Philippine Journal of Science 149(3): 669‐673.
Supsup, C.E., Asis, A.A., Carestia Jr., U.V., Diesmos, A.C., Mallari, N.A.D., Brown, R.M. (2020). Variation in species
richness, composition and herpetological community structure across a tropical habitat gradient of Palawan Island,
Philippines. Herpetozoa 33: 95‐111.
Vogel, G., David, P., Lutz, M., van Rooijen, J. & Vidal, N. (2007). Revision of the Tropidolaemus wagleri‐complex(Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae). I. Definition of included taxa and redescription of Tropidolaemus wagleri (Boie,1827). Zootaxa 1644: 1‐40.

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