SEAVR 2018: 048‐049
ISSN: 2424‐8525
Date of publication: 09 July 2018
Hosted online by ecologyasia.com

First record of King Cobra and Leviton’s Bronzeback(Dendrelaphis levitoni) on North Guntao Island, Palawan Province, Philippines
Emerson Y. SY & Erickson A. TABAYAG
emersonsy@gmail.com (Sy), ericksontabayag @gmail.com (Tabayag)

Observers: Erickson A. Tabayag, Ronel F. Daganta.
Photographs by: Erickson A. Tabayag.
Subjects identified by: Emerson Y. Sy.
Location: North Guntao Island, Municipality of El Nido, Palawan Province, Philippines.
Elevation: 1 metre.
Habitat: Sandy beach, 5 metres from the shore.
Date and time: 05 May 2018, 10:00 hrs.
Identity of subjects:(i) King Cobra, Ophiophagus hannah (Reptilia: Squamata: Elapidae).
(ii) Leviton’s Bronzeback, Dendrelaphis levitoni (Reptilia: Squamata: Colubridae).
Description of record: A juvenile King Cobra, estimated 1.5 metres in total length, was observed in the process ofswallowing a snake prey, later identified as Leviton’s Bronzeback. As the observers approached the King Cobra, it
regurgitated its prey (Fig. 2) and assumed a defensive posture.

Fig. 1.

© Erickson Tabayag48

Fig. 2.

© Erickson Tabayag

Remarks: The King Cobra was identified based on (i) dorsal body colour is olive brown, (ii) large parietal andoccipital scales, (iii) loreal scale is absent, (iv) one preocular, (v) three postoculars and (vi) seven upper labials
with third and fourth in contact with the eye (Fig. 1) (Taylor, 1922). Leviton’s Bronzeback was identified based on(i) black longitudinal stripes on the body (ii) a black postocular stripe, (iii) bluish tinge on ventral scales, and (iv)
reddish orange pigmentation on the neck (Fig. 2) (Van Rooijen & Vogel, 2012; Sy, unpubl. data).
The King Cobra has a widespread distribution from South Asia to Southeast Asia (Das, 2002). In the Philippines,
King Cobra has been documented on large and small islands (e.g. Pangulasian, Romblon, this paper) (Sy &Wallbank, 2013; Sy & Dichaves, 2017). While it is a well‐known ophiophagous snake, in the Philippines the King
Cobra has also been documented to prey on an endemic varanid, the Yellow‐headed Water Monitor (Cuming’sWater Monitor) Varanus cumingi (Siler et al., 2011).
Leviton’s Bronzeback is endemic to the Palawan faunal region and occurs on Balabac, Cadaraman, and Palawan(Van Rooijen & Vogel, 2012). This paper provides new distributional record for both snakes.
References:Das, I. (2002). A photographic guide to snakes and other reptiles of India. New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd.
London, United Kingdom. 144 pp.
Siler, C.D., Welton, L.J., Brown, R.M., Infante, C. and Diesmos, A.C. (2011). Ophiophagus hannah (King Cobra) diet.
Herpetological Review 42(2): 297.
Sy, E.Y. and Dichaves, J.A.L. (2017). Geographic distribution: Ophiophagus hannah (King Cobra): Philippines,Pangulasian Island. Herpetological Review 48(3): 591.
Sy, E.Y. and Wallbank, M. (2013). Geographic distribution: Ophiophagus hannah (King Cobra): Philippines,Romblon Province. Herpetological Review 44(1): 110.
Taylor, E.H. (1922). The Snakes Of The Philippine Islands. Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources andBureau of Science, Manila. 312 pp. + 37 plates.
Van Rooijen, J. and Vogel, G. (2012). A revision of the taxonomy of Dendrelaphis caudolineatus (Gray, 1834)(Serpentes: Colubridae). Zootaxa 3272: 1‐25.

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