
Fig 1

Fig 2

Fig 3
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Family : COLUBRIDAE
Species : Lycodon subannulatus
Maximum Size : 60 cm
Bridle snakes are so
called
because of the resemblance of their slender bodies to the
leather straps or 'bridles'
used to control horses.
The Malayan Bridle Snake occurs in primary and
secondary forests and has a mainly arboreal lifestyle. It is a master
climber; the specimens shown here were easily able to grip the trunk of a
dying tree or the overhanging
wall of a damp cave in their search for geckos, one of their chief prey
items.
This is a relatively small
species, which can be identified by the yellow-grey body colour, with thick,
regular brown bands on the dorsal side which do not continue under the
ventral side. A second form exists where the patterning comprises alternate
brown and yellow stripes (this form is not known from Borneo).
The species ranges from
southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore to Borneo, Sumatra and
parts of the Philippines. In 2017 the species was confirmed in southern
Myanmar.
Figs 1 and 2 : Banded form in a cavity inside a
dead tree at Bukit
Timah, Singapore.
Fig 3 : Banded form inside a cave at Bukit Timah, Singapore. Note the dorso-lateral flattening which
allows the snake to grip surface irregularities on the rock wall.
References :
Lee, J. L., Miller, A. H., Connette, G. M., Oo, K. S., Zug, G. R., &
Mulcahy, D. G. (2018). First record of the Malaysian Bridle Snake,
Dryocalamus subannulatus (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854), in Myanmar
(Reptilia, Serpentes, Colubridae). Check List, 14(2), 341.
Manthey U., Grossmann W., 1997. Amphibien und Reptilien Sudostasiens. Natur
und Tier - Verlag.
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