a friend of mine took this photo in Halmahera (Indonesia, just west of New Guinea), and we're all stumped about the ID. The snake was about a meter (yard) long. Any ideas what it could be?
Thanks very much in advance!
Hans

Moderator: Scott Waters
Yes. See http://www.starfish.ch/dive/Wallacea.htmlRuxs wrote:Is Halmahera east of the Wallace Line?
If not it could be one of the various Indonesian subspecies of Boiga dendrophila.
No, it isn't. Ch'ien Lee, the photographer, wrote to me: "We were sitting quietly in aPic isn't very good...
Very true!Kelly Mc wrote:Beautiful snake. I love relaxed natural shots of snakes that include habitat detail. Even if they are not perfect in focus, its not a tired, fake pose.
intermedius wrote:This snake is Stegonotus batjanensis, a frog-eating Colubrid that is closely related to the Slaty-Grey Snake of Australia and New Guinea. It is endemic to the Maluku Island region of Indonesia (Ambon, Halmahera, Bacan, Morotai, etc) and is characterized by its brilliant yellow speckled head, but they can be more polymorphic if I recall.
A really fascinating find. Several species of snakes on Halmahera are poorly known and almost all of them are found past Wallace's Line.
- Justin
Good point about the Boiga features.dthor68 wrote:There is only one snake with a head pattern like that, that I know of, Stegonotus batjanenses. Boiga does have the same prominent edged backbone. However, their neck is slimmer and the head is larger with large protruding eyes. Regardless, I am very sure that it is not Boiga.
I love to catch, photograph, and release snakes in their natural habitat within a short space of time rather than hold them (most of 'them' being hilariously inbred) in tiny enclosures for their entire lives, but that doesn't mean I try to force my ethical agenda upon others all the time. Yes, there is nothing quite like an undisturbed in-situ from which you can learn about their ecology. Can't we just leave it as that?Kelly Mc wrote:Beautiful snake. I love relaxed natural shots of snakes that include habitat detail. Even if they are not perfect in focus, its not a tired, fake pose.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, I don't know if something carried over from a previous thread into this one but whats with the defensiveness? Kelly expressed her preference for a certain type of photo and that seems to have gotten under your skin. Glad you're not forcing your ethical agenda on others, but lashing out at other members for their opinions isn't cool either.Ruxs wrote:I love to catch, photograph, and release snakes in their natural habitat within a short space of time rather than hold them (most of 'them' being hilariously inbred) in tiny enclosures for their entire lives, but that doesn't mean I try to force my ethical agenda upon others all the time. Yes, there is nothing quite like an undisturbed in-situ from which you can learn about their ecology. Can't we just leave it as that?Kelly Mc wrote:Beautiful snake. I love relaxed natural shots of snakes that include habitat detail. Even if they are not perfect in focus, its not a tired, fake pose.
I guess even the gods are unable make an iPhone act like a real cameraAntonsrkn wrote:Also a big fan of Ch'ien Lee's photography, its some of the absolute best I have seen! Never would have guessed this was one of his pics though haha.
I tried to find more on this snake, one of my original curiosities was if the juveniles are dimorphic in pattern from the adults, and in trying to search that out, and finding no info, I became even more curious about it. I have not seen this snake here before, and this forum has revealed more species to me than any other place.Hans Breuer (twoton) wrote:Hi all,
a friend of mine took this photo in Halmahera (Indonesia, just west of New Guinea), and we're all stumped about the ID. The snake was about a meter (yard) long. Any ideas what it could be?
Thanks very much in advance!
Hans