unknown blind snake from Hong Kong Island

Dedicated exclusively to field herping.

Moderator: Scott Waters

Post Reply
User avatar
Kevin Messenger
Posts: 536
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 3:00 pm
Location: Nanjing, China
Contact:

unknown blind snake from Hong Kong Island

Post by Kevin Messenger »

Hey guys, thought I would put this out there for anyone with extensive knowledge of blind snakes. We found this guy yesterday on Hong Kong Island in some leaf litter. Hong Kong is only known to have two species of blind snakes: Rhamphotyphlops braminus and Rhamphotyphlops albiceps (latin = "white head").

This guy (in my opinion) is much thicker than the R. braminus we usually see, as well as having a tapered body (head seems more narrow and gets thicker as you move posteriorly). I intend to have some comparison shots up in the next day or two. The other species, R. albiceps, as the name implies has a black body with a white head.

Either this is an albino R. braminus (but the size and body shape don't agree), or it is something else. I cannot see an eye under the scales either (I don't remember if you are supposed to be able to see an eye in R. braminus or not). Just hoping to get some thoughts. Thanks

Image
Image
Image
Image
User avatar
kkchome
Posts: 50
Joined: July 22nd, 2010, 1:15 am
Location: Yuen Long, NT Hong Kong

Re: unknown blind snake from Hong Kong Island

Post by kkchome »

User avatar
chrish
Posts: 3295
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 11:14 pm
Location: San Antonio, TX
Contact:

Re: unknown blind snake from Hong Kong Island

Post by chrish »

It looks like a blindsnake. The scalation is wrong for a Dibamid.

Why not an amelanistic Rhamphotyphlops albiceps?
Mike Malawy
Posts: 10
Joined: June 11th, 2010, 7:29 am
Location: Mesa, AZ

Re: unknown blind snake from Hong Kong Island

Post by Mike Malawy »

It looks kind of like this R. braminus that this guy found in FL. Check out the link. Other than that guess, I really have no clue! :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60046736@N00/113740901/

It's not my picture or site, but the blue snake looks similar.
Geqqo
Posts: 75
Joined: February 11th, 2011, 8:09 pm

Re: unknown blind snake from Hong Kong Island

Post by Geqqo »

Anyone ever seen one in the blue? Perhaps it is about to shed? Just throwing it out there, I have only seen a few examples of the native desert species, but after seeing the side by side comparison shot from flikr the theory entered my mind. Could very well be a mutation too, just figure for such a secretive snake I can't imagine many people have seen the shedding process.

Dan
User avatar
monklet
Posts: 2648
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 4:44 pm
Location: Ventura, CA
Contact:

Re: unknown blind snake from Hong Kong Island

Post by monklet »

The overall form seems quite distinctive. Any one got pics of albiceps for comparision?
User avatar
Ross Padilla
Posts: 2666
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 6:29 pm
Location: I love L.A.
Contact:

Re: unknown blind snake from Hong Kong Island

Post by Ross Padilla »

I've found several braminus and one was shaped like that. I thought it might be gravid. I could see its eyes when I got a close up shot of its head with a flash. This one looks like the one posted here a while back and might be on that albino thread. If its some type of albino, possibly that is why you can't see the eyes. Any chance it could be a gravid albino braminus? That is just a guess. That is a cool find regardless.
User avatar
Kevin Messenger
Posts: 536
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 3:00 pm
Location: Nanjing, China
Contact:

Re: unknown blind snake from Hong Kong Island

Post by Kevin Messenger »

Thanks for all the ideas and input. When we get back from our snake hunt tonight (last night we saw 22 snakes - 11 species), I will probably try to get some comparison shots. I hadn't thought of the gravid/ not gravid aspect. The individual is just so much larger than the typical adult R. braminus we have been seeing, in addition to different shape, in addition to different color - so these 3 aspects combined make me feel as if it isn't R. braminus. But maybe it is a gigantic, albino, gravid female R. braminus. Has to happen some time. . .
dicephalics
Posts: 2
Joined: May 30th, 2015, 5:34 am

Re: unknown blind snake from Hong Kong Island

Post by dicephalics »

This is definitely a pre-shed braminus (all blindsnakes turn milky white before they molt). And the nasal suture contacting the rostral dorsally is a key character for braminus.
User avatar
Kevin Messenger
Posts: 536
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 3:00 pm
Location: Nanjing, China
Contact:

Re: unknown blind snake from Hong Kong Island

Post by Kevin Messenger »

wow. Strange for this to pop up after so much time. But yeah, we kept it until it shed, and it was just your standard Brahminy blind snake. Unfortunately. Thanks anyway though!
User avatar
Paul Freed
Posts: 130
Joined: November 10th, 2013, 12:14 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest (Oregon) U.S.

Re: unknown blind snake from Hong Kong Island

Post by Paul Freed »

dicephalics is correct, this is a pre-shed braminus, I observed a blind snake in India just like this and thought I had found an undescribed species.
-Paul
Post Reply