White-spotted slug snake (Pareas margaritophorus)

Species of Thailand

White-spotted slug snake

Pareas margaritophorus

(Giorgio Jan, 1866)

In Thai: งูกินทากจุดขาว, ngu gin thaag jud khao

The mountain slug snake (Pareas margaritophorus), also known as the white-spotted slug snake, is a small, harmless species of snake that is rather common in South, South-East, and East Asia, and feeds on small invertebrates.

Characteristics

Mountain slug snakes are forest-dwellers that are about small to medium-sized. They have fangs that are located on their lower jaw in which they can use to remove the snail from their shells to eat. They have blunt heads that are wider than their actual body width. It averages about 47 cm in length and can be spotted by its collar that can be yellow or orange with a grey or brown body. It also has black scales with a pale underside with dark spots.

Habits

The mountain slug snake is a nocturnal species that is active on the forest floor or on shallow vegetation that are usually found in lowland or lower mountain forests that are at the elevation of 1500 meters.

Diet

Mountain slug snakes feed on the following invertebrates:

snails
slugs
earthworms

Distribution

It is found in NE India, Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and China.

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Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Pareas
Species: Pareas margaritophorus

Common names

German: Weissflecken-Schneckennatter
English: White-spotted slug snake
Thai: งูกินทากจุดขาว, ngu gin thaag jud khao

Synonyms

Pareas (Eberhardtia) margaritophorus, Nikolay A. Poyarkov et al. (2022)
Pareas margaritophorus, NGUYEN et al. (2018)
Pareas margaritophorus, Tanya Chan-Ard et al. (2015)
Pareas macularius, Tanya Chan-Ard et al. (2015)
Pareas margaritophorus, Van Stanley Bartholomew Wallach et al. (2014)
Pareas macularius, Van Stanley Bartholomew Wallach et al. (2014)
Pareas macularius, Nguyen Van Sang et al. (2009)
Pareas macularius, Guo & Deng (2008)
Pareas macularius, Romulus Whitaker & Ashok Captain (2004)
Pareas margaritophorus, Thomas Ziegler (2002)
Pareas macularius, H. Hermann Schleich & Werner Kästle (2000)
Pareas macularius, Tanya Chan-Ard et al. (1999)
Pareas margaritophorus, Merel J. Cox et al. (1998)
Pareas margaritophorus, Ulrich Manthey & Wolfgang Grossmann (1997)
Dipsas margaritophorus, Nguyen & Ho (1996)
Pareas macularius, Indraneil Das (1996)
Pareas macularius, Edward Harrison Taylor (1965)
Pareas margaritophorus, Malcolm Arthur Smith (1943)
Pareas macularius, Malcolm Arthur Smith (1943)
Amblycephalus tamdaoensis, René Léon Bourret (1935)
Amblycephalus modestus, Frank Wall (1909)
Amblycephalus andersoni, Frank Wall (1908)
Pareas andersonii, George Albert Boulenger (1888)
Pares moellendorffi, Oskar Boettger (1885)
Pareas margaritophorus, William Theobald (1876)
Pareas modestus, William Theobald (1868)
Pareas macularius, William Theobald (1868)
Leptognathus margaritophorus, Giorgio Jan (1866)

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Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN3.1)

Photos

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Distribution map of White-spotted slug snake, Pareas margaritophorus in Thailand — Range map of Pareas margaritophorus in Thailand

Thai National Parks

Species of Thailand