LEVITON, BROWN, & SILER: PHILIPPINE VENOMOUS SNAKES 
All 
and T. subannulatus); the annulated or barred coral snake, Calliophis calligaster, is now placed in 
the genus Hemibungarus, whereas the banded coral snake, Maticora intestinalis, is refeixed to as 
Calliophis intestinalis. In addition, in recent years, the pit vipers usually refeixed to the genus 
Trimeresunis have been subjected to intense scrutiny and at times have been reassigned to several 
genera, Trimeresums, Farias, and, as already noted, Twpidolaemus. At the time of the writing of 
this report, the species of pit vipers assigned to the nominal genus Farias, have been returned to 
the genus Trimeresurus (e.g., T flavomaculatus, T mcgregori, and T. schultzei); however, some 
researchers recognize Farias as a subgenus of Trimeresurus, and we have adopted that assignment 
here, whereas Tropidolaemus is still valid as a distinct genus. These changes, though frequently 
confusing to the non-specialist, often represent significant advances to our understanding of the 
relationships and are important in leading to more effective treatment of snakebites by allowing for 
the selection and administration of appropriate species-specific antivenoms. 
Lastly, we emphasize that whereas we believe all snakes should be treated with care, ven¬ 
omous or not, snakes are also highly beneficial to the ecosystem and should not be wantonly 
destroyed because of fear. The vast majority of the Philippines’ 180+ species of snakes are not dan¬ 
gerous to humans. 
An early version of this publication titled “Keys to the dangerously venomous terrestrial 
snakes of the Philippines” was published in the Silliman Journal (Leviton 1961). That publication 
was followed by Angel Alcala’s 1986 treatment of the venomous snakes of the Philippines in vol¬ 
ume X, Amphibians and Reptiles, in the Guide to Fhilippine Flora and Fauna. Since these publi¬ 
cations appeared, additional new information from both field and laboratory reseaixh has come to 
light. Indeed, a number of groups in Europe and the United States are actively engaged in research 
aimed at clarifying the taxonomy of the viperid genera Trimeresurus and Tropidolaemus, as well 
as the elapid snakes in the genera Calliophis and Hemibungams and the sea snakes. As a result, we 
expect that the classification of the venomous snakes presented here will continue to change (see 
Bibliography for references, especially for authors David, Ineich, and Vogel, Rasmussen et al., 
Thorpe, Maholtra, and Wiister). 
Acknowledgments 
The authors express their profound appreciation to Harold Voris, Doug Lin, and John Tashjian, 
who are responsible for several of the photogi'aphs that are reproduced here. Please note that in 
those figure legends where the words “Photo by” appear, copyright ownership of the images resides 
with the individual acknowledged and not the California Academy of Sciences. 
We owe a special thanks to our friend and collaborator A. C. Diesmos (National Museum of 
the Philippines) for his continued support, past companionship in the field, for the use of photo¬ 
graphs reproduced here, and for the logistical assistance he has generously provided tlirough the 
years. 
And, lest we forget, one of us (AEL) wants to express his appreciation again to the staff of the 
National Museum of Natural History, specifically George Zug, Addison Wynn, and Kenneth Tighe, 
for their ongoing assistance in locating specimens and providing onsite work space. 
Lastly, we thank Dr. Michele L. Aldrich who perused an early version of the manuscript with 
extraordinary care and made substantive suggestions for improving the overall presentation. We are 
also indebted to the external reviewers for their thoughtful comments. Dr. George Zug, in particu¬ 
lar, suggested a number of changes, most of which we heartily accepted. Having said this, the 
authors still bear full responsibility for their decisions to accept or reject specific recommendations 
as well as for errors of commission or omission. 
