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Palawan Sun Skink

    Leaves, twigs, and barks that have fallen to the ground make up leaf litter, and it's home to a wide variety of plants and animals. Most of the tiny animals found in the leaf litter are invertebrates. They are important food source for toads, skinks, and other small amphibians and reptiles that rely on the shelter and moisture provided by the leaf litter. One of the many creatures living in the leaf litter habitats of Palawan is the Palawan Sun Skink ( Eutropis sahulinghangganan ), a newly described species of skink endemic to Palawan. The name Eutropis sahulinghangganan derives from the Tagalog "sa huling" or "sa huli ng" (meaning in the last), and "hangganan" (meaning frontier). Palawan Sun Skink     The Palawan Sun Skink inhabits thick coastal forests, mangroves, as well as secondary forests and primary forests up in the mountains. I have seen this skink near the peak of Mount Beaufort at elevations of around 1000 masl, but the population of thi...

Blunt-headed Slug Snake

Blunt-headed Slug Snake Aplopeltura boa photo by Jojo De Peralta in Palawan
     The Blunt-headed Slug Snake, Aplopeltura boa (Boie, 1828) is a small, arboreal and nocturnal member of Pareatidae that can be found in the forests of Palawan. Like many pareids, this snake is known to feed on slugs and snails and it can extract the meat of the snail without breaking the shell. They have asymmetrical lower jaws that allow them to pry the soft bodies of snails from their spiral shells. This slow moving snake is not particularly colorful, but it is beautiful with all the markings on its short blunt head and big eyes.

Blunt-headed Slug Snake Aplopeltura boa photo by Jojo De Peralta in Palawan
Blunt-headed Slug Snake


     The Blunt-headed Slug Snake, though uncommon, is widely distributed in the province of Palawan. This species is a non-venomous snake inhabiting both lowland and montane moist forests and is typically found perched on low vegetation. It usually flees when disturbed or threatened, but sometimes it will coil up tight into a cylindrical shape, keeping its head hidden in the coils. This snake also occurs in other Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo and Indonesia.
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