Formosa slug snake
Formosa slug snake or Taiwan slug snake is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Pareatidae. It is endemic to Taiwan.
Taxonomy
It has been suggested that Pareas chinensis should be treated as a synonym of P. formosensis, but recent genetic research does not support this: P. formosensis does not appear closely related to P. chinensis but is instead a sister species to P. hamptoni. The delineation of these species is not clear. In future, P. formosensis might become a subspecies of P. hamptoni, or some snakes from the mainland might be classified as P. formosensis.Further studies have shown that Pareas komaii is a valid species, instead of being a synonym of P. formosensis. The study also described a new species, Pareas atayal, that have been confused with P. formosensis. Thus, three Pareas species occur in Taiwan.
Description
The Formosa slug snake is a small snake with total length up to. These snakes are widespread in mountainous, moist forests. Formosa slug snakes are nocturnal and feed on land snails and slugs. Female snakes produce a clutch of 2–9 eggs; the hatchlings measure about in total length.P. formosensis is readily distinguished from P. komaii and P. atayal by its red iris and totally smooth dorsal scales.