About Calamaria schlegeli Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854
Calamaria schlegeli has key identifying features that include modified maxillary teeth and specific scale traits. In this species, the third and fourth upper lip scales make contact with the eye, the mental scale does not touch the anterior chin shields, and the nasal scales are oriented laterally. The species shows considerable geographic variation in its scales: preocular scales are present in individuals from Singapore and Malaya, absent in individuals from Java, and sometimes present in individuals from Borneo and Sumatra. This is a nonvenomous red-headed snake, and it is sometimes mistaken for two venomous species: the blue Malayan coral snake (Calliophis bivirgatus) and the red-headed krait (Bungarus flaviceps). This resemblance is an example of Batesian mimicry, where a non-venomous animal protects itself by looking similar to a venomous one.
