Island atlas · Landscapes & species
Mindanao
39 species records name Mindanao. Explore their natural history, taxonomic history and distribution sources.
Forested mountain ridges viewed from Mount Apo, Mindanao.
Photo: Jay Jopia · Original photograph · CC BY-SA 4.0. Displayed to fit the frame.
Beyond the species list
A sense of place.
Mindanao is the second-largest island of the Philippines. Its name is also used for a wider island group that includes nearby islands and the Sulu Archipelago. Here, the geographic focus is the main island.
Landscape & habitats
Mount Apo offers one view into Mindanao’s mountain environments. The rainforest photograph shows a wooded upland setting, while the island as a whole spans a much broader area than any single mountain or forest reserve.
Basilan, Dinagat, Siargao and southern Camiguin are separate islands with their own overview pages.
Geographic sources
Geographic overview checked 7 October 2026. The photograph illustrates a landscape, not a snake observation.
Islands, barriers & evolution
Zoogeography
A large historical complex with several centres of diversity
Mindanao forms the core of a historical complex that includes several islands now separated by sea. But even the main island is not biologically uniform: its mountains and different geological components support geographic subdivision.
The northeast Mindanao inventory highlights regional diversity while the 2024 review identifies substantial survey gaps elsewhere on the island. A rich catalogue from Caraga therefore cannot stand in for western, central or southern Mindanao, and a regional range does not imply presence in every habitat.
How to read the historical island groups
During Pleistocene glacial periods, lower sea levels exposed shallow seabeds and joined some present-day islands. Biogeographers call these reconstructed landmasses Pleistocene Aggregate Island Complexes (PAICs). Deep channels continued to separate others. This model helps explain regional similarities, but dispersal, older geology and habitat differences also shaped each fauna.
“Endemic” means restricted to a stated area; a Philippine endemic need not be confined to one island. The account above summarises published regional and local research. It does not add occurrences to the snake index below.
Regional framework: Meneses et al. (2024) ↗Zoogeographic sources · 2
- Sanguila et al. (2016) · Northeast Mindanao and adjacent islands ↗Greater Mindanao connections, regional differences, and records from Dinagat and Siargao.
- Meneses et al. (2024) · Philippine herpetology, 20 years on ↗Regional framework, Fig. 1; isolation and research gaps. Open-access review, CC0.
Literature checked 7 October 2026. Survey results refer to the dates and areas studied.
Source-backed index
39 species
These are explicit source mentions, not a complete island richness estimate. Fine localities and habitat associations remain separate evidence claims.
Ahaetulla prasina
(BOIE 1827)
Aplopeltura boa
(BOIE 1828)
Boiga angulata
(PETERS 1861)
Boiga cynodon
(BOIE 1827)
Boiga dendrophila
(BOIE 1827)
Calamaria gervaisii
DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854
Calamaria lumbricoidea
BOIE 1827
Calamaria virgulata
BOIE 1827
Calliophis philippinus
(GÜNTHER 1864)
Calliophis salitan
BROWN, SMART, LEVITON & SMITH 2018
Coelognathus erythrurus
(DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854)
Cyclocorus nuchalis
TAYLOR 1923
Dendrelaphis marenae
VOGEL & VAN ROOIJEN 2008
Fordonia leucobalia
(SCHLEGEL 1837)
Gerrhopilus hedraeus
(SAVAGE 1950)
Hydrophis atriceps
GÜNTHER 1864
Hydrophis platurus
(LINNAEUS 1766)
Lycodon capucinus
BOIE 1827
Lycodon dumerilii
(BOULENGER 1893)
Malayopython reticulatus
(SCHNEIDER 1801)
Naja samarensis
PETERS 1861
Oligodon maculatus
(TAYLOR 1918)
Oligodon modestus
GÜNTHER 1864
Oligodon notospilus
GÜNTHER 1873
Opisthotropis alcalai
BROWN & LEVITON 1961
Oxyrhabdium modestum
(DUMÉRIL 1853)
Psammodynastes pulverulentus
(BOIE 1827)
Pseudorabdion ater
(TAYLOR 1922)
Pseudorabdion oxycephalum
(GÜNTHER 1858)
Pseudorabdion taylori
LEVITON & BROWN 1959
Ramphotyphlops cumingii
(GRAY 1845)
Rhabdophis auriculatus
(GÜNTHER 1858)
Rhabdophis lineatus
(PETERS 1861)
Stegonotus muelleri
DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854
Trimeresurus flavomaculatus
(GRAY 1842)
Tropidolaemus philippensis
(GRAY 1842)
Tropidolaemus subannulatus
(GRAY 1842)
Tropidonophis dendrophiops
(GÜNTHER 1883)
Tropidonophis negrosensis
(TAYLOR 1917)
A source naming Mindanao does not establish occurrence in every municipality, protected area, or habitat on the island.