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Elapidae · Philippine record

McClung’s Philippine Coral Snake

Hemibungarus mcclungiTAYLOR 1922

Length
Length not yet addedAtlas entry awaiting completion
Venom status
VenomousHuman effects: atlas summary awaiting completion
Known venom effects
Effects not yet summarised in this atlas
Size & venom sources

Venom: Venomous Philippine coralsnake. Species-specific clinical effects require separate assessment.

p. 89, Introduction; C. salitan venom apparatus, pp. 96–97

Venom effects and medical significance are different from toxicity rankings. Do not handle a snake on the basis of this summary.

Hemibungarus mcclungi is a Elapidae snake included in the Philippine checklist. Its atlas account links 1 named island or island-group record to the source literature.

OccurrenceConfirmed
Islands named1
Natural history3 sourced topics
References4

Literature updated 2026-10-07 · Editorial review pending

Explore the island records ↓

Species portrait

Hemibungarus mcclungi

Image to follow
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The illustrated collection

Adult & juvenile

Adult · study plate

Hemibungarus mcclungi

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Juvenile · study plate

Hemibungarus mcclungi

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Reserved for a contributor imageCredit and usage rights will accompany the image.

Life stages will be labelled from the contributor’s information. Images alone do not establish identification or a locality record.

Media provenance

Every image carries its source.

Contributor images are forthcoming. Photographs and illustrations will retain their individual credits, permissions and evidence notes.

A closer look

Natural history & identification

Taxonomic context

Treatments have differed between recognising this form and including it within H. calligaster. Reports using the older broad name cannot automatically be assigned to this account.

Evidence & scope

Literature documented · Comment: synonymy

Species-level database summary; literature review, not expert validation.

The cited account does not establish population-wide variation or the conditions at every Philippine locality.

Reproduction

The species account records egg-laying reproduction. A verified Philippine clutch-size range, incubation interval and breeding calendar are not established here.

Evidence & scope

Literature documented · Reproduction field

Reproductive mode reported for this named species.

Mode alone does not establish litter or clutch size, seasonal timing, or captive husbandry requirements.

Philippine distribution

The atlas records Hemibungarus mcclungi from these named Philippine areas: Polillo. These are literature areas rather than a continuous range boundary.

Evidence & scope

Literature documented · Existing checklist occurrence statement and distribution review

The original evidence level is retained.

A country listing cannot establish an island or a precise locality.

Across the archipelago

Where this species is recorded

Philippines
Hemibungarus mcclungi — all named islandsPolillo

Documented islands: gold · island groups: dashed circles

Island-level records · not continuous habitat coverage. Dashed circles locate groups, not individual observations.

Philippine distribution

Documented places

1 named island / island group

Select an island to read its distribution record and sources. Uncoloured islands are not evidence of absence.

Distribution record & sources

Philippines (Polillo) Type locality: Polillo Id., Philippines

References attached to this species account. Island-specific evidence is shown separately where available.

The Reptile Database — species checklist, 17 June 2026 ↗

Synopsis of the Snakes of the Philippines: A Synthesis of Data from Biodiversity Repositories, Field Studies, and the Literature ↗

A New Species of Long-glanded Coralsnake of the Genus Calliophis (Squamata: Elapidae) from Dinagat Island, with Notes on the Biogeography and Species Diversity of Philippine Calliophis and Hemibungarus ↗

Hemibungarus mcclungi — The Reptile Database species account ↗

Living with wildlife

Give this snake space.

Venomous · Effects not yet summarised in this atlas

Observe from a distance. Do not handle, corner or capture a snake to identify it. An incomplete venom account is not evidence that a species is safe to handle.

After a suspected snakebite, keep the person still and arrange urgent medical care. Avoid tight tourniquets, cutting, suction and unproven remedies. Do not wait to identify the snake before seeking help.

WHO guidance on snakebite first aid

Species record

Taxonomy, occurrence & evidence.

Identity

Accepted name
Hemibungarus mcclungi
Common names
McClung’s Philippine Coral Snake
Authority
TAYLOR 1922
Year described
1922
Taxonomic status
Accepted species
Family
Elapidae
Genus
Hemibungarus
Species epithet
mcclungi
Persistent ID
PH-SERP-3335001B7B
Checklist checked
2026-09-05

Philippine occurrence

Status
Present
Confidence
Confirmed
Basis
2018 Philippine synopsis treatment plus current RDB listing
Islands named
Polillo

Range noteCountry/island text is not a range polygon or locality record.

Source distribution statement

Philippines (Polillo) Type locality: Polillo Id., Philippines

Knowledge coverage

EndemismResearch pending
EcologyResearch pending
VenomVenomous
Effects not yet summarised in this atlas
Detailed research: Research pending
ConservationResearch pending

Names through time

Nomenclatural trail

Hemibungarus mcclungi TAYLOR 1922: 272 Calliophis calligaster mcclungi — LEVITON 1964: 547 Hemibungarus calligaster mcclungi — SILER & WELTON 2010: 428 Hemibungarus calligaster macclungi — WELCH 1994: 65 Hemibungarus macclungi — LEVITON et al. 2014 Hemibungarus mcclungi — LEVITON et al. 2018: 455 Hemibungarus mcclungi — WEINELL et al. 2019

Taxonomic and source notes

Venomous! Synonymy: Wallach et al. 2014 list Hemibungarus macclungi TAYLOR 1922 as a synonym of Hemibungarus calligaster. The species is hardly mentioned in the literature, but has been treated as valid species or subspecies by more recent authors.

References attached to this record

2026

The Reptile Database — species checklist, 17 June 2026

Uetz, P.; Freed, P.; Aguilar, R.; Reyes, F.; Kudera, J.; Hošek, J. (eds.)

Open source ↗
2018

Synopsis of the Snakes of the Philippines: A Synthesis of Data from Biodiversity Repositories, Field Studies, and the Literature

Leviton, A. E.; Siler, C. D.; Weinell, J. L.; Brown, R. M.

Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 64(14): 399–568

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.11512589

Open source ↗
2018

A New Species of Long-glanded Coralsnake of the Genus Calliophis (Squamata: Elapidae) from Dinagat Island, with Notes on the Biogeography and Species Diversity of Philippine Calliophis and Hemibungarus

Brown, R. M.; Smart, U.; Leviton, A. E.; Smith, E. N.

Herpetologica 74(1): 89–104

Table 3 gives total-length maxima of examined series; C. salitan venom apparatus described on pp. 96–97.

Open source ↗
n.d.

Hemibungarus mcclungi — The Reptile Database species account

Uetz, P.; Hallermann, J. et al. (editors)

Public species fields consulted for bounded biological summaries. Primary sources quoted within the database were not independently examined unless explicitly stated. The catalogue name may differ from the current source title.

Open source ↗