Species information
Scientific name: Protobothrops elegans
Japanese name: サキシマハブ
Chinese name: 先島原矛頭蝮、先島波布、麗紋龜殼花、先島烙鐵頭
English name: Sakishima Habu
Origin: Yaeyama Islands, but not distributed on Yonaguni and Hateruma. It is an introduced species in the southern and central parts of Okinawajima in Japan.
Ecology and description
Sakishima Habu is about 60-120cm in length, significantly smaller compared to Habu, with a variable brown coloration and venom approximately half as potent as Habu.
Sakishima Habu was introduced to Okinawajima in the 1970s for exhibitions of venomous snake shows against Small Indian mongoose and for developing Habu powder products. In 1976, 100 individuals kept at a tourist facility were stolen and released into the wild. Populations have since established in the southern part of Okinawajima, including Itoman City, and individuals have been captured in Naha and Nago, although numbers are small and stable populations are uncertain. Hybrid offspring of Habu and Sakishima Habu have been captured on Okinawajima.
Field photographs taken during our tours, with observation dates
Although Sakishima Habu belongs to the same genus as Habu, it more frequently preys on frogs, making it more likely to be found in areas where frogs gather.
