About Pareas carinatus (Wagler, 1830)
The keeled slug-eating snake, scientifically known as Pareas carinatus, is a snake species that belongs to the family Pareidae. This species has a relatively wide distribution across Southeast Asia, ranging from southern China’s Yunnan province to Burma and Indochina, and extending to the Malay Archipelago, including Borneo, Java, Lombok, Sumatra, and Bali. Two subspecies of Pareas carinatus are currently recognized: P. c. carinatus and P. c. unicolor. The subspecies P. c. unicolor is found only in Cambodia. Keeled slug-eating snakes inhabit forests or areas adjacent to forests. They are nocturnal and mostly arboreal. As their common name indicates, they feed exclusively on snails and slugs. This species is oviparous. Although forest destruction has negative impacts on Pareas carinatus, the IUCN notes that these impacts are only localized and do not pose a major threat to the species as a whole.
