About Rhabdophis rhodomelas (Boie, 1827)
Rhabdophis rhodomelas, commonly known as the blueneck keelback or blue-necked keelback, is a species of snake in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. Its distribution covers the Malay Peninsula (including southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, and Singapore), Borneo (including Sarawak and Sabah, Malaysia; Kalimantan, Indonesia), and the western regions of the Indonesian Archipelago (including Sumatra, Java, and Bangka Island). This is an uncommon species that occurs in lowland forest near streams and rivers, at elevations below 200 m (660 ft) above sea level. It is oviparous, and can lay up to 27 eggs per clutch. A photo and short description of this snake appear on page 61 of the 1989 popular book Fascinating Snakes of South East Asia - An Introduction, by Francis Lim Leong Keng and Monty Lee Tat-Mong (ISBN 967-73-0045-8). This description states that "When disturbed, the Blue-Necked Keelback will rear up and flatten its neck like the Cobra. A whitish discharge, secreted by glands under the skin, oozes onto the blue patch of the neck-the purpose of this phenomenon is still a mystery." No further reference to this phenomenon has been found after extensive searching.
