The largely aquatic banded file snake is uncommon but known from many estuarine and marine localities in Singapore, both in the Johor Straits and in the Singapore Straits (Baker & Lim, 2012: 92). It has even been found in freshwater at Lower Seletar Reservoir (Ng, 2011: 91). Although expected from the small patch of mangrove at Pasir Ris, a location well-known for harbouring four species of homalopsid water snakes (see Karns et al., 2002), the present sighting seems to be the first published record from there.

This appears to be the first record of an Acrochordus granulatus hunting and feeding in the wild in Singapore. Feeding behaviour of this species has been observed in captive snakes (Lillywhite, 1998), and the diet of wild snakes in the Straits of Malacca is known to consist of gobioid fishes (Voris & Glodek, 1980). The featured observation supports the published finds. The purpose of the snake’s tail being inserted into the second hole is not clear. There seems to be two possibilities. 1) The holes were entrances to the same burrow, and the tail was inserted to plug the escape route and flush the prey towards the snake’s mouth. 2) The holes may not be connected to the same burrow, but with the tail firmly stuffed in the second hole, the snake could anchor itself at one end to facilitate pulling its head and prey out at the other end. As for the snake’s constriction of its prey, it is doubtful that this suffocates the fish. With the help of the snake’s characteristically rough skin, it is more likely a means to hold firmly on to the slippery fish to prevent it from slipping away while the snake swallows it whole (see Lillywhite, 1998) From what little that can be viewed of the prey in Fig. 11 & 14, the fish is tentatively identified as a Buan goby, Amblygobius buanensis, which is recognised mainly by the colour pattern, and the shape of the body and caudal fin. The caudal peduncle has a dark reddish mid-lateral stripe that ends in a white blotch and blackish blotch at the base of the caudal fin. The round caudal fin has pinkish longitudinal lines across the upper and lower portions. The abdomen is white, and the pelvic fins unmarked (see illustration of fish in Allen & Erdmann, 2012: 955). Amblygobius buanensis is recorded from Singapore waters by Larson et al. (2016: 749).

to be juvenile forms. Four species of the genus Bipalium have been recorded in Singapore (Yeo, 2011).

A banded krait of about 130 cm total length was observed on the road. It hurried into a pile of plant debris in the mangroves while the observer was trying to photograph it.

The banded leaf monkey is regarded as a ‘critically endangered’ species in Singapore. It is known to be primarily herbivorous with fruit and new leaves forming the most part of its diet (Lim et al., 2008: 198). At least 53 species of plants have been identified from DNA sequencing of fecal samples obtained in Singapore. They consist of both native and exotic taxa (Amrita et al., 2016: 4-5). However, the list does not include the rain tree. The present observation, therefore, adds another exotic species to the diet of the banded leaf monkey.

The banded leaf-monkey, also known as banded surili, is regarded as a ‘critically endangered’ species in Singapore (Lim et al., 2008: 198). The local population seemed to be confined to a patch of secondary and freshwater swamp forest at the eastern part of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve (see Teo & Rajathurai, 1997: 369, as Presbytis femoralis femoralis). The present record shows that a troupe with infants has crossed Old Upper Thomson Road and is utilising the adjacent young secondary forest that is not within the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, and thus not a protected nature area. Figures 1, 2 and 3 illustrate young infants being white with a black mid-dorsal stripe and a black transverse stripe across the shoulders, forming a black cruciform pattern over the dorsum of the animal. This infant pelage colouration is characteristic of leaf-monkeys of the genus Presbytis (see Corbet & Hill, 1992: 172). Ang et al. (2010) confirmed that infants of banded leaf-monkeys in Singapore are black and white, not orange according to earlier reports. This observation is supported by the present photographic records.

In Singapore, the banded leaf-monkey is mainly confined to the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, and occurs largely in the Nee Soon swamp-forest (Ng & Lim, 1992). However, it is known to access peripheral areas such as the Lower Peirce forest (Tay & Doshi, 2015) and the state land across Old Upper Thomson Road (Baker, 2014, Law & Serin, 2016, present observation). These areas are separated from the Nee Soon swamp-forest by metaled roads, which the monkeys are known to cross via interlocking canopies of trees on both sides of the road (Law & Serin, 2016). The present observation shows that these primarily arboreal monkeys can and do descend to the ground to get to the other side of the road.

This record shows that the banded Malaysian coral snake is present in urban areas. It is seldom seen probably due to its semi-fossorial habits. When molested, this venomous reptile will flatten its body and raise its tail to reveal the black-and-red banded underside as a warning display (Baker & Lim, 2012: 116)