Emerson Y. Sy

Checklist of reptiles of the Philippines, version 2023-2 Updated on: 8 Feb 2023

A new TRAFFIC study recorded more than 800 Indonesian birds for sale online in the Philippines between January 2018 and December 2019. Almost 1,300 Indonesian birds of at least 28 species were also confiscated from illegal trade in the Philippines between 2010 and 2020, according to the report Farmed or Poached? The trade of live Indonesian Bird S...

The hornbills are a group of charismatic bird species occurring in Asia and Africa. Dubbed the “farmers of the forest”, these birds contribute to natural forest regeneration by acting as seed dispersers. The hornbill diversity in the Philippines includes 15 taxa, some of which are the most endangered in the world. Aside from habitat loss, hornbills...

* A photographic identification guide to 176 reptiles in the Philippines * For each species the authoritative text describes identifying features, distribution, habits and habitats * Size, common and scientific names * Overview of biogegraphical regions, habitats, legislation, conservation, where to look for reptiles, identification and topography,...

Exploitation of wildlife represents one of the greatest threats to species survival according to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Whilst detrimental impacts of illegal trade are well recognised, legal trade is often equated to being sustainable despite the lack of evidence or data in the majority...

Tarantulas and scorpions are diverse groups of arachnids. The international trade of live arachnids as pets is widespread, with undescribed or newly described species being particularly sought-after by enthusiasts due to their novelty and perceived rarity. Previous studies on wildlife trade in the Philippines have focused on vertebrates (e.g. repti...

The global trade in nonhuman primates represents a substantial threat to ecosystem health, human health, and primate conservation worldwide. Most of the primate trade involves trade for pet-keeping, consumption, or biomedical experimentation. We present an overview of international primate trade through five case studies; each describes a different...

Agarwood is the resinous heartwood that forms in some Aquilaria and Gyrinops species and is valued for its fragrance. The trade of agarwood for cultural and medicinal purposes has been documented for over 1,500 years. The persistent demand for agarwood threatened the survival of many agarwood-producing species, resulting in the inclusion of all Aqu...

Freshwater turtles and tortoises are highly threatened by illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade. The trade has been thriving online, particularly on social media platforms, in recent decades. We conducted a two-year online survey on 20 Facebook groups in 2019-2020 and reviewed CITES trade data from 1990-2019 (30 yr) to elucidate chelonian trade...

The ongoing utilization of online platforms to trade wildlife in the Philippines appears to be increasing in the last two decades. An online survey on 20 Facebook groups specializing in the trade of live reptiles was conducted from July 2016 to December 2018 to elucidate the dynamics of live crocodilian trade in the Philippines. A total of 71 uniqu...

Exploitation of wildlife represents one of the greatest threats to species survival according to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Whilst detrimental impacts of illegal trade are well recognised, legal trade is often equated to being sustainable despite the lack of evidence or data in the majority...

In recent years, several studies have raised alarm at the illicit trade pressure on the Philippines’ endemic pangolin species – the Palawan pangolin. Between 2018 and 2019, seizures of Palawan pangolins increased more than ninefold compared with the previous 18 years.1 Around 20 live pangolins have been ‘retrieved’ in and around Metro Manila, a sev...

The Black Crested Macaque Macaca nigra (Desmarest) is a Critically Endangered species endemic to Indonesia. Populations are in decline due to habitat loss and hunting for the wild meat and exotic pet trade. International trade data involving this species is lacking, though anecdotal information suggests it is being smuggled to the Philippines. To v...

NAJA SAMARENSIS (Southern Philippine Cobra). PHILIPPINES: BANGSAMORO REGION: MINDANAO: MAGUINDANAO PROVINCE: Municipality of Upi: Barangay Borongotan, Purok Gladiola (6.98629°N, 124.16893°E; WGS 84), 475 m elev. 11–12 July 2022. Peter Jan D. de Vera. Verified by Lief Erikson D. Gamalo. Zoological Reference Collection, Lee Kong Chian Natural History...

Seahorses Hippocampus spp. are a unique group of fish characterized by their unusual morphology and male pregnancy. The current 48 seahorse species occur mainly in shallow seawaters globally, of which 10 species occur in the Philippines. Estimated annual seahorse collection in the Philippines for the traditional medicine trade was 4,000,000 individ...

This photographic identification guide to 225 lizard species most commonly seen in mainland and maritime Southeast Asia (covering Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Peninsular and east Malaysia, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam) is perfect for resident and visitor alike. High quality photographs from...

version 2022-1

CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is an international agreement among currently 183 Parties. It is based on the use of three Appendices, in which species are listed according to their need for regulation in international trade. The vast majority of all CITES species are listed in Appendix I...

The global trade in wildlife affects most major taxonomic groups (Fukushima et al., 2020; Scheffers et al., 2019). Managing wildlife trade requires an accurate understanding of the dimensions of trade and its impacts (positive, neutral, or negative) on the conservation of native wildlife populations. We are concerned that assertions made by Natusch...

First published record of King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)

The illegal wildlife trade is one of the most lucrative transnational crimes in the world. Numerous wildlife are threatened with extinction due to overexploitation for food, medicine, and as pets. Although it is difficult to quantify the illegal wildlife trade due to its mostly clandestine nature, analyzing seizure data can indicate its magnitude....

Monitor lizards (genus Varanus) are utilized for their skin, meat and parts, or as pets. Eleven endemic species are currently recognized in the Philippines, including the only three known frugivorous monitor species in the world. We conducted a 30-month online study and reviewed 30 years (1989-2018) of CITES trade data to determine the dynamics of...

The Philippine or Palawan Forest Turtle Siebenrockiella leytensis is the only endemic turtle known to occur in the Philippines. It was assessed as Critically Endangered in 2000 and has been considered as one of the world's top 25 most endangered turtles since 2003. The species is accorded protection nationally by the Wildlife Protection and Conserv...

Seizure data analysis from 2000–2017 documented 38 cases involving an estimated 667 to 740 Philippine Pangolins. Additionally, 10 tonnes of frozen Sunda Pangolins involving 2,870 animals were confiscated from a vessel in 2013. In the most recent period from 2018–2019, a total of 28 incidents comprising seizures and retrievals involving an estimat...

The Tokay Gecko Gekko gecko is traded internationally in the millions annually for use in traditional medicines and to a lesser extent, for the pet trade. The vast majority of Tokay Geckos are collected in the wild and apparent captive-bred individuals may be in fact wild-caught as well. A get-rich-quick scheme involving the trade of Tokay Gecko ac...

Niche shifts and environmental non-equilibrium in invading alien species undermine niche-based predictions of alien species’ potential distributions and, consequently, their usefulness for invasion risk assessments. Here, we compared the realized climatic niches of four alien amphibian species (Hylarana erythraea, Rhinella marina, Hoplobatrachus ru...

The Philippine Forest Turtle Siebenrockiella leytensis is a critically endangered species endemic to the Palawan group of islands. Evidence of this species breeding in captivity is very scarce and limited to two documented events. Although strictly protected, illegal trade seems to continue with sightings of this species in China, USA, and Europe....

New record of Kaloula pulchra, Eleutherodactylus planirostris and Hoplobatrachus rugulosus on Leyte Island, Philippines

Illegal trade in wildlife in Indonesia is rampant, and includes many little-known species, such as the Sulawesi Bear Cuscus Ailurops ursinus. Too often the trade in less charismatic species goes unnoticed, with many being pushed towards extinction. Sadly, few, if any, effective interventions are put in place to prevent further declines. The demand...

Six alien frogs have been introduced in the Philippines: chronologically, Hylarana erythraea, Rhinella marina, Lithobates catesbeianus, Hoplobatrachus rugulosus, Kaloula pulchra, and Eleutherodactylus planirostris. Here, we collected and synthesized historical and geographical data to reconstruct their history of invasion and to update their curren...

King Cobra Ophiophagus hannah predation on Palawan Water Monitor Varanus palawanensis in the Philippines

The endemic-rich amphibian fauna of the Philippine Archipelago (ca. 350,000 km2) includes six alien frogs: the American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), Asiatic painted toad (Kaloula pulchra), cane toad (Rhinella marina), Chinese bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus rugulosus), green paddy frog (Hylarana erythraea), and greenhouse frog (Eleutherodactylus p...

The Red-tailed Green Ratsnake has a wide distributional range in Southeast Asia, including Andaman Islands. The snake occurs in the Philippines on the islands of Balabac, Batan, Bohol, Bongao, Calayan, Camiguin Norte, Dinagat, Leyte, Lubang, Luzon, Marinduque, Mindanao, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Sabtang and Sibuyan (Sy & Tan, 2013; Leviton et al., 20...

Introduction: Horizon scanning methods identify potentially invasive alien species (i.e., alien species that are not occurring in an area but can potentially threaten native biodiversity if introduced), based on its probability of success in each stage of the invasion process (i.e., introduction, establishment, and spread) and their eventual impact...

In 2004, the Philippines' Department of Environment and Natural Resources issued the National List of Threatened Fauna Species. Between 2015 and 2017, this was reviewed by assessing 1994 taxa, including 57 mammals, 683 birds, 355 reptiles, 115 amphibians, and 784 invertebrates, using the threatened categories specified in the 2001 Wildlife Reso...

In 2004, the Philippines' Department of Environment and Natural Resources issued the National List of Threatened Fauna Species. Between 2015 and 2017, this was reviewed by assessing 1994 taxa, including 57 mammals, 683 birds, 355 reptiles, 115 amphibians, and 784 invertebrates, using the threatened categories specified in the 2001 Wildlife Resource...

The illegal wildlife trade is a major threat to an increasingly long list of species, and nowhere is this threat greater than in Southeast Asia. The demand for live animals from Southeast Asian countries for the exotic pet trade threatens a wide variety of species, including some already on the brink of extinction. Here we report on seizures made o...

The trade in live reptiles as pets has increased significantly in the last three decades with Asian countries playing an increasing role as important trade hubs and consumers. In the Philippines, all non-native and native reptile species are protected under the Wildlife Act of 2001 and enthusiasts are required to obtain permits to keep reptiles leg...

First record of the Greenhouse Frog on Palawan Island

First record of Naja philippinensis on Catanduanes Island

First record of Eleutherodactylus planirostris on Mactan Island

A new species of the freshwater crab genus Sundathelphusa Bott, 1969 (Gecarcinucidae) is described from the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines. The Philippine Islands host the greatest species diversity of this genus, although only four species were previously known from Mindanao. The new species is most similar to S. mistio (Rathbun, 1...

OPHIOPHAGUS HANNAH (King Cobra). PHILIPPINES: LUZON ISLAND: NUEVA VIZCAYA PROVINCE: Municipality of Kasibu: Barangay Didipio (16.331311°N, 121.464778°E; WGS 84), 686 m elev. 17 September 2016. Bonifacio V. Labatos, Jr. Verified by Indraneil Das. Digital image voucher, Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore ZRC [IMG]...

King Cobra Ophiophagus hannah in Nueva Vizcaya, Luzon, Sorsogon, Luzon, and Bohol Island