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Deinagkistrodon acutus, aka the "Hundred-Pacer", is one of the most easily recognizable Asian pitvipers. Its peculiar pointy nose and beautiful triangular pattern have inspired entire design schools among various Taiwanese aboriginal tribes, in particular the Paiwan, who also revere the snake as a totem: "The traditional culture of the Paiwan aborigine tribe in southern Taiwan centers on the hundred-pacer snake. According to the tribe's creation myth, the ancestral chief of this aboriginal group was born from a ceramic vessel. Whereas the chief emerged from an ancient vessel, the other tribespeople are seen as descendants of the hundred-pacer snake." (Source)

Any Taiwanese herper worth his/her snake stick knows that the range of D. acutus in Taiwan is limited to the East and South of the island, with the northernmost individuals found around 50 miles southeast of Taipei. Reports of "hundred pacers" in Yangmingshan National Park up here on the North Coast are nothing more than cause for merriment, as the Yangmingshan Range is isolated from the rest of the island's mountains by the vast urban sprawl of Taipei City, making snake migration impossible. Just the other day I met an elderly gent hiking in YMSNP who told me he'd just seen a "hundred pacer", insisting that he had lived in the South Taiwan countryside for 30 years and would "recognize that pattern anywhere!". I didn't say anything, but got a major inner chuckle out of it, because finding a D. acutus up here would be akin to chancing upon a manatee in a Michigan strip mall.

Or so I believed until last Friday.

That night we decided to ring in the herping weekend with an all-night cruise. I stuffed my boys and two of their buddies in the van and we headed out around seven pm. There was a light drizzle, the air was cool (~20°C), perfect weather for finding green tree vipers (Viridovipera stejnegeri stejnegeri) and Taiwan slug snakes (Pareas formosensis) on the prowl.

Twenty minutes out, we came around a bend on a narrow forest road, and I spotted what looked like a wet, dirty sausage pillow lying in the middle of the road. A closer look revealed something completely out of place: a fat, stocky, four-foot, almost-DOR snake with a badly bruised head and spilled intestines. At first, I wasn't able to compute the information - to my knowledge there just aren't any fat, stocky, native snakes here, so my next thought was "pet python". But by then I'd gotten close enough to the thing to recognize the unmistakable skin pattern. But how could that be? D. acutus doesn't get any longer than 150 cm (~five feet), and every picture I'd ever seen showed an animal with much less girth than this beast - this snake was almost as thick as my forearm, resembling a puff adder much more than the slender Hundred Pacers I'd seen online and in books. Utterly puzzled, I took out my cell, called my herp guru - a local zoologist specialized in Taiwanese reptiles - and inquired whether D. acutus can actually achieve such fabulous girth. "Yes", he replied, "but definitely not as a rule", adding "I didn't know you were planning a herping trip to the South?" Upon hearing that I was standing on a road five miles from my house, he totally freaked: "That's the FIRST record of that species in your area! CAN YOU BRING THE BODY BACK? PLEASE?!?!" Uh...the "body" was still twitching, the shattered head trying to land defensive bites, I had the car full of kids, but no sufficiently large plastic bag, plus I was afraid our fridge wouldn't provide enough space for those approximately six pounds of serpent meat. The herpetologist was crushed ("but we REALLY should do some DNA tests!!"), and urged me to take at least lots of pictures from all angles, a request easier to comply with.

The following day, I posted these pictures on a local herper forum, and immediately received calls by people from three universities who wanted me to take them to the body (which I'd moved into the roadside ditch), which I did later that night. Now the snake is getting pickled, and a lively discussion is going on: was this an abandoned pet? Possibly, considering its size. On the other hand, it's highly illegal to collect and/or keep this species, as it's under maximum legal protection. Also, there aren't too many Taiwanese people keeping hots at home to begin with.....so, where the hell did it come from?

Dude, I was fixing to go into a tirade if that story didn't end with you getting that animal to someone.

Next time, you position the head under a tire, role onto it for a few minutes (back and forth works good too), wrap what plastic bag you do have around the head and secure it with a rubber band or by tying it, and drop it on your floor board or in your trunk. Then proceed to herp the rest of the night and tell whoever wants it to meet you at your house when you get back.

All's well that ends well.

Cool animal and looks like a beast.

Later, KW

Why'd you kill it man?

It was already hit and dying.

From Twoton's post: "Twenty minutes out, we came around a bend on a narrow forest road, and I spotted what looked like a wet, dirty sausage pillow lying in the middle of the road. A closer look revealed something completely out of place: a fat, stocky, four-foot, almost-DOR snake with a badly bruised head and spilled intestines."

OTOH, if it had been living, such a noteworthy range extension would have been a valid reason to euthanize it as a voucher for further study (assuming nobody was available and/or willing to take it as a living specimen). Strangely enough, the driver that hit this beauty probably did Han's (and herpetology) a favor by saving him the emotional dilemma of whether to kill it or release it.

It was a joke.

Wow what an amazing find and spectacular discovery. I'd be very interested to hear how those genetic tests come out. Maybe someone WAS actually keeping them as pets and when someone else found out about it, they released their over-fed and fat D. acutus out into the wild. Either way, you're making history right there. What a beauty, but what a shame that it was hit....

-Alex

That's a great story. Shame about the snake ending up dead, but possibly a highly significant scientific discovery on the plus side.

a damn shame, cool find non the less

Cool find. It'll be interesting to see what close study of the specimen reveals. I'd lean towards released pet right now, given the size of the specimen and the location, especially being close to a large city. On the other hand, if there have been other sightings in the area.... I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Release or not, finds like that can sure make a night of herping interesting fast!

What a striking pattern! Congrats on the unprecedented find.

Are you kidding me? What's wrong with a photograph of the snake and a GPS to prove a range extension? Proving a pickled snake came from a certain area is no different than proving I didn't move that snake to take a picture of it with my GPS. SOoo, mark down the site for future surveying and be done with it; without killing the snake.

Beautiful animal by the way

Ian

Nope, not kidding. But like I said, it would present a dilemma (at least for me). Some institutions will accept photo vouchers, others will not. Also, much more is involved than just documenting the locality. The actual specimen is valuable for morphological and DNA analysis. This one snake is just ONE snake. Leaving it live in the wild FEELS like the right thing to do. However, preserving it for study will more likely lead to improved understanding and PROTECTION of the species. Also, as stated earlier, taking it as a live specimen would be preferred (IMO), but that is not always an option. In my version of a perfect world, it would have been found alive, captured for data collection and tissue samples, implanted with a tracking device, released at the capture site, then tracked and studied in the wild.

Thanks very much for the replies and tips, everyone! (KW, were you serious about that head-under-the-tire thing?)

The discussion on the origins of the beast seems to lean increasingly against the abandoned pet theory, which I've clung to for a few days. More brilliant minds than me have postulated that D. acutus used to be widespread over the entire island, so it is quite possible that this individual was part of a tiny remnant population which survived the urban development-driven exodus to the South. Judging from the number of folks who've asked me to take them herping in my area, it seems to have developed into a rather popular supposition

Only if you were serious about being nervous to pick up an animal that was on its way out of this world. I just would have snatched it up and threw it on my floor board as is, but I've been known to run over the head real good when there is a passenger in the front seat and I don't want them to accidentally get tagged and try to sue me.

Later, KW

Thanks for the clarification!

I dont know how far it is to the closest known range for the species but possibly a hitch hiker?

What's a hitchhiker?

Thanks!

That's a really cool looking snake.




Since the snake has the maximum protection, wouldn't it be illegal to kill it even if it were a big range extension?

Yesterday, it suddenly dawned on me that the marking on D. acutus are eerily similar to those on some of the copperheads I see here on the forum. Of course, the two are related, but ours is the badder mother: Agkistrodon = fishhook tooth; deinagkistrodon = terrible fishhook tooth. Plus, ours got that über-cool black bushmaster cranium.

Hans, feelin' pay-tree-yotic tuh-day.

PS: A hitchhiker in botanical terms is a plant that rides in the soil of other plants which in turn are transported somewhere. I have lots of those in my greenhouse, mostly sundews grown from seeds which had flown over into Nepenthes pots that I received from other people. I only know of one hitchhiking herp, the Flowerpot Snake (T. braminus). Please advise if there are others - the Taiwan herping world is looking for answers!

Thanks again!

Good point. In my hypothetical about Han's killing it for preservation & study, I was assuming it would be done under the auspices of one of his academic herper friends and with the necessary permit. Careless assumption I guess, especially since I don't know anything about Taiwan's wildlife laws. In any case, the herpticidal driver saved him the trouble and spared him the decision.

The snake is now a voucher and will hopefully add to increased awareness and protection in the area. Given that the Taiwanese regard this species as somewhat of national icon, perhaps some lands in the area can be set aside as a special preserve for them. Hopefully, Hans or one of the other local herpers will turn up one or two more to confirm it as part of a population and not just a transplant.

Heckuva story, Hans. Where there's one, there must be more? I'll stay tuned.

-Mike

Very interesting, Hans. I hope that you can find more. Do you head south much for the drives?

You certainly have a way with languages! How many do you speak?

Regards,
David

Thanks, guys!

Mike,

the Hundred-Pacer is a territorial snake that hardly ever leaves his turf. Which explains the hordes of herpers now scouring the area where I found the beast

David,

I don't drive south much, just overnight weekend trips no further than 100 miles or so, as I have a family with two school children. But we've planned a two-week journey around the Southeast for next year's spring holidays.

I only speak, read and write German, English and Mandarin fluently. I've also dabbled in Latin, Spanish, French, Japanese, Malay, Russian and Taiwanese - all of them total failures for various reasons; mostly lack of practicing opportunities, laziness, and, in the case of in high school Latin, French and Spanish, too many recreational substances leading to apathy and issues with authority figures. Of course, I now regret that I wasn't sober more during Latin classes......

By the way, check out this downloadable D. acutus documentary "Legend Of The Chinese Moccasin".

That was the first thing I thought of when I saw your pics Hans, which made the realization of the similarity in scientific names all the more interesting and noteworthy. Fine looking snakes there. I look forward to seeing some pics of live ones when you come across them.

Jamison