I came across a small snake yesterday (#6 & counting) and would like to know what it was. A short desciption: 40cm long, 1cm diameter, with diamond pattern on the back.
Anybody knows good literature on the topic of snakes & other wildlife of Lamma?

Alex

I bought <i>A Colour Guide to Hong Kong Animals</i> by Dennis Hill, published by the HK Govt in 1981. You may be able to get a copy at the Govt Publications Centre, which is on the ground floor of Queensway Government Offices. I found it very useful in identifying the wildlife visiting my house.

It's got 16 pages on snakes. There are some water snakes, keelbacks, that might fit your description. Some of these are venomous.

There is a book published by the Provisional Urban Council called "Hong Kong Amphibians and Reptiles" (2nd Edition) by Karsen, Lau and Bogadek which I got from the Queensway Publication Centre for about $80.

It has illustrations of around 50 different species of snake that have been recorded n hong Kong, as well as other reptiles and amphibians. The illustrations are photographs rather than filed-guide type diagrams, so some of them are a bit hard to tell apart, but the descriptions are quite detailed.

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