Island atlas · Landscapes & species
Bohol
16 species records name Bohol. Explore their natural history, taxonomic history and distribution sources.
The limestone Chocolate Hills at Carmen, Bohol.
Photo: Wolfgang Hägele · Original photograph · CC BY-SA 4.0. Displayed to fit the frame.
Beyond the species list
A sense of place.
Bohol is one of the main islands of the Central Visayas. Its surrounding province also includes many smaller islands. Inland, the Chocolate Hills make its limestone landscape immediately recognisable.
Landscape & habitats
Limestone shaped by water produces cone-shaped hills, caves and sinkholes. Forested areas and cultivated land occur between and around these formations. UNESCO’s Bohol Island Geopark connects this inland geology with a wider coastal setting that includes the Danajon double barrier reef to the north.
Geographic sources
Geographic overview checked 7 October 2026. The photograph illustrates a landscape, not a snake observation.
Islands, barriers & evolution
Zoogeography
Greater Mindanao, across today’s sea gaps
Although Bohol lies in the Central Visayas geographically, the historical island-complex model places it with Greater Mindanao. Lower Pleistocene sea levels connected land that is now divided among Bohol, Leyte, Samar, Mindanao and other neighbouring islands.
That history helps explain southern Philippine faunal affinities. It does not predict an identical assemblage everywhere: subsequent isolation and the availability of suitable habitat still matter. Bohol records should remain distinct from records that name only the wider faunal region.
How to read the historical island groups
During Pleistocene glacial periods, lower sea levels exposed shallow seabeds and joined some present-day islands. Biogeographers call these reconstructed landmasses Pleistocene Aggregate Island Complexes (PAICs). Deep channels continued to separate others. This model helps explain regional similarities, but dispersal, older geology and habitat differences also shaped each fauna.
“Endemic” means restricted to a stated area; a Philippine endemic need not be confined to one island. The account above summarises published regional and local research. It does not add occurrences to the snake index below.
Regional framework: Meneses et al. (2024) ↗Zoogeographic sources · 2
- Sanguila et al. (2016) · Northeast Mindanao and adjacent islands ↗Greater Mindanao connections, regional differences, and records from Dinagat and Siargao.
- Meneses et al. (2024) · Philippine herpetology, 20 years on ↗Regional framework, Fig. 1; isolation and research gaps. Open-access review, CC0.
Literature checked 7 October 2026. Survey results refer to the dates and areas studied.
Source-backed index
16 species
These are explicit source mentions, not a complete island richness estimate. Fine localities and habitat associations remain separate evidence claims.
Boiga angulata
(PETERS 1861)
Calamaria lumbricoidea
BOIE 1827
Cerberus schneiderii
(SCHLEGEL 1837)
Dendrelaphis marenae
VOGEL & VAN ROOIJEN 2008
Gerrhopilus hedraeus
(SAVAGE 1950)
Gonyosoma oxycephalum
(BOIE 1827)
Laticauda semifasciata
(REINWARDT 1837)
Malayopython reticulatus
(SCHNEIDER 1801)
Naja samarensis
PETERS 1861
Oxyrhabdium modestum
(DUMÉRIL 1853)
Psammodynastes pulverulentus
(BOIE 1827)
Ramphotyphlops cumingii
(GRAY 1845)
Rhabdophis auriculatus
(GÜNTHER 1858)
Rhabdophis lineatus
(PETERS 1861)
Trimeresurus flavomaculatus
(GRAY 1842)
Tropidolaemus subannulatus
(GRAY 1842)
A source naming Bohol does not establish occurrence in every municipality, protected area, or habitat on the island.