Indonesia · Island occurrence guide
Buton’s forested interior rises above cultivated coastal land and limestone shores. Lambusango provides an unusually well-studied example of tropical forest growing across contrasting rock types.
8 linked species accounts · Southeast Sulawesi · Wallacea
Geography & landscape
The island lies off Sulawesi’s southeastern peninsula, with Muna and Kabaena to the west and the Tukangbesi islands farther east. Baubau occupies the southwestern side. The long island includes several administrative areas, so the name Buton Regency covers only part of Buton Island.
Drag to explore. Use + / − or pinch to zoom. Terrain shows relief and contours; Street map shows detailed coastlines, settlements and roads. Markers locate islands, not snake sightings.
Open larger mapHow the land took shape
Lambusango forest grows over limestone as well as sandstone, conglomerate, chert and peridotite. These substrates produce differences in soil nutrients, acidity and water retention. Buton is also known for natural asphalt deposits, another expression of its complex sedimentary and tectonic history.
Across the seasons
Vegetation research describes a seasonal climate with approximately three dry months, alongside considerable variation between years associated with El Niño and La Niña. Forest on different substrates can therefore experience contrasting moisture conditions within the same season.
Connections & isolation
Buton belongs to Wallacea and shares important faunal affinities with Sulawesi. Its proximity to the southeastern peninsula and surviving forest make it valuable for understanding that region’s terrestrial biodiversity. Habitat studies on Buton provide a firmer basis than general assumptions drawn from the whole Sulawesi region.
Buton · Environments
Explore the environments described for Buton. Habitat descriptions do not assign every snake in the island list to each setting.
Published vegetation surveys describe a large tropical forest landscape with varied protection status and diverse tree communities.
Read the habitat guideDifferent underlying rocks create a fine-grained forest mosaic, particularly through their effects on soil and water supply.
Read the habitat guideThe guide photograph documents cultivation on Buton, showing the open, managed component beside its better-known forest interior.
Around Buton
The principal named forest landscape and the focus of detailed botanical research.
The southwestern port provides a clear urban and coastal reference.
This side faces the waters toward the Tukangbesi group, which remains a separate archipelago.
Read the original scope
Choose an account recorded in Buton. Its country-level evidence retains the named islands and qualifications; it is not a record of a sighting at an exact map point.
Recorded in Indonesia: Bangka, Belitung, Mentawai, Natuna, Nias, Riau, Simeulue, Sumatra; Bali, Java; Borneo, Kalimantan; Celebes, Sulawesi, Butung, Sangihe; Lombok, Sumbawa; Sula, Ternate.
The shared collection
Each card opens the same species account used by the country lists. A shared island record does not imply occurrence in all countries sharing that island.
(BOIE, 1827)
HOWARD & GILLESPIE, 2007
HOWARD & GILLESPIE, 2007
(DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL, 1854)
(LAURENTI, 1768)
BOIE, 1827
(BLEEKER, 1860)
(GRAY, 1842)
Further reading · Checked 7 October 2026
Species-specific distribution evidence appears above and in each linked account.