Boiga dendrophila

Taxobox | name = Gold-ringed Cat Snake

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image_width = 235px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Reptilia
ordo = Squamata
subordo = Serpentes
familia = Colubridae
genus = "Boiga"
species = "B. dendrophila"
binomial = "Boiga dendrophila"
binomial_authority = (Boie, 1827)

The Gold-ringed Cat Snake or Mangrove Snake ("Boiga dendrophila") is a species of snake that belongs to the genus of Boiga. They are one of the biggest cat snake species, averaging in lengths between six to eight feet. It is considered mildy-venomous, but moderate envenomations resulting in intense swelling have been reported, though there have been no severe cases of hospitalisation or fatalities.

Description

Snout longer than eye; rostral more broad than deep, visible from above; internasals as long as or shorter than the prae-frontals; frontal as long as or slightly shorter than its distance from the tip of the snout; loreal as long as deep or more long; a praeocular extending to the upper surface of the head, not reaching the frontal; two postoculars; temporals 2 + 2 or 2 + 3; eight (nine) upper labials, third to fifth entering the eye; four or five lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields; latter as long as or longer than the posterior; anterior palatine teeth not much larger than the posterior. Scales in 21 (23) rows, vertebral row enlarged; ventrals 2O9-239; anal entire; subcaudals 89 no. �Black above, with yellow transverse bands, continuous or not extending across the back; labials yellow, with black edges. Lower surface black or bluish, uniform or speckled with yellow; throat yellow. Total length 2310 mm. [Rooij, Nelly de. 1915. The reptiles of the Indo-Australian archipelago. Volume 2.Leiden.] � �Feeds on small mammals, lizards, frogs, snakes, fish. �Nocturnal. �

Distribution

;Indonesia (Bangka, Belitung, Borneo, Java, Sulawesi, Riau Archipelago, Sumatra); ;India;Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia; Singapore; Thailand; Vietnam, Philippine Islands (Panay)

ubspecies

*"Boiga dendrophila occidentalis" - Indonesia (Babi, Batu Archipelago, Nias, Sumatra)
*"Boiga dendrophila annectens" - Indonesia (Kalimantan); Brunei Darussalam; East Malaysia
*"Boiga dendrophila dendrophila" - Indonesia(Java); Borneo.
*"Boiga dendrophila divergens" - Philippine Islands (Luzon, Polillo)
*"Boiga dendrophila gemmicincta" - Indonesia (Sulawesi).
*"Boiga dendrophila latifasciata" - Philippine Islands (Mindanao)
*"Boiga dendrophila levitoni" - Panay (and probably other islands of the West Visayas region)
*"Boiga dendrophila melanota": S Thailand, West Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia (Sumatra)
*"Boiga dendrophila multicincta": Philippine Islands (Balabac, Palawan)

Habitat

Ironically, the mangrove snake is found more often in lowland rainforests than mangrove swamps, from which it is named.

Diet

The mangrove snake feeds on reptiles, birds, and small mammals in the wild.

Notes

References

* Boie, F. 1827 Bemerkungen über Merrem's Versuch eines Systems der Amphibien, 1. Lieferung: Ophidier. Isis van Oken, Jena, 20: 508-566.
* Brongersma,L.D. 1934 Contributions to Indo-Australian herpetology. Zool. Med. 17: 161-251
* Ryabov, Sergei A. and Nikolai L. Orlov. 2002 Breeding of Black Mangrove Snake Boiga dendrophila gemmicincta (Duméril, Bibron et Duméril, 1854) (Serpentes: ColubridaColubrinae) from Sulawesi Island (Indonesia). Russ. J. Herpetol. 9 (1): 77-79

External links

*
* [http://www.naturemalaysia.com/bdendrophila.htm naturemalaysia.com's mangrove snake page]
* http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Boiga_dendrophila.jpg
* http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Boiga_dendrophila_divergens.jpg
* http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Boiga_dendrophila_melanota.jpg
* http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Boiga_dendroph_gemmicincta.jpg
* http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Boiga_dendroph_multicincta.jpg