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Family : COLUBRIDAE
Species : Boiga dendrophila / melanota
Maximum Size : 2.5 metres
Also known as the
Yellow-ringed Cat Snake, or Mangrove Snake, this distinctively coloured
species is unmistakable.
It occurs mainly in mangrove or riverine habitats. By day it lies motionless
on overhanging branches, but at night becomes active coming to the ground and feeding on other vertebrates including rodents, small birds and their
eggs, frogs, bats and sometimes other snakes. It is also an adept swimmer.
This is a venomous, rear-fanged
species. Although by day it may appear quite docile it should not be
approached too closely as some individuals may be unpredictable in
temperament.
Nine subspecies are
recognised by
Reptile Database.
In B. d. melanota the yellow bands do not extend over the
back but are confined to the flanks. Examples are shown here from the Riau
Archipelago, Indonesia, including an example from Pulau Sugi with
much reduced barring, and an example from Pulau Bintan with
typical barring. This subspecies ranges from southern Myanmar and southern Thailand, through
Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, to eastern Sumatra and the Riau Islands.
B. d. annectens is
confined to Borneo, and in this subspecies the yellow bands are more
numerous and extend fully across the back (lowermost photo).
Other subspecies are
recognised from Java/Bali (B. d. dendrophila), including a
white-barred form of the latter from Bali, western Sumatra (B. d.
occidentalis), Philippines (B. d. divergens, B. d.
latifasciata, B. d. levitoni, B. d. multicincta) and
Sulawesi (B. d. gemmicincta). Adults of the latter subspecies lack
any yellow colouration and are wholly black.
A recent study (Weinell et al, 2020) concluded that B. d. melanota
should be treated as a distinct species (i.e. Boiga melanota),
separate from Boiga dendrophila.
Fig 1 : Example of B. d. melanota from
Gunung Arong, Johor, Peninsular Malaysia.
Fig 2 : Example of B. d. melanota from Pulau Sugi, Riau
Archipelago, Indonesia showing much-reduced barring.
Fig 3 :
Example from Pulau Bintan, Riau Archipelago, Indonesia showing barring
typical of B. d. melanota.
Fig 4 :
B. d. melanota from freshwater swamp forest
habitat in Singapore.
Figs 5 and 6 :
Example from Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo showing extensive
barring typical of B. d. annectens.
References : H1, H2, H3, H4
Weinell, J. L., Barley,
A. J., Siler, C. D., Orlov, N. L., Ananjeva, N. B., Oaks, J. R., ... &
Brown, R. M. (2020). Phylogenetic relationships and biogeographic range
evolution in cat-eyed snakes, Boiga (Serpentes: Colubridae). Zoological
Journal of the Linnean Society.
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