Boiga beddomei

Boiga beddomei
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Reptilia
Order:Squamata
Suborder:Serpentes
Family:Colubridae
Genus:Boiga
Species: B. beddomei
Binomial name
Boiga beddomei
(Wall, 1909)
Synonyms[1]
  • Dipsadomorphus beddomei
    Wall, 1909
  • Boiga beddomei
    — Das, 1996

Boiga beddomei, commonly known as Beddome's cat snake, is a species of rear-fanged snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to India and Sri Lanka.[1]

Geographic range

In India, B. beddomei is found in the Western Ghats in Maharashtra state (Bhimashankar, Mulshi, Koyna ?, Vasota ?). It is also found in Sri Lanka.[1]

Etymology

B. beddomei was named after Richard Henry Beddome (1830–1911), British army officer and botanist.[2]

Description

B. beddomei is a slender snake. The head is distinct from the neck. The vertebral scales are strongly enlarged. The dorsum is grayish brown with dark brown vertebral spots. The ventral surface is yellowish-cream.

Scalation

The dorsal scales are arranged in 19 rows at midbody. The subcaudals number 113-127.

Diet

B. beddomei feeds mainly on geckos and skinks.

Culture

Known as කහ මාපිලා (kaha maapila- meaning "yellow cat snake" in English) in Sinhala language and Māppiḷḷai or Pūṉaippāmpu in Tamil.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Boiga beddomei at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 14 January 2017.
  2. ↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore:Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Boiga beddomei, p. 21).
  3. ↑ "SNAKES OF SRI LANKA". Retrieved August 22, 2014.

Further reading

  • Whitaker, Romulus; Captain, Ashok (2008). Snakes of India, The Field Guide. Chennai, India: Draco Books. 500 pp. ISBN 81-901873-0-9.
  • Wall, Frank (1909). "Remarks on some forms of Dipsadomorphus". Rec. Ind. Mus. 3: 151-155. (Dipsadomorphus beddomei, new species, p. 152).
  • Wall, Frank (1921). Ophidia Taprobanica or the Snakes of Ceylon. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Colombo Museum. (H.R. Cottle, government printer). xxii + 581 pp. (Dipsadomorphus beddomei, p. 282).


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