Boiga dightoni

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Boiga dightoni
Tamil Nadu, 2016

Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Boiga
Species:
B. dightoni
Binomial name
Boiga dightoni
(Boulenger, 1894)
Synonyms[2]
  • Dipsas dightoni
    Boulenger, 1894
  • Dipsadomorphus dightonii
    — Boulenger, 1896
  • Boiga dightoni
    — M.A. Smith, 1943

Boiga dightoni, commonly known as Dighton's catsnake, the Pirmad cat snake, and the Travancore cat snake,

rear-fanged mildly venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of India
.

Etymology

The common name, Pirmad cat snake, refers to Peermade (also spelled Peermad, Pirmaad, Pirmed, and Pirmedu), a place in Kerala, India, elevation 3,300 feet (1,006 m).

The specific name or epithet, dightoni, is in honor of tea planter S.M. Dighton, the collector of the holotype specimen.[4]

Geographic range

In India B. dightoni is found in the

Palni Hills of western Tamil Nadu State.[3]

Description

B. dightoni is pale reddish-brown

dorsally, with a series of salmon-red blotches. Its head is pale brown with minute blackish dots. Ventrally, it is yellowish, finely-dotted with brown. The outer ends of the ventral scales are salmon-pink. It is medium-sized, adults attaining a total length (including tail) of 1.1 m (3.6 feet).[5]

Behavior

B. dightoni is arboreal and nocturnal.[3]

Habitat

B. dightoni inhabits trees and shrubs in forested areas,[3] at altitudes of 800–1,100 m (2,600–3,600 ft).[1]

Diet

B. dightoni

Calotes versicolor.[3]

Reproduction

B. dightoni is oviparous.[2]

Venom

Although rear-fanged and possessing a mild venom, B. dightoni is not considered dangerous to humans, mainly due to its small size.[3]

References

  1. ^
    IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T172674A1364625.en
    . Accessed on 19 Aug 2022.
  2. ^ a b Species Boiga dightoni at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  3. ^
    ISBN 0-88359-056-5
    . (Boiga dightoni, p. 22).
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5
    . (Boiga dightoni, p. 72).
  5. ^ Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Dipsadomorphus dightonii, new combination, pp. 69–70).

Further reading

  • Boulenger GA (1894). "Description of a New Snake Found in Travancore, by Mr. S. Dighton. Pirmaad." Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 8: 528 + one plate. (Dipsas dightoni, new species).
  • Inger RF, Shaffer HB, Koshy M, Bakde R (1984). "A report on a collection of amphibians and reptiles from the Ponmudi, Kerala, South India". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 81 (3): 551–570. (Boiga dightoni, pp. 567–568).
  • Kanagavel, Arun; Ganesh, S.R. (2921). "Recent Record of the Rare Travancore Catsnake, Boiga dightoni (Boulenger 1894) (Reptilia: Colubridae), from the Ponmudi Hills in the Southern Western Ghats, India". Reptiles & Amphibians 28 (1): 67–70.
  • Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Boiga dightoni, new combination, pp. 359–360).


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