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 the Western Ghats of India, in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa states.[3][4]
| Boiga beddomei | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Boiga |
| Species: | B. beddomei
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| Binomial name | |
| Boiga beddomei (Wall, 1909)
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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Geographic range
editB. beddomei is found in India, in northern parts of the Western Ghats in Maharashtra state (Bhimashankar, Mulshi, Koyna, Vasota). It is also found in Gujarat, Goa and northern karnataka[5] in the hill ranges.[6]
Etymology
editBoiga beddomei is named after Richard Henry Beddome (1830–1911), British army officer and botanist.[7]
Description
editBoiga 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 cross bars. The ventral surface is yellowish-cream, densely powdered with blackish spots.
Scalation
editThe dorsal scales are arranged in 19 oblique rows at midbody; the vertebral row is strongly enlarged and hexagonal. The ventrals number 238–252 and the subcaudals number 113–127.
Habitat
editThe preferred natural habitat of B. beddomei is evergreen forest, at altitudes up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft). It is nocturnal and arboreal in habits.
Diet
editB. beddomei feeds mainly on dragon lizard, geckos, skinks and frogs.
Reproduction
editReferences
edit- ^ Captain, A.; Srinivasulu, C.; Srinivasulu, B.; Vyas, R.; Mohapatra, P.; Kulkarni, N.U. (2021). "Boiga beddomei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T176619A123302891. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T176619A123302891.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ a b Boiga beddomei at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 14 January 2017.
- ^ Ganesh, S.R.; Achyuthan, N.S.; Chandramouli, S.R.; Vogel, G. (2020). "Taxonomic revision of the Boiga ceylonensis group (Serpentes: Colubridae): re-examination of type specimens, redefinition of nominate taxa and an updated key". Zootaxa. 4779 (3): 301–322. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4779.3.
- ^ Boundy, Jeff (2020). Snakes of the World: a supplement (First ed.). Florida, USA: CRC Press. p. 282 pp. ISBN 9781138618138.
- ^ "Karnataka", Wikipedia, 2022-12-10, retrieved 2022-12-18
- ^ Ganesh, S.R.; Mallik, A.K.; Achyuthan, N.S.; Shanker, K.; Vogel, G. (2021). "A new species of Boiga (Serpentes: Colubridae) from the Southern Western Ghats of India with a molecular phylogeny and expanded characterisation of related species". Zootaxa. 4981 (3): 449–468. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4981.3.2. PMID 34186711. S2CID 235688650.
- ^ 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).
Further reading
edit- 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).
- Ganesh SR, Achyuthan NS, Chandramouli SR, Vogel G (2020). "Taxonomic revision of the Boiga ceylonensis group (Serpentes: Colubridae): re-examination of type specimens, redefinition of nominate taxa and an updated key". Zootaxa 4779 (3): 301–332.
External links
edit- https://web.archive.org/web/20030908172306/http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Boiga_beddomei.jpg
- https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4779.3.1
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