Boiga
Encyclopedia
Boiga is a large genus
of mildly venomous, rear-fanged, colubrid
snake
s typically known as the cat-eyed snakes or just cat snakes. They are primarily found throughout southeast Asia
, India
and Australia
, but due to their extremely hardy nature and adaptability have spread to many other suitable habitats around the world. There are 33 recognized species
in the genus.
s. They vary greatly in pattern and color. Many species have banding, but some are spotted and some are solid colored. Colors are normally black
, brown
, or green
with white
or yellow
accents.
They are primarily arboreal, nocturnal snakes that prey on various species of lizard
s, bird
s, and rodent
s. Their venom toxicity varies from species to species, but is not generally considered to be life threatening to humans. Boiga species are oviparous.
only diet can be difficult for the inexperienced reptile
keeper.
because of its effect by accidentally being introduced to the island of Guam
. Some time during the 1950s, these snakes (or possibly a single female with egg
s) reached the island, possibly having hidden in imported plant
pots. The island of Guam lacks native snakes or predators that can deal with snakes the size and aggressiveness of Boiga irregularis. As a result, they have bred unchecked as an invasive species, and began consuming the island's bird life in extreme numbers. Currently, dozens of bird species have been completely eradicated from the island, many species that were found nowhere else on earth, and the snake has reached astonishing population densities, reported to be as high as 15,000 snakes per square mile. In addition to devouring the native fauna
, this species will routinely crawl into power transformers, and, unfortunately for all involved, this typically results in both an electrocuted snake and substantial blackouts.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of mildly venomous, rear-fanged, colubrid
Colubrid
A colubrid is a member of the snake family Colubridae. This broad classification of snakes includes about two-thirds of all snake species on earth. The earliest species of the snake family date back to the Oligocene epoch. With 304 genera and 1,938 species, Colubridae is the largest snake family...
snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s typically known as the cat-eyed snakes or just cat snakes. They are primarily found throughout southeast Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, but due to their extremely hardy nature and adaptability have spread to many other suitable habitats around the world. There are 33 recognized species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
in the genus.
Species
- Andaman cat snake, Boiga andamanensisBoiga andamanensisThe Andaman cat snake is a species of colubrid snake found in the Andaman Islands.-References:* Whitaker, Romulus and Ashok Captain 2004 Snakes of India. Draco Books, 500 pp....
(Wall, 1909) - Leyte cat snake, Boiga angulata (PetersWilhelm PetersWilhelm Karl Hartwich Peters was a German naturalist and explorer.He was assistant to Johannes Peter Müller and later curator of the Berlin Zoological Museum. In September 1842 he travelled to Mozambique via Angola. He returned to Berlin with an enormous collection of natural history specimens...
, 1861) - Barnes' cat snake, Boiga barnesiiBoiga barnesiiBoiga barnesii is a species of cat snake found in Sri Lanka known as the Barnes' cat snake in English and panduru mapila in Sinhala. It is a member of the snake family Colubridae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka and is distributed in the lowlands and midlands up to ~600m above sea level...
(GüntherAlbert C. L. G. GüntherAlbert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther FRS, also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther , was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist....
, 1869) - Beddome's cat snake, Boiga beddomeiBoiga beddomeiBeddome's cat snake, Boiga beddomei, is a species of colubrid snake found in Sri Lanka and India . It was named after Richard Henry Beddome , British army officer and botanist.-References:* Whitaker, Romulus and Ashok Captain 2004 Snakes of India. Draco Books, 500 pp.* Wall,F...
(Wall, 1909) - Boiga bengkuluensis Orlov, Kudryavtzev, Ryabov & Shumakov, 2003
- Blandings tree snake, Boiga blandingii (Hallowell, 1844)
- Boiga bourreti Tillack, Ziegler & Le Khac Quyet, 2004
- Sri Lanka cat Snake, Boiga ceylonensisBoiga ceylonensisThe Sri Lanka cat snake, Boiga ceylonensis, is a species of colubrid snake found in Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats of India.-Description:...
(GüntherAlbert C. L. G. GüntherAlbert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther FRS, also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther , was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist....
, 1858) - green cat snake, Boiga cyaneaBoiga cyaneaThe green cat snake, Boiga cyanea, is a species of nocturnal snake found in India , Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand , Myanmar , West Malaysia The green cat snake, Boiga cyanea, is a species of nocturnal snake found in India (Sikkim, Darjeeling, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh[ (Chessa, Van Vihar - Papum...
(DumérilAndré Marie Constant DumérilAndré Marie Constant Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of anatomy at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle from 1801 to 1812, when he became professor of herpetology and ichthyology...
, BibronGabriel BibronGabriel Bibron was a French zoologist. He was born in Paris. Son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hired to collect vertebrates in Italy and Sicily. He classified a number of reptile species with André Marie Constant...
& DumérilAuguste DumérilAuguste Henri André Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of Herpetology and Ichthyology at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris from 1857. His father André Marie Constant Duméril was also a zoologist...
, 1854) - dog-toothed cat snake, Boiga cynodonBoiga cynodonThe dog-toothed cat snake is a nocturnal species of rear-fanged colubrid snake.-Geographic range:*Indonesia ;...
(BoieFriedrich BoieFriedrich Boie was a German scientist and brother of Heinrich Boie. He was born at Meldorf in Holstein and died at Kiel....
, 1827) - gold-ringed cat snake or mangrove snake, Boiga dendrophilaBoiga dendrophilaThe gold-ringed cat snake or mangrove snake is a species of rear-fanged colubrid. It is one of the biggest cat snake species, averaging 6-8 feet in length...
- Boiga dendrophila annectens (BoulengerGeorge Albert BoulengerGeorge Albert Boulenger FRS was a Belgian-British zoologist who identified over 2000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles and amphibians.-Life:...
, 1896) - Boiga dendrophila dendrophila (BoieFriedrich BoieFriedrich Boie was a German scientist and brother of Heinrich Boie. He was born at Meldorf in Holstein and died at Kiel....
, 1827) - Boiga dendrophila divergens TaylorEdward Harrison TaylorEdward Harrison Taylor was an American herpetologist from Kansas.He was born in Maysville, Missouri and studied at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, graduating with a B.A. in 1912. Subsequently, he went to the Philippines, where at first he held a teacher's post in a village in central...
, 1922 - Boiga dendrophila gemmicincta (DumérilAndré Marie Constant DumérilAndré Marie Constant Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of anatomy at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle from 1801 to 1812, when he became professor of herpetology and ichthyology...
, BibronGabriel BibronGabriel Bibron was a French zoologist. He was born in Paris. Son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hired to collect vertebrates in Italy and Sicily. He classified a number of reptile species with André Marie Constant...
& DumérilAuguste DumérilAuguste Henri André Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of Herpetology and Ichthyology at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris from 1857. His father André Marie Constant Duméril was also a zoologist...
, 1854) - Boiga dendrophila latifasciata (BoulengerGeorge Albert BoulengerGeorge Albert Boulenger FRS was a Belgian-British zoologist who identified over 2000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles and amphibians.-Life:...
, 1896) - Boiga dendrophila levitoni Gaulke, Demegillo & Vogel, 2005
- Boiga dendrophila melanota (BoulengerGeorge Albert BoulengerGeorge Albert Boulenger FRS was a Belgian-British zoologist who identified over 2000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles and amphibians.-Life:...
, 1896) - Boiga dendrophila multicincta (BoulengerGeorge Albert BoulengerGeorge Albert Boulenger FRS was a Belgian-British zoologist who identified over 2000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles and amphibians.-Life:...
, 1896) - Boiga dendrophila occidentalis Brongersma, 1934
- Boiga dendrophila annectens (Boulenger
- Pirmad cat snake, Boiga dightoniBoiga dightoniThe Pirmad cat snake is a species of rear-fanged colubrid found in the Western Ghats. It is named after Pirmedu , a place in Kerala, India, elevation 3,300 feet . The specific name or epithet, dightoni, is in honor of S...
(BoulengerGeorge Albert BoulengerGeorge Albert Boulenger FRS was a Belgian-British zoologist who identified over 2000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles and amphibians.-Life:...
, 1894) - white-spotted cat snake, Boiga drapieziiBoiga drapieziiThe white-spotted cat snake is a long and slender rear-fanged colubrid that is common throughout its range. The epithet is in honor of the Belgian naturalist Drapiez.-Description:...
(BoieHeinrich BoieHeinrich Boie was a German zoologist. He was the brother of Friedrich Boie. In the field of herpetology they described 49 new species of reptiles and several new species of amphibians....
& BoieFriedrich BoieFriedrich Boie was a German scientist and brother of Heinrich Boie. He was born at Meldorf in Holstein and died at Kiel....
, 1827) - Forsten's cat snake, Boiga forsteniBoiga forsteniForsten's cat snake is a species of rear-fanged colubrid found in Nepal, Sri Lanka, and India . The specific name is in honor of Dutch naturalist Eltio Alagondas Forsten ....
(DumérilAndré Marie Constant DumérilAndré Marie Constant Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of anatomy at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle from 1801 to 1812, when he became professor of herpetology and ichthyology...
, BibronGabriel BibronGabriel Bibron was a French zoologist. He was born in Paris. Son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hired to collect vertebrates in Italy and Sicily. He classified a number of reptile species with André Marie Constant...
& DumérilAuguste DumérilAuguste Henri André Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of Herpetology and Ichthyology at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris from 1857. His father André Marie Constant Duméril was also a zoologist...
, 1854) - arrowback tree snake, Boiga gokoolBoiga gokoolThe arrowback tree snake, Boiga gokool, is a species of rear-fanged colubrid found in Bhutan, Bangladesh and India The arrowback tree snake, Boiga gokool, is a species of rear-fanged colubrid found in Bhutan, Bangladesh and India The arrowback tree snake, Boiga gokool, is a species of rear-fanged...
(GrayJohn Edward GrayJohn Edward Gray, FRS was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray ....
, 1835) - Boiga guangxiensis Wen, 1998
- brown tree snake, Boiga irregularis (MerremBlasius MerremBlasius Merrem was a German naturalist.Merrem was born at Bremen, and studied at the university of Göttingen under Johann Friedrich Blumenbach. He developed an interest in zoology, particularly ornithology...
, 1802) - jasper cat snake, Boiga jaspideaBoiga jaspideaThe jasper cat snake is a small and slender species of rear-fanged colubrid that is uncommon throughout its range.-Description:...
(DumérilAndré Marie Constant DumérilAndré Marie Constant Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of anatomy at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle from 1801 to 1812, when he became professor of herpetology and ichthyology...
, BibronGabriel BibronGabriel Bibron was a French zoologist. He was born in Paris. Son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hired to collect vertebrates in Italy and Sicily. He classified a number of reptile species with André Marie Constant...
& DumérilAuguste DumérilAuguste Henri André Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of Herpetology and Ichthyology at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris from 1857. His father André Marie Constant Duméril was also a zoologist...
, 1854) - Kelung cat snake, Boiga kraepelini (StejnegerLeonhard Hess StejnegerLeonhard Hess Stejneger was a Norwegian-born American ornithologist, herpetologist and zoologist. Stejneger specialized in vertebrate natural history studies. He gained his greatest reputation with reptiles and amphibians....
, 1902) - many-banded tree snake, Boiga multifasciataBoiga multifasciataThe many-banded tree snake, Boiga multifasciata, is a species of rear-fanged colubrid.-Description:Dorsally it is grayish with oblique black cross-bars, and has a series of whitish spots along the vertebral line...
(BlythEdward BlythEdward Blyth was an English zoologist and pharmacist. He was one of the founders of zoology in India....
, 1861) - many-spotted cat snake, Boiga multomaculataBoiga multomaculataThe many-spotted cat snake, Boiga multomaculata, is a species of rear-fanged colubrid.-Description:Dorsally it is gray-brown with two alternating series of round dark brown spots and two other series of smaller spots lower on the sides. On the head it has two blackish bands which diverge...
(BoieFriedrich BoieFriedrich Boie was a German scientist and brother of Heinrich Boie. He was born at Meldorf in Holstein and died at Kiel....
, 1827) - black-headed cat snake, Boiga nigricepsBoiga nigricepsThe black-headed cat snake gets its name from the greenish to blackish colouration of its head. Neonates and juveniles do not exhibit this dark colour on the head until adulthood. The body colour ranges from brown to orange and red to black. The ventrals are yellowish below the neck and white for...
(GüntherAlbert C. L. G. GüntherAlbert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther FRS, also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther , was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist....
, 1863) - Boiga nuchalisBoiga nuchalisBoiga nuchalis is a species of rear-fanged colubrid snake found in India and Nepal.Also Called as Ashahar' cat snake, on the honour of Central indian herpetologist Ashahar Khan as he Studied it for half decade....
(GüntherAlbert C. L. G. GüntherAlbert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther FRS, also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther , was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist....
, 1875) - tawny cat snake, Boiga ochraceaBoiga ochraceaThe tawny cat snake, Boiga ochracea, is a species of rear-fanged colubrid found in Andamans, Bhutan, India , Myanmar, and Nepal.-References:...
(GüntherAlbert C. L. G. GüntherAlbert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther FRS, also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther , was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist....
, 1868) - Philippine cat snake, Boiga philippina (PetersWilhelm PetersWilhelm Karl Hartwich Peters was a German naturalist and explorer.He was assistant to Johannes Peter Müller and later curator of the Berlin Zoological Museum. In September 1842 he travelled to Mozambique via Angola. He returned to Berlin with an enormous collection of natural history specimens...
, 1867) - Fischer's cat snake, Boiga pulverulenta (Fischer, 1856)
- Boiga quincunciataBoiga quincunciataBoiga quincunciata is a species of cat snake, a rear-fanged colubrid, found in Myanmar , India Boiga quincunciata is a species of cat snake, a rear-fanged colubrid, found in Myanmar (= Burma), India Boiga quincunciata is a species of cat snake, a rear-fanged colubrid, found in Myanmar (= Burma),...
(Wall, 1908) - banded cat snake, Boiga saengsomi (Nutafand, 1985)
- Schultz's blunt-headed tree snake Boiga schultzei TaylorEdward Harrison TaylorEdward Harrison Taylor was an American herpetologist from Kansas.He was born in Maysville, Missouri and studied at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, graduating with a B.A. in 1912. Subsequently, he went to the Philippines, where at first he held a teacher's post in a village in central...
, 1923 - gray cat snake, Boiga siamensis (Nootpand, 1971)
- Boiga tanahjampeana Orlov & Ryabov, 2002
- Indian gamma snake, Boiga trigonataBoiga trigonataThe Indian gamma Snake or common cat snake is a species of rear-fanged colubrid found in South Asia.-Description:B. trigonata has anterior palatine and mandibular teeth scarcely larger than the posterior. Its eyes are as long as the distance from its nostril; the rostral is broader than deep with...
- Boiga trigonata trigonata (SchneiderJohann Gottlob SchneiderJohann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider was a German classicist and naturalist.-Biography:Schneider was born at Collm in Saxony...
, 1802) - Boiga trigonata melanocephala (Annandale, 1904)
- Boiga trigonata trigonata (Schneider
- Nicobar cat snake, Boiga wallachiBoiga wallachiThe Nicobar cat snake, Boiga wallachi, is a species of rear-fanged colubrid found in the Nicobar Islands.-References:* Whitaker, Romulus and Ashok Captain 2004 Snakes of India. Draco Books, 500 pp....
Das, 1998 - Ranawana's golden cat snake, Boiga ranawanei Samarawickrama, Samarawickrama, Wijesena & Orlov, 2006 (2005)
Description & Behaviour
Cat snakes are typically thin, long-bodied snakes with large heads and large eyeEye
Eyes are organs that detect light and convert it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons. The simplest photoreceptors in conscious vision connect light to movement...
s. They vary greatly in pattern and color. Many species have banding, but some are spotted and some are solid colored. Colors are normally black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
, brown
Brown
Brown is a color term, denoting a range of composite colors produced by a mixture of orange, red, rose, or yellow with black or gray. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color....
, or green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
with white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
or yellow
Yellow
Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
accents.
They are primarily arboreal, nocturnal snakes that prey on various species of lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s, bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s, and rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s. Their venom toxicity varies from species to species, but is not generally considered to be life threatening to humans. Boiga species are oviparous.
In captivity
Boiga dendrophila is by far the most common species in captivity, but Boiga cynea and Boiga nigriceps are also found. Others are not commonly available. They are hardy and adaptable and tend to do well in captivity after the initial period of stress from the importation process is passed. They are not bred commonly in captivity, so most specimens available are wild caught, and thus are prone to heavy internal parasite load. Adjusting them to a rodentRodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
only diet can be difficult for the inexperienced reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
keeper.
Invasive species
Boiga irregularis in particular has been federally banned in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
because of its effect by accidentally being introduced to the island of Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
. Some time during the 1950s, these snakes (or possibly a single female with egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s) reached the island, possibly having hidden in imported plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
pots. The island of Guam lacks native snakes or predators that can deal with snakes the size and aggressiveness of Boiga irregularis. As a result, they have bred unchecked as an invasive species, and began consuming the island's bird life in extreme numbers. Currently, dozens of bird species have been completely eradicated from the island, many species that were found nowhere else on earth, and the snake has reached astonishing population densities, reported to be as high as 15,000 snakes per square mile. In addition to devouring the native fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
, this species will routinely crawl into power transformers, and, unfortunately for all involved, this typically results in both an electrocuted snake and substantial blackouts.