Boiga ceylonensis
Encyclopedia
The Sri Lanka cat snake, Boiga ceylonensis, is a species
of colubrid
snake
found in Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats
of India.
The species can be identified from other members of the genus Boiga by the following scalation
and taxonomic characters. The anterior palatine and mandibular teeth are not any larger than those at the posterior positions. The eye is shorter than the snout. The rostral scale is broader than deep, the internasals are shorter than the prefrontals. The frontal scale is longer than its distance from the end of the snout and a little shorter than the parietals. The loreal is square and deeper than long, one or two preoculars reach the upper surface of the head. There are two postoculars, the temporals are small 2+3 or 3+3. There are 8 upper labials with the third, fourth and fifth touching the eye. There are 4 lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields and are shorter than the posterior. Scales in 19 or 21 rows, not very oblique ; scales along the vertebral row much enlarged, and at mid body nearly as broad as long. Ventrals scutes 214-249 ; the anals are undivided, subcaudals 90-117.
The colour is brown or greyish above, with a series of blackish transverse spots or bands ; nape with a blackish blotch, or three blackish longitudinal streaks, or a transverse bar ; a more or less distinct brown streak from the eye to the angle of the mouth ; lower parts yellowish, dotted with brown, usually with a lateral series of brown spots.
They are about 4 feet long from tip to tip with the tail 10 inches.
They are found in the Western Ghats
and Sri Lanka.
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...
of 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...
found in Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats
Western Ghats
The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
of India.
Description
Snake scales
Snakes, like other reptiles, have a skin covered in scales. Snakes are entirely covered with scales or scutes of various shapes and sizes. Scales protect the body of the snake, aid it in locomotion, allow moisture to be retained within, alter the surface characteristics such as roughness to aid in...
and taxonomic characters. The anterior palatine and mandibular teeth are not any larger than those at the posterior positions. The eye is shorter than the snout. The rostral scale is broader than deep, the internasals are shorter than the prefrontals. The frontal scale is longer than its distance from the end of the snout and a little shorter than the parietals. The loreal is square and deeper than long, one or two preoculars reach the upper surface of the head. There are two postoculars, the temporals are small 2+3 or 3+3. There are 8 upper labials with the third, fourth and fifth touching the eye. There are 4 lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields and are shorter than the posterior. Scales in 19 or 21 rows, not very oblique ; scales along the vertebral row much enlarged, and at mid body nearly as broad as long. Ventrals scutes 214-249 ; the anals are undivided, subcaudals 90-117.
The colour is brown or greyish above, with a series of blackish transverse spots or bands ; nape with a blackish blotch, or three blackish longitudinal streaks, or a transverse bar ; a more or less distinct brown streak from the eye to the angle of the mouth ; lower parts yellowish, dotted with brown, usually with a lateral series of brown spots.
They are about 4 feet long from tip to tip with the tail 10 inches.
They are found in the Western Ghats
Western Ghats
The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
and Sri Lanka.
