Boiga trigonata
{{Short description|Species of snake}}
File:Boiga trigonata By Omid Mozaffari (2).jpgFile:Boiga trigonata By Omid Mozaffari (4).jpg
{{Speciesbox
| image = Common Cat Snake 02.jpg
| image_caption = Common cat snake from Raigad
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Boiga
| species = trigonata
| authority = (Schneider, 1802)
| range_map = Boiga trigonata distribution.png
| synonyms = *Coluber trigonatus Schneider, 1802
- Dipsas trigonata — F. Boie, 1827
- Dipsadomorphus trigonatus
— Günther, 1858 Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ),... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, Printers.) LOndon. xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I.- XXV. (Dipsadomorphus trigonatus, pp. 62–63.) - Boiga trigonata — M.A. Smith, 1943 The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
}}
Boiga trigonata, commonly known as the Indian gamma snake or common cat snake, is a species of rear-fanged colubrid endemic to South Asia.
Description
:See snake scales for terms used
Boiga 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 the internasal scales shorter than the prefrontal scales. The frontal scales are longer than their distance from the end of the snout and shorter than the parietal scales. The loreals are as long as they are deep, or, they can be deeper than they are long. B. trigonata
Boiga trigonata has a yellowish-olive or pale grey colour along the back and a white black-edged zigzag band along the length of the head with two brown bands edged with black, diverging posteriorly. The belly is white and can have a series of small brown spots along each side.
The total length is around 3 feet (91 cm) with a 7-inch (18 cm) tail.Boulenger, G.A. 1890. The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, Printers.) London. xviii + 541 pp. (Dipsas trigonata, p. 358.)
Geographic range
Boiga trigonata is found in the Perso-Baluchistan frontier.
It is distributed throughout Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan (Leviton 1959: 461), southern Turkmenistan, southern Uzbekistan, southeastern Tajikistan, and Iran.
The race melanocephala is found in Pakistan; this form is variously considered as a subspecies, color variant, or full species.
Mimicry
Boiga trigonata strongly resembles venomous Echis carinatus in coloration and shape. Also, in India, these two species have almost identical geographic ranges.
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- Annandale, N. 1904. Additions to the Collection of Oriental Snakes in the Indian Museum. J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal 73: 207–211.
- Gans, C., and M. Latifi. 1973. Another Case of Presumptive Mimicry in Snakes. Copeia 1973 (4): 801–802.
- Leviton, A.E. 1959. Systematics and Zoogeography of Philippine Snakes. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis.
- Schneider, J.G. in Bechstein, J. M. 1802. Herrn de Lacépède's Naturgeschichte der Amphibien oder der eyerlegenden vierfüssigen Thiere und der Schlangen. Eine Fortsetzung von Buffon's Naturgeschichte aus dem Französischen übersetzt und mit Anmerkungen und Zusätzen versehen. Vierter Band [Volume 4]. Industrie Comptoir. Weimar. xx + 298 pp. + 48 plates. (Coluber trigonatus, pp. 256–257 + Plate 40, Figure 1.)
External links
- {{NRDB species|genus=Boiga |species=trigonata }}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311032000/http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Boiga_trigonata2.jpg Image]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311032115/http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/Boiga_trigonata.jpg Image]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2707516}}
Category:Reptiles of Afghanistan
Category:Reptiles of Central Asia