Dendrelaphis humayuni

{{speciesbox

| image = Dendrelaphis humayuni.jpg

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Mohapatra, P. |year=2021 |title=Dendrelaphis humayuni |volume=2021 |page=e.T202841A2757264 |url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/202841/2757264|access-date=23 April 2023}}

| genus = Dendrelaphis

| species = humayuni

| authority = Tiwari & Biswas, 1973{{cite journal|last=Tiwari |first=Krishna Kant |author2=Sayantan Biswas |title=Two new reptiles from the Great Nicobar Islands|journal=Journal of the Zoological Society of India|year=1973|volume=25|issue=1–2|pages=57–63}} (Dendrelaphis humayuni, new species).

}}

Dendrelaphis humayuni, also known commonly as the Nicobar bronzeback or Tiwari's bronzeback, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the Nicobar Islands of India.{{NRDB species|genus=Dendrelaphis|species=humayuni|accessdate=1 September 2020}}

Etymology

D. humayuni was named after Humayun Abdulali.

Geographic range

D. humayuni is a widely distributed species found in the central and southern Nicobar Islands, but absent from Car Nicobar. The island of Chowra appears to be its northern range boundary, and Great Nicobar Island is its southern range boundary. There is a single record of this species from Camorta Island of Nicobar collected by Wall.Vijayakumar SP, David P (2006). "Taxonomy, natural history, and distribution of the snakes of the Nicobar Islands (India), based on new materials and with an emphasis on endemic species". Russian Journal of Herpetology 13 (1): 11–40.

Characteristics

D. humayuni averages a length of {{convert|1|m|in|abbr=on}}. It has 172–190 ventral scales. There are 9 supralabials, with 5th and 6th touching the eye in most cases. D. humayuni is mostly confused with Dendrelaphis pictus andamanensis.

Behavior

D. humayuni is diurnal and arboreal.

Diet

D. humayuni preys upon frogs.Rangasamy V, Sivaperuman C, Ashaharraza K (2018). "Predation on a Nicobar Frog, Amnirana nicobariensis (Stoliczka 1879), by a Nicobar Bronzeback, Dendrelaphis humayuni (Tiwari and Biswas 1973), from Great Nicobar Island, Republic of India". IRCF (International Reptile Conservation Foundation) Reptiles & Amphibians: Conservation and Natural History 25 (2): 145–147.

Reproduction

D. humayuni is oviparous.