Chordates • Earth.com

Barnes's cat snake

(Boiga barnesii)

Description

Boiga 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,with known localities include Matale,Kandy,Gannoruwa,Gampola,Ambagamuwa,Balangoda,Labugama and Sinharaja Rain Forest.Barnes' cat snake is mainly a forest-dwelling species but may occasionally be found in human habitats.It is the smallest cat snake in Sri Lanka and grows up to a maximum of 600 mm (24 in) in snout-vent length.Being a nocturnal and an arboreal hunter,it mainly feeds on agamid lizards and geckos.The day time is usually spent inside a tree hole or a crevice.It’s a very timid and a mildly venomous snake and rarely attempts to bite.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum:
Class: Reptilia
Order:Squamata
Family:Colubridae
Genus:Boiga
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