Boiga beddomei

Boiga beddomei, commonly known as Beddome's cat snake, is a species of rear-fanged snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of India, in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa states.^[3][4]

Boiga beddomei
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Boiga
Species:	B. beddomei
Binomial name
Boiga beddomei (Wall, 1909)
Synonyms[2]
Dipsadomorphus beddomei Wall, 1909 Boiga beddomei Das, 1996

Geographic range

B. beddomei is found in India, in northern parts of the Western Ghats in Maharashtra state (Bhimashankar, Mulshi, Koyna, Vasota). It is also found in Gujarat, Goa and northern karnataka^[5] in the hill ranges.^[6]

Etymology

Boiga beddomei is named after Richard Henry Beddome (1830–1911), British army officer and botanist.^[7]

Description

Boiga beddomei is a slender snake. The head is distinct from the neck. The vertebral scales are strongly enlarged. The dorsum is grayish brown with dark brown vertebral cross bars. The ventral surface is yellowish-cream, densely powdered with blackish spots.

Scalation

The dorsal scales are arranged in 19 oblique rows at midbody; the vertebral row is strongly enlarged and hexagonal. The ventrals number 238–252 and the subcaudals number 113–127.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of B. beddomei is evergreen forest, at altitudes up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft). It is nocturnal and arboreal in habits.

Diet

B. beddomei feeds mainly on dragon lizard, geckos, skinks and frogs.

Reproduction

B. beddomei is oviparous.^[2]