Boiga barnesii
Encyclopedia
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. 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.
Although panduru mapila is only mildly venomous, and bites on humans produce only local symptoms, there is a common misconception in Sri Lanka that all mapilas (cat snakes) are highly venomous and could kill a human with its venom. This misconception may be because the name mapila is used to refer to different species in different parts of the island. Due to differences in local knowledge and nomenclature, the krait species found in Sri Lanka (common krait
or thel karawala, Ceylon krait or mudu karawala) are also referred to or misidentified as mapila. Both krait species mentioned (Bungarus caeruleus and Bungarus ceylonicus) are highly venomous.
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 cat snake
Boiga
Boiga is a large genus of mildly venomous, rear-fanged, colubrid snakes typically known as the cat-eyed snakes or just cat snakes. They are primarily found throughout southeast Asia, India and Australia, but due to their extremely hardy nature and adaptability have spread to many other suitable...
found in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
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
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and is distributed in the lowlands and midlands up to ~600m above sea level. 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
Agamidae
Agamids, lizards of the family Agamidae, include more than 300 species in Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. Phylogenetically they may be sister to the Iguanidae, and have a similar appearance. Agamids usually have...
and geckos
GeckOS
GeckOS is an experimental operating system for MOS 6502 and compatible processors. It offers some Unix-like functionality including preemptive multitasking, multithreading, semaphores, signals, binary relocation, TCP/IP networking via SLIP and a 6502 standard library.GeckOS includes native support...
. 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.
Although panduru mapila is only mildly venomous, and bites on humans produce only local symptoms, there is a common misconception in Sri Lanka that all mapilas (cat snakes) are highly venomous and could kill a human with its venom. This misconception may be because the name mapila is used to refer to different species in different parts of the island. Due to differences in local knowledge and nomenclature, the krait species found in Sri Lanka (common krait
Common Krait
The common krait is a species of genus Bungarus found in the jungles of the Indian subcontinent. It is a member of the "big four", species inflicting the most snakebites in India....
or thel karawala, Ceylon krait or mudu karawala) are also referred to or misidentified as mapila. Both krait species mentioned (Bungarus caeruleus and Bungarus ceylonicus) are highly venomous.
External links
- http://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Boiga_barnesii
- http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Boiga_barnesii.html
- http://www.pdn.ac.lk/socs/zaup/reptiles/colubridae.html