Boiga cynodon

Boiga cynodon
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Subfamily:	Colubrinae
Genus:	Boiga
Species:	B. cynodon
Binomial name
Boiga cynodon (F. Boie, 1827)
Synonyms
Dipsas cynodon F. Boie, 1827 Opetiodon cynodon – A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1854 Eudipsas cynodon – Günther, 1858 Dipsadomorphus cynodon – Boulenger, 1896 Boiga cynodon – Barbour, 1912[1]

Boiga cynodon, commonly known as the dog-toothed cat snake, is a nocturnal species of rear-fanged colubrid snake endemic to Asia.

Description

It is a large snake, reaching more than 2 m (6 ¹⁄₂ ft) in total length. The front teeth of the upper jaw and the lower jaw are strongly enlarged.^[2]

The body is slender and laterally compressed. Dorsally it is tannish with reddish-brown or dark brown crossbands. There is a dark streak behind the eye on each side of the head. The venter is whitish, heavily marbled with dark brown.

The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 23 or 25 rows at midbody, and those in the vertebral row are strongly enlarged. Ventrals 248-290; subcaudals 114-165.^[3]

Diet

It feeds mainly upon small birds and bird eggs, but may also take lizards and small mammals.^[3]

Reproduction

Boiga cynodon is an oviparous species, with sexually mature females laying eggs, 6-12 per clutch.^[3]

Geographic range

• Bangladesh
• Cambodia
• India (Assam)
• Indonesia (Bali, Bangka, Belitung, Borneo, Flores, Java, Kalimantan, Mentawai Archipelago, Nias, Riau Archipelago, Sumatra, Sumbawa)
• Laos
• Malaysia (Malaya and East Malaysia), Pulau Tioman
• Myanmar (formerly called Burma)
• Philippine Islands (Basilan, Culion, Dinagat, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Palawan, Panay, Polillo, Sibutu, Sulu Archipelago)
• Singapore
• Thailand

References

1. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
2. Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. III., Containing the Families Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ)... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). London. xiv. + 727 pp. + Plates I.-XXV. (Dipsadomorphus cynodon, pp. 78-80.)
3. Das, I. 2006. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Borneo. Ralph Curtis Books. Sanibel Island, Florida. 144 pp. ISBN 0-88359-061-1 (Boiga cynodon, p. 21.)

Further reading

• Boie, F. 1827. Bemerkungen über Merrem's Versuch eines Systems der Amphibien, 1. Lieferung: Ophidier. Isis van Oken, Jena, 20: 508-566.
• Bulian, J. 2005. Boiga cynodon - die Grüne Nachtbaumnatter. Reptilia (Münster) 10 (1): 70-77.