Boiga barnesii

Boiga barnesii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Boiga
Species:	B. barnesii
Binomial name
	Boiga barnesii; (Günther, 1869)
Synonyms
	Dipsas barnesii Günther, 1869; Dipsadomorphus barnesii ; — Boulenger, 1896[1]; Boiga barnesii ; — M.A. Smith, 1943[2];

Boiga barnesii is a species of cat snake endemic to Sri Lanka. It is known as the Barnes' cat snake in English and panduru mapila-පදුරු මාපිලා in Sinhala. It is a member of the snake family Colubridae. It 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.

Etymology

The specific name, barnesii, is in honor of Richard Hawksworth Barnes (born 1831), who collected specimens in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) for the British Museum (Natural History), including the type specimen of this species.[1][3]

Scalation

Midbody scale rows 19. Pre-oculars 2–3. Ventrals 208–271. Subcaudals 98–120.

Description

Dorsum reddish-brown with a purplish brown vertebral series of blotches running from nape to the mid-tail region. A lateral series of the same color also can be seen. Head is purplish black with a light gray post-ocular stripe. Ventral side is creamy with gray or brown spots.

Maximum length recorded is 522 millimetres (52.2 cm).

Toxicity

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-මාපිලා (cat snakes) are highly venomous and could kill a human with its venom. This misconception may be because the name mapila refers 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-තෙල් කරවලා, Ceylon krait or mudu karawala-මුදු කරවලා) are also referred to or misidentified as mapila. Both krait species mentioned (Bungarus caeruleus and Bungarus ceylonicus) are highly venomous.

References

Günther A (1869). "Report on two Collections of Indian reptiles". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1869: 500-507. (Dipsas barnesii, new species, p. 506 + Plate XL, figure 2).
Boiga barnesii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 20 August 2008.
Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Barnes", p. 17).

External links

Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. ("Boiga barnesi [sic]", pp. 354–355).
Samarawickrama VAMPK, Samarawickrama VAP, Wijesena NM, Orlov NL (2005). "A new species of genus Boiga (Serpentes: Colubridae: Colubrinae) from Sri Lanka". Russ. J. Herpetol. 12 (3): 213-222.
Wall F (1921). Ophidia Taprobanica or the Snakes of Ceylon. Colombo, Ceylon: Colombo Museum. (H.R. Cottle, Government Printer). xxii + 581 pp.
Deraniyagala PEP (1955). A Colored atlas of some Vertebrates from Ceylon. Vol. 3; Serpentoid Reptilia. Colombo: Ceylon National Museums. 121 pp. + 49 plates.
Das I, de Silva A (2005). A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Sri Lanka. London: New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd. 144 pp.
Somaweera R (2006). Sri Lankawe Sarpayin [The Snakes of Sri Lanka]. Wildlife Heritage Trust of Sri Lanka. 297 pp.

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[Gunther-1] Günther A (1869). "Report on two Collections of Indian reptiles". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1869: 500-507. (Dipsas barnesii, new species, p. 506 + Plate XL, figure 2).

[2] Boiga barnesii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 20 August 2008.

[3] Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Barnes", p. 17).