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mangrove snake: Black-and-yellow mangrove snake (Boiga dendrophila) |
| (genus Boiga), any of about 30 species (family Colubridae) of
weakly venomous, rear-fanged snakes, ranging from tropical
Africa to Australia and Polynesian islands. They are at home
on the ground
and in trees; many catch birds at night. Because
they have elliptical pupils and
may be green-eyed, they are
sometimes referred to as cat, or cat-eyed,
snakes. The head is
short and broad, the body fairly stout.
The black-and-yellow mangrove snake (B. dendrophila) of the
Malay Peninsula to the Philippines is black, with narrow yellow
bars and yellow lips and throat. It may be 1.8 m (about 6 feet)
long. The gamma (B. trigonata) of India and Central Asia is a
1.2-metre brown species that is chiefly arboreal. Like some
others of the genus, the gamma defends itself by rearing into an
S-curve, inflating the foreparts, and striking repeatedly. The
brown tree snake (B. irregularis) is found in northern and eastern
Australia; anchored to a bough, it can strike across a surprising
distance.
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Amateur Scientists And Common Teasers