Boiga beddomei

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Serpentes
Infraordo: Caenophidia
Superfamilia: Colubroidea

Familia: Colubridae
Subfamilia: Colubrinae
Genus: Boiga
Species: Boiga beddomei
Name

Boiga beddomei (Wall, 1909)

Type locality: Ceylon (= Sri Lanka) and Western Ghats.
Synonyms

Dipsadomorphus beddomei Wall, 1909
Dipsadomorphus beddomei — Wall, 1921: 282
Boiga beddomei — Das, 1996: 54
Boiga beddomei — Whitaker & Captain, 2004

References

Wall, F. 1909. Remarks on some forms of Dipsadomorphus. Rec. Ind. Mus. 3: 151–155.
Wall, Frank 1921. Ophidia Taprobanica or the Snakes of Ceylon. Colombo Mus. (H. R. Cottle, govt. printer), Colombo. xxii, 581 pages.
Whitaker, Romulus and Ashok Captain 2004. Snakes of India. Draco Books, 500 pp.
Boiga beddomei at the New Reptile Database. Accessed on 20 August 2008.

Vernacular names
English: Beddome's Cat Snake

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]

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 and Goa in the hill ranges.[5]
Etymology

Boiga beddomei was named after Richard Henry Beddome (1830–1911), British army officer and botanist.[6]
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]
References

Captain, A.; Srinivasulu, C.; Srinivasulu, B.; Vyas, R.; Mohapatra, P.; Kulkarni, N.U. (2021). "Boiga beddomei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T176619A123302891. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T176619A123302891.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
Boiga beddomei at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 14 January 2017.
Ganesh, S.R.; Achyuthan, N.S.; Chandramouli, S.R.; Vogel, G. (2020). "Taxonomic revision of the Boiga ceylonensis group (Serpentes: Colubridae): re-examination of type specimens, redefinition of nominate taxa and an updated key". Zootaxa. 4779 (3): 301–322. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4779.3.
Boundy, Jeff (2020). Snakes of the World: a supplement (First ed.). Florida, USA: CRC Press. p. 282 pp. ISBN 9781138618138.
Ganesh, S.R.; Mallik, A.K.; Achyuthan, N.S.; Shanker, K.; Vogel, G. (2021). "A new species of Boiga (Serpentes: Colubridae) from the Southern Western Ghats of India with a molecular phylogeny and expanded characterisation of related species". Zootaxa. 4981 (3): 449–468. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4981.3.2.

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. (Boiga beddomei, p. 21).