The banded cat-eyed snake (''Leptodeira annulata'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of mildly

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

, rear-fanged,

colubrid Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on ev ...

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

.ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). Itis.gov.

Common names

Additional common names include: cat-eyed night snake, ''come sapo, culebra de pantano, culebra destenida, machete savane, mapana de agua, mapana tigre'', and ''ranera''. Freiberg, M. 1982. ''Snakes of South America''. T.F.H. Publications. Hong Kong. 189 pp. . (''Leptodeira annulata'', pp. 100-101, 103 + photograph on p. 55)

Geographic range

It is found in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

, including the offshore islands of

Margarita A margarita is a cocktail consisting of Tequila, triple sec, and lime juice often served with salt on the rim of the glass. The drink is served shaken with ice (on the rocks), blended with ice (frozen margarita), or without ice (straight up). ...

, and

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

.The Reptile Database. Reptile-database.org.

Description

Adults are about 750 mm (30 in) long and very slender. The head is distinct from the neck, and the large eyes have vertically elliptic pupils. The back is yellowish or brown with a series of dark brown or blackish spots often confluent into an undulous or zigzag stripe. Boulenger, G.A. 1896. ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ...)''. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, Printers.) London. xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I.- XXV. (Genus ''Leptodira'', pp. 88-89; species ''Leptodira annulata'', pp. 97-98)

Venom

It has a pair of enlarged, grooved teeth at the rear of each upper jaw (

maxilla The maxilla (plural: ''maxillae'' ) in vertebrates is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. T ...

), and produces a mild venom.. The venom affects the snake's natural prey (mainly small frogs and small lizards). The snake tends not to bite humans when handled, but when it does, the venom has relatively mild effects in most individuals (some describe it as a slight irritating/itching sensation with slight swelling). The snake is not considered a risk to human health.

Habitat

It inhabits moist areas. The snake tends to be found in forest (moist and dry forest) as well as in areas near forest edge (including well vegetated urbanized areas near forest edge). They are often associated with riparian zones, as well as the margins of swamps and marshes.

Behavior

''Leptodeira annulata'' is nocturnal, and it hunts and feeds in trees and on the ground.

Diet

preys Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

s, frog eggs,

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found ...

salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All t ...

s, and small reptiles such as lizards (including anoles) and smaller snakes, as well as

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

. It may also feed on fledgling birds.

Reproduction

Snakes of the genus ''Leptodeira'' are oviparous, sometimes exhibiting delayed

fertilization Fertilisation or fertilization (see spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation, is the fusion of gametes to give rise to a new individual organism or offspring and initiate its development. Proce ...

. Wright, A.H., and A.A. Wright. 1957. ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Comstock. Ithaca and London. 1,105 pp. (in 2 volumes). ("Genus ''Leptodeira''", pp. 415-418.)