''Boiga melanota'', the western mangrove cat snake,
[Henrik Bringsøe, 2001. Boiga melanota (Western Mangrove Cat Snake): Die]
/ref> is one of the biggest Boiga, cat snake species in Asia. It is found in Thailand, West Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia (Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
). It is shiny bluish black in colour, marked with 40-50 yellow stripes. The mouth and throat area are yellow, whereas the ventral part of the body is yellowish black. The eyes are greyish in colour. It is categorised as a mildly venomous snake.
Habits
An adult mangrove snake can reach a length of . It is active at night (nocturnal) and hunts for birds, rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...
s and birds egg
Bird eggs are laid by the females and range in quantity from one (as in condors) to up to seventeen (the grey partridge). Clutch size may vary latitudinally within a species. Some birds lay eggs even when the eggs have not been fertilized; it ...
s as its main diet. Its large head and mouth enables it to swallows its prey easily.
Recently reclassed from within the Dendrophila family, they share some physical traits such as similar colouring and being rear-fanged.
References
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q12712071
Venomous snakes
melanota
Reptiles described in 1896
Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger
Fauna of Sumatra
Reptiles of the Malay Peninsula