''Boiga barnesii'' 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 cat snake

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 elsew ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. It is known as Barnes' cat snake in English and -පදුරු මාපිලා in Sinhala. It is a member of the snake family

Colubridae 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 ever ...

. It is distributed in the lowlands and midlands up to approximately above sea level, with known localities include

Matale Matale ( Sinhala: මාතලේ, ta, மாத்தளை, translit=Māttaḷai) is the administrative capital city of the Matale District. It is the most urbanised and populated centre in the district. Matale is also the second largest muni ...

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

, Gannoruwa,

Gampola Gampola ( si, ගම්පොල, ta, கம்பளை) is a town located in Kandy District, Central Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. Gampola was made the capital of the island by King Buwanekabahu IV, who ruled for four yea ...

, Ambagamuwa,

Balangoda Balangoda is a large town in Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an urban council located away from Colombo and from Ratnapura on Colombo - Batticaloa Highway(A4). It is one of the largest towns of the Sabaragamuw ...

Labugama Labugama ( si, ලබුගම, ta, லாபுகம) is a village in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly k ...

and

Sinharaja Rain Forest Sinharaja Forest Reserve is a forest reserve and a biodiversity hotspot in Sri Lanka. It is of international significance and has been designated a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site by UNESCO. According to International Union for Conserv ...

. 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 about in snout-vent length. Being a

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

and an

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

hunter, it mainly feeds on agamid lizards and

geckos Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...

. 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

) for the

British Museum (Natural History) The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

, including the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...

of this species. (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("''Boiga barnesi'' ic, p. 17).

Scalation

''B. barnesii'' has 19 scale rows at midbody. It has 2–3 Pre-oculars. The

ventrals In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that cont ...

number 208–271, and the

subcaudals In snakes, the subcaudal scales are the enlarged plates on the underside of the tail.Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . These scales may be either single or divided (pair ...

number 98–120.

Description

The dorsum of ''B. barnesii'' is 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. The head is purplish black, with a light gray post-ocular stripe. The ventral surface is creamy, with gray or brown spots. The maximum length recorded is .

Toxicity

Although is only mildly venomous, and bites on humans produce only local symptoms, there is a common misconception in Sri Lanka that all -මාපිලා ( cat snakes) are highly venomous and could kill a human with its venom. This misconception may be because the name 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 The common krait (''Bungarus caeruleus''), also known as Bengal krait, is a species of highly venomous elapid snake of the genus ''Bungarus'' native to the Indian subcontinent. It is a member of the "Big Four" species that inflict the most snake ...

or ''thel karawala-තෙල් කරවලා'', Ceylon krait or ''mudu karawala-මුදු කරවලා'') are also referred to or misidentified as . Both krait species mentioned (''Bungarus caeruleus'' and ''Bungarus ceylonicus'') are highly venomous.

References

External links

*http://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Boiga_barnesii *http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Boiga_barnesii.html *http://www.pdn.ac.lk/socs/zaup/reptiles/colubridae.html