''Dendrelaphis tristis'' (Common bronzeback or Daudin's bronzeback) is a species of tree-snake found in Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, and Bhutan.

Description

''Dendrelaphis tristis'' is a long, slender

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

with a pointed head and a bronze coloured line running right down its back. Its diet includes

gecko 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 ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s and occasionally

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

s. This harmless snake prefers the tree tops to life on the ground. It is

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...

d (made invisible by means of protective coloring) among the leaves because of its uniform ruddy brown skin. This active snake is restless and quick, both on the ground as well as in the trees. Generally a lively and plucky snake, its disposition varies from one example to another. It is found in

southern India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...

and the

Himalayan foothills The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

. This

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

(egg laying animal e.g. birds) snake lays its eggs between September and February. The 6–7 eggs in a clutch, or number of eggs laid at once, hatch 4–6 weeks after laying; that is, they have a gestation period of 4–6 weeks.

Gallery

File:Bronzeback head sal.jpg File:The Common Indian Bronzeback (Dendrelaphis tristis).jpg, Head seen dorso-laterally File:Dendrelaphis tristis at Kaludiya pokuna.jpg, In Sri Lanka File:Tree snake eating frog, Kerala.jpg, Bronzeback eating a frog

References

* Boulenger, George A. 1890 The Fauna of British India, Including Bangladesh, Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor & Francis, London, xviii, 541 pp. * Daudin, F. M. 1803 Histoire Naturelle Generale et Particuliere des Reptiles. Vol. 6. F. Dufart, Paris.

External links

* * https://web.archive.org/web/20040907175725/http://itgmv1.fzk.de/www/itg/uetz/herp/photos/DENDRELAPHIS_TRISTIS.JPG Colubrids Snakes of Asia Reptiles of India Reptiles of Sri Lanka Reptiles described in 1803 tristis {{Colubrids-stub