Boiga dightoni

Boiga dightoni, commonly known as Dighton's catsnake, the Pirmad cat snake, and the Travancore cat snake,^[3][4] is a species of rear-fanged mildly venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of India.

Boiga dightoni
Tamil Nadu, 2016
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Boiga
Species:	B. dightoni
Binomial name
Boiga dightoni (Boulenger, 1894)
Synonyms[2]
Dipsas dightoni Boulenger, 1894 Dipsadomorphus dightonii — Boulenger, 1896 Boiga dightoni — M.A. Smith, 1943

Etymology

The common name, Pirmad cat snake, refers to Peermade (also spelled Peermad, Pirmaad, Pirmed, and Pirmedu), a place in Kerala, India, elevation 3,300 feet (1,006 m).

The specific name or epithet, dightoni, is in honor of tea planter S.M. Dighton, the collector of the holotype specimen.^[4]

Geographic range

In India B. dightoni is found in the Ponmudi Hills and Travancore Hills of Kerala State, and in the Anaimalai Hills and Palni Hills of western Tamil Nadu State.^[3]

Description

B. dightoni is pale reddish-brown dorsally, with a series of salmon-red blotches. Its head is pale brown with minute blackish dots. Ventrally, it is yellowish, finely-dotted with brown. The outer ends of the ventral scales are salmon-pink. It is medium-sized, adults attaining a total length (including tail) of 1.1 m (3.6 feet).^[5]

Behavior

B. dightoni is arboreal and nocturnal.^[3]

Habitat

B. dightoni inhabits trees and shrubs in forested areas,^[3] at altitudes of 800–1,100 m (2,600–3,600 ft).^[1]

Diet

B. dightoni preys on lizards, including Calotes versicolor.^[3]

Reproduction

B. dightoni is oviparous.^[2]

Venom

Although rear-fanged and possessing a mild venom, B. dightoni is not considered dangerous to humans, mainly due to its small size.^[3]

References

1. Srinivasulu C, Srinivasulu B, Deepak V, Mohapatra P, Vijayakumar SP (2013). "Boiga dightoni ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T172674A1364625.en. Accessed on 19 Aug 2022.
2. Species Boiga dightoni at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
3. Das I (2002). A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. ISBN 0-88359-056-5. (Boiga dightoni, p. 22).
4. 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 dightoni, p. 72).
5. Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Dipsadomorphus dightonii, new combination, pp. 69–70).

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1894). "Description of a New Snake Found in Travancore, by Mr. S. Dighton. Pirmaad." Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 8: 528 + one plate. (Dipsas dightoni, new species).
• Inger RF, Shaffer HB, Koshy M, Bakde R (1984). "A report on a collection of amphibians and reptiles from the Ponmudi, Kerala, South India". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 81 (3): 551–570. (Boiga dightoni, pp. 567–568).
• Kanagavel, Arun; Ganesh, S.R. (2921). "Recent Record of the Rare Travancore Catsnake, Boiga dightoni (Boulenger 1894) (Reptilia: Colubridae), from the Ponmudi Hills in the Southern Western Ghats, India". Reptiles & Amphibians 28 (1): 67–70.
• Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Boiga dightoni, new combination, pp. 359–360).