MANGROVE SNAKE

Black-and-yellow mangrove snake (Boiga dendrophila) (genus Boiga), any of about 30 species (family Colubridae) of weakly venomous, rear-fanged snakes, ranging from tropical Africa to Australia and Polynesian islands. They are at home on the ground and in trees; many catch birds at night. Because they have elliptical pupils and may be green-eyed, they are sometimes referred to as cat, or cat-eyed, snakes. The head is short and broad, the body fairly stout. The black-and-yellow mangrove snake (B. dendrophila) of the Malay Peninsula to the Philippines is black, with narrow yellow bars and yellow lips and throat. It may be 1.8 m (about 6 feet) long. The gamma (B. trigonata) of India and Central Asia is a 1.2-metre brown species that is chiefly arboreal. Like some others of the genus, the gamma defends itself by rearing into an S-curve, inflating the foreparts, and striking repeatedly. The brown tree snake (B. irregularis) is found in northern and eastern Australia; anchored to a bough, it can strike across a surprising distance.