{{Short description|Genus of snakes}} {{More citations needed|date=October 2021}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Boiga dendrophila.jpg | image_caption = ''Boiga dendrophila'', mangrove snake | taxon = Boiga | authority = Fitzinger, 1826 }}
'''''Boiga''''' is a large genus of rear-fanged, mildly venomous snakes, known commonly as '''cat-eyed snakes''' or simply '''cat snakes''', in the family Colubridae. Species of the genus ''Boiga'' are native to southeast Asia, India, and Australia, but due to their extremely hardy nature and adaptability, have spread to many other suitable habitats around the world. There are 38 recognized species in the genus. According to the study done by Jiří Smíd regarding Old World cat snakes, the ancestor of the cat snake originated in Africa, from where it diversified and expanded to other countries. Despite this diversity however, the different species have very similar needs in terms of temperature and precipitation.<ref>Genus ''Boiga'' at Wikispecies. species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Boiga.</ref>
==Species and subspecies== [[File:mangrove snake 1.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Mangrove snake at the United States National Zoological Park.]] The following species and subspecies are recognized as being valid.<ref>{{EMBL genus|genus=Boiga}} www.reptile-database.org.</ref> *''Boiga andamanensis'' {{small|(Wall, 1909)}} – Andaman cat snake *''Boiga angulata'' {{small|(W. Peters, 1861)}} – Leyte cat snake – Philippines *''Boiga barnesii'' {{small|(Günther, 1869)}} – Barnes' cat snake – Sri Lanka *''Boiga beddomei'' {{small|(Wall, 1909)}} – Beddome's cat snake – Western Ghat mountains and Sri Lanka *''Boiga bengkuluensis'' {{small|Orlov, Kudryavtzev, Ryabov & Shumakov, 2003}} – *''Boiga bourreti'' {{small|Tillack, Ziegler & Le Khac Quyet, 2004}} – Bourret's cat snake – central Vietnam *''Boiga ceylonensis'' {{small|(Günther, 1858)}} – Sri Lanka cat snake *''Boiga cyanea'' {{small|(A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854)}} – green cat snake – Mainland Southeast Asia to eastern India *''Boiga cynodon'' {{small|(F. Boie, 1827)}} – dog-toothed cat snake – Sundaland and Philippines *''Boiga dendrophila'' {{small|(F. Boie, 1827)}} – gold-ringed cat snake, mangrove snake **''Boiga dendrophila annectens'' {{small|(Boulenger, 1896)}} **''Boiga dendrophila dendrophila'' {{small|(F. Boie, 1827)}} **''Boiga dendrophila divergens'' {{small|Taylor, 1922}} **''Boiga dendrophila gemmicincta'' {{small|(A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854)}} **''Boiga dendrophila latifasciata'' {{small|(Boulenger, 1896)}} **''Boiga dendrophila levitoni'' {{small|Gaulke, Demegillo & G. Vogel, 2005}} **''Boiga dendrophila multicincta'' {{small|(Boulenger, 1896)}} **''Boiga dendrophila occidentalis'' {{small|Brongersma, 1934}} *''Boiga dightoni'' {{small|(Boulenger, 1894)}} – Pirmad cat snake – India (Western Ghats) ** ''Boiga dightoni whitakeri'' {{small|Ganesh, Mallik, Achyuthan, Shanker & G. Vogel, 2021}} – Whitaker's cat snake *''Boiga drapiezii'' {{small|(H. Boie in F. Boie, 1827)}} – white-spotted cat snake *''Boiga flaviviridis'' {{small|G. Vogel & Ganesh, 2013}} - yellow-green cat snake - eastern peninsular India *''Boiga forsteni'' {{small|(A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854)}} – Forsten's cat snake – Indian subcontinent *''Boiga gocool'' {{small|(Gray, 1835)}} – arrowback tree snake – Bengal, Assam *''Boiga guangxiensis'' {{small|Wen, 1998}} – southern China, Laos, Vietnam *''Boiga hoeseli'' {{small|Ramadhan, Iskandar & Subasri, 2010}} - Lesser Sundas cat snake *''Boiga irregularis'' {{small|(Merrem, 1802)}} – brown tree snake *''Boiga jaspidea'' {{small|(A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854)}} – jasper cat snake - Sumatra, Java, Malay peninsula, Borneo *''Boiga kraepelini'' {{small|(Stejneger, 1902)}} – Kelung cat snake – China, Taiwan, Hainan, Vietnam *''Boiga melanota'' {{small|(Boulenger, 1896)}} *''Boiga multifasciata'' {{small|(Blyth, 1861)}} – many-banded cat snake *''Boiga multomaculata'' {{small|(F. Boie, 1827)}} – many-spotted cat snake – Himalayan foothills (Himachal Pradesh to Sikkim, Nepal, Bhutan) *''Boiga nigriceps'' {{small|(Günther, 1863)}} – black-headed cat snake – Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, Borneo *''Boiga nuchalis'' {{small|(Günther, 1875)}} – collared cat snake – southwestern India (Western and Eastern Ghats) *''Boiga ochracea'' {{small|(Günther, 1868)}} – tawny cat snake *''Boiga philippina'' {{small|(W. Peters, 1867)}} – Philippine cat snake *''Boiga quincunciata'' {{small|(Wall, 1908)}} – Assam, Burma *''Boiga ranawanei'' {{small|(Samarawickrama, Samarawickrama, Wijesena, & Orlov, 2005)}} – Ranawana's cat snake – Sri Lanka *''Boiga saengsomi'' {{small|Nutphand, 1985}} – banded cat snake *''Boiga schultzei'' {{small|Taylor, 1923}} – Schultze's blunt-headed tree snake *''Boiga siamensis'' {{small|(Nutphand, 1971)}} – gray cat snake *''Boiga tanahjampeana'' {{small|Orlov & Ryabov, 2002}} *''Boiga thackerayi'' {{small|Giri, Deepak, Captain, Pawar & Tillack, 2019}} – Thackeray's cat snake – Western Ghats *''Boiga trigonata'' {{small|(Schneider, 1802)}} – Indian gamma snake **''Boiga trigonata trigonata'' {{small|(Schneider, 1802)}} **''Boiga trigonata melanocephala'' {{small|(Annandale, 1904)}} *''Boiga wallachi'' {{small|Das, 1998}} – Nicobar cat snake *''Boiga westermanni'' {{small|Reinhardt, 1863}} – Indian egg-eating snake
''Nota bene'': A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was original described in a genus other than ''Boiga''.
==Phylogeny==
DNA analysis indicates that ''Boiga'' is a sister group to ''Toxicodryas'' and ''Dasypeltis''.<ref name=Weinell2021>{{cite journal |last1=Weinell |first1=Jeffrey L |last2=Barley |first2=Anthony J |last3=Siler |first3=Cameron D |last4=Orlov |first4=Nikolai L |last5=Ananjeva |first5=Natalia B |last6=Oaks |first6=Jamie R |last7=Burbrink |first7=Frank T |last8=Brown |first8=Rafe M |title=Phylogenetic relationships and biogeographic range evolution in cat-eyed snakes, Boiga (Serpentes: Colubridae) |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |date=30 April 2021 |volume=192 |issue=1 |pages=169–184 |doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa090 |access-date=9 December 2024 |url= https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/192/1/169/5892978|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
Three main clades were identified: (A) ''B. kraepelini''; (B) seven species, ''B. jaspidea, B. barnesii, B. beddomei, B. ceylonensis, B. quincunciata, B. trigonata, maculata–ochracea''; (C) remainder of approximately seventeen species. Within Clade C, subclades include: ''B. bouretti'', ''drapezii'' group, ''cynodon'' group, ''irregularis'' group, ''B. philippina'', ''B. nigriceps'', ''dendrophila'' group.<ref name="Weinell2021" />
==Description== Cat snakes are long-bodied snakes with large heads and large eyes. They vary greatly in pattern and color. Many species have banding, but some are spotted and some are solid-colored. Colors are normally black, brown, or green with white or yellow accents.{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}}
==Behaviour== Snakes of the genus ''Boiga'' are primarily arboreal,<ref>Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR (1978). ''Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition''. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. xi + 378 pp. {{ISBN|0-7167-0020-4}}. (Genus ''Boiga'', p. 324).</ref> nocturnal snakes.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}
==Diet== Snakes of the genus ''Boiga'' prey on various small species of lizards, snakes, birds, and mammals.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}
==Venom== The toxicity of ''Boiga'' venom varies from species to species, but is not generally considered to be life-threatening to humans. Since their venom does not usually harm humans, they are popular exotic pets.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}
==Reproduction== ''Boiga'' species are oviparous.<ref>Rodda GH, Fritts TH, McCoid MJ, Campbell EW III (1999). "An Overview of the Biology of the Brown Treesnake (''Boiga irregularis''), a Costly Introduced Pest on Pacific Islands". pp. 44-80. '''''In'':''' Rodda GH, Sawai Y, Chiszar D, Tanaka H (editors) (1999). ''Problem Snake Management: the Habu and the Brown Treesnake''. Ithaca, New York: Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press. 534 pp. {{ISBN|978-0801435072}}. http://www.stoppinginvasives.org/dotAsset/aa46f8a3-9334-4e55-b724-5f63ffaffc7f.pdf</ref>
==In captivity== ''Boiga dendrophila'' is by far the most common species in captivity, but ''B. cyanea'' and ''B. nigriceps'' are also found. Nowadays, ''B. cynodon'', ''B. philippina'' and a “Katherine morph” of ''B. irregularis'' are also circulating in the South-East Asian exotic pet trade. Others are not commonly available. They are hardy and adaptable and tend to do well in captivity after the initial period of stress from the importation process is passed. They are not bred commonly in captivity, so most specimens available are wild caught, and thus are prone to heavy internal parasite load. Adjusting them to a rodent only diet can be difficult for the inexperienced reptile keeper.{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}}
==Invasive species== ''Boiga irregularis'' in particular has been federally banned in the United States because of its effect by accidentally being introduced to the island of Guam. Some time during the 1950s, some ''B. irregularis'' of both sexes (or possibly a single female with eggs) reached the island, possibly having hidden in imported plant pots. The island of Guam lacks native snakes or predators that can deal with snakes the size and aggressiveness of ''B. irregularis''. As a result, it has bred unchecked as an invasive species, and has begun consuming the island's bird life in extreme numbers. Dozens of bird species have been completely eradicated from the island, many species that were found nowhere else on earth, and the snake has reached astonishing population densities, reported to be as high as 15,000 snakes per square mile. In addition to devouring the native fauna, this species will routinely crawl into power transformers, and this typically results in both an electrocuted snake and substantial blackouts.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Brown Treesnake on Guam|publisher=Fort Collins Science Center, United States Geological Survey|url=https://www.fort.usgs.gov/resources/education/bts/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070717172351/http://www.fort.usgs.gov/Resources/Education/BTS/|archive-date=2007-07-17}}</ref> In addition, there has been many cases in Guam where deaths are recorded due to the venomous bites from the Boiga snakes. Although they are an invasive species, there has been evidence where there is reverse- colonization of South-East Asia from the Philippines, and the Australasia from Wallacea from multiple lineages within Boiga.
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==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== *Fitzinger LI (1826). ''Neue Classification der Reptilien nach ihren natürlichen Verwandtschaften. Nebst einer Verwandtschafts-tafel und einem Verzeichnisse der Reptilien-Sammlung des k.k. zoologischen Museums zu Wien.'' Vienna: J.G. Heubner. five unnumbered + 67 pp. + one plate. (''Boiga'', new genus, p. 60). (in German and Latin).
==External links== *[http://www.wildherps.com/species/B.irregularis.html Wild Herps.com: Eastern Brown Tree Snake] *[http://www.gernot-vogel.de/index.php?target=checklist Gernot-Vogel.de: Checklist of the Genus ''Boiga'' (Serpentes: Colubridae)]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1475483}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Boiga Category:Snakes of Australia Category:Snakes of India Category:Reptiles of Asia Category:Reptiles of Pakistan Category:Snake genera Category:Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger