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Sri Lanka's wildlife encyclopedia

පදුරු මාපිලා

පදුරු මාපිලා பார்னெஸ் பூனைப்பாம்பு

Boiga barnesii

VulnerableEndemic

පදුරු මාපිලා
George Henry Ford (1808-1876) · Public domain

Overview

Boiga barnesii is a species of cat snake endemic to Sri Lanka. It is known as Barnes' cat snake in English and panduru mapila-පදුරු මාපිලා in Sinhala. It is a member of the snake family Colubridae. It is distributed in the lowlands and midlands up to approximately 600 m (2,000 ft) above sea level, with known localities include Matale, Kandy, Gannoruwa, Gampola, Ambagamuwa, Balangoda, Labugama and Sinharaja Rain Forest. 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 600 mm (24 in) in snout-vent length. Being a nocturnal and an arboreal hunter, it mainly feeds on agamid lizards and geckos. 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.

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Sources

  1. Wikipedia (EN): Boiga barnesii — CC BY-SA 4.0
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