Jump to content

Dendrelaphis tristis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dendrelaphis tristis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Ahaetuliinae
Genus: Dendrelaphis
Species:
D. tristis
Binomial name
Dendrelaphis tristis
(Daudin, 1803)
Bronzeback
Common Bronzeback

Dendrelaphis tristis (Common bronzeback or Daudin's bronzeback) is a species of colubrid tree-snake found in South Asia.

Taxonomy

[edit]

Dendrelaphis tristis belongs to the genus Dendrelaphis, which contains 48 other described species.[2]

Dendrelaphis is one of five genera belonging to the vine snake subfamily Ahaetuliinae, of which Dendrelaphis is most closely related to Chrysopelea, as shown in the cladogram below:[3]

Ahaetuliinae

Distribution

[edit]

Dendrelaphis tristis is found in Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Bhutan,[4] although its presence is uncertain in Myanmar, Bhutan, and Pakistan.[1]

Habitat

[edit]

It is diurnal and fully arboreal.[4] It lives in various types of forests, from dry deciduous to semi-evergreen, and has even been reported in urban gardens and parks.[1]

Description

[edit]

Dendrelaphis tristis is a long, slender snake with a pointed head and a bronze-coloured line running right down its back. It is camouflaged among the leaves because of its uniform ruddy brown skin.[citation needed]

Diet

[edit]

Its diet includes geckos, garden lizards, frogs, and small birds.[1] It is not venomous, and harmless to humans.[1]

Reproduction

[edit]

The snake has oviparous (egg laying) reproduction,[4] and lays 6-8 eggs in April in tree hollows and rotting vegetation.[1]

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f Wickramasinghe, L.J.M.; Ganesh, S.R. (2021). "Dendrelaphis tristis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T172608A1351149. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  2. ^ Genus Dendrelaphis at The Reptile Database.
  3. ^ Mallik, Ashok Kumar; Achyuthan, N. Srikanthan; Ganesh, Sumaithangi R.; Pal, Saunak P.; Vijayakumar, S. P.; Shanker, Kartik (27 July 2019). "Discovery of a deeply divergent new lineage of vine snake (Colubridae: Ahaetuliinae: Proahaetulla gen. nov.) from the southern Western Ghats of Peninsular India with a revised key for Ahaetuliinae". PLOS ONE. 14 (7): e0218851. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1418851M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0218851. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 6636718. PMID 31314800.
  4. ^ a b c Species Dendrelaphis tristis at The Reptile Database

Further reading

[edit]
  • 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.