Boiga snakes are commonly referred to as "cat snakes" due to their characteristic feline-like eyes, with pupils that constrict to a vertical slit under bright condition. Boiga drapiezii are largely arboreal snakes found in lowland primary, secondary, and swamp forests to about 1,100 m elevation. These snakes feed on large insects, frogs, tree-dwelling lizards such as Draco species, birds, and bird eggs. Four to ten eggs are said to be laid inside the nests of arboreal termites or termite-infested wood. Like other Boiga, B. drapiezii are rear-fanged and believed to be mildly venomous.
The geographic distribution of Boiga drapiezii is typically Sundaic, having been recorded from the Malay Peninsula (southern Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia), Borneo, Natuna Islands (South China Sea), Sumatra (including the Mentawei Islands), and Java (type locality), where the species was first described in 1827. It is also recorded from the southern Philippines (Sulu Archipelago), as well as from Ambon. It has been reported to be fairly cpmmon in the southern half of the Malay Peninsula.
Boiga drapiezii have very slender and laterally compressed bodies. The head is relatively wide, with large eyes that are about as wide as the length of the snout. There are 19 rows of smooth scales at mid-body; eight to nine upper labials, with the third to fifth (or sixth) touching the eye; 250 to 287 ventral scales; and 114 to 173 sub-caudal scales. The species is known to attain a maximum total length of 210 cm. The species is reported to occur in two distinct color forms that are correlated with neither sex nor size. The first pattern is predominantly reddish-brown, with distinct red, triangular saddles uniformly distributed along its length (see color photographs in Leong et al. 2009). The other form is largely greyish-green with dark, oblique dashes along its flanks.The grayish-green form appears to be less commonly encountered, Both colour forms have a narrow pale mid-dorsal line on the posterior part of the body and tail, and a series of white spots along the edges of the ventrum. The top of the head is finely stippled with dark brown. The underside is whitish, mottled with dark brown, and a lateral pair of blackish stripes runs down the length of the body onto the tail.
(Leong et al. 2009 and references therein)
Boiga drapiezii, commonly known as Drapiez's cat snake and the white-spotted cat snake, is a species of long and slender rear-fanged snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Maritime Southeast Asia and is common throughout its range.
The epithet, drapiezii, is in honor of Belgian naturalist Auguste Drapiez.[3]
There are two known phases of B. drapiezii. The green phase has a marbled green body with a more robust head and width. The brown phase is much more slender with orange brown triangle-like bands across the body. This species is in need of urgent review, with possibly subspecies awaiting discovery and subsequent description.
B. drapiezii is found in Borneo, Indonesia, Peninsular Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, Vietnam.[1]
The preferred natural habitat of B. drapiezii is forest, at altitudes of 80–900 m (260–2,950 ft).[1]
The white-spotted cat snake is nocturnal and arboreal.[1] It can often be found moving about on the forest floor in search of prey and travel. It is found in tropical rainforest, sometimes on branches near streams.
In the wild, the white-spotted cat snake preys upon frogs, geckos, and other small lizards,[1] as well as insects, birds, and bird eggs.[4]
Boiga drapiezii, commonly known as Drapiez's cat snake and the white-spotted cat snake, is a species of long and slender rear-fanged snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Maritime Southeast Asia and is common throughout its range.
