Dog-toothed Cat Snake (Boiga cynodon)

"We are looking at two dog-toothed cat snakes. You want to come down now?"

I slapped my forehead after receiving this sms from Norman Lim at about 10.30pm on 18 May 2007. I have earlier left him and other friends for "Home Sweet Home". Sigh! Look what I have missed out! The two uncommon snakes were sighted together at the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. The pair were so close to each other, they might be trying to mate or have already done 'that thing'.

I have no idea of the story behind their 'dog teeth" but I know that this snake uses an unusual method to immobilize avian prey. Unlike most constrictors, which use their anterior trunk or mid-body region to immobilize prey, constriction of prey by the dog-toothed cat snake is done primarily by the tail (Murphy, 1977; Fig 1). The tail of this snake is strong and prehensile (Lim & Lee, 1989), which allows it to climb trees. This good climber is capable of stretching its slender and laterally flattened body into space to reach a distant branch (Lim & Lee, 1989).

This nocturnal snake is primarily arboreal and hunts for birds and their eggs at dusk (Murphy, 1977; Lim & Lee, 1989). Lim and Lim (1992) claimed that this species also feeds on rodents and lizards, but rodents offered by Murphy (1977) were ignored by the snakes.

The Dog-toothed Cat Snake is an egg-layer and seems to reproduce throughout the year (Lim & Lee, 1989). This mildly-venomous species can grow up to three metres in total length (Lim & Lee, 1989; Lim & Lim, 1992).

Boiga cynodon inhabits lowland forests of the southern region of Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia east to Flores and the Philippines (Lim & Lim, 1992; Cox et al., 1998).

From top to bottom: Head left; Head dorsal; Body left; Body ventral

* All photographs by Chan Kwok Wai

REFERENCES

Cox, M. J., van Dijk, P. P., Nabhitabhata, J. & Thirakhupt, K., 1998. A photographic guide to snakes and other reptiles of Peninsula Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd, p. 76.

Lim, F. L. K. & Lee, M. T. M., 1989. Fascinating Snakes of Southeast Asia – an Introduction. Tropical Press, Kuala Lumpur, p. 78.

Lim, K. K. P. & Lim, F. L. K., 1992. A Guide To The Amphibians & Reptiles Of Singapore. Singapore Science Centre, p. 74.

Murphy, J. B., 1977. An unusual method of immobilizing avian prey by the dog-toothed cat snake, Boiga cynodon. Copeia 1977(1): 182-184.