First record of Forsten's Cat Snake, Boiga forsteni (Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril 1854), in Himachal Pradesh: Extending the known range in northern India
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: T he colubrid snakes of the genus Boiga Fitzinger 1826 are represented by 37 species, 17 of which occur in India (Uetz et al. 2025).Two species, the Many-banded Catsnake, Boiga multifasciata (Blyth 1861), and the Common Catsnake, Boiga trigonata (Schneider 1802), have been recorded in Himachal Pradesh (Saikia et al. 2007; Sharma and Sidhu 2016).Forsten's Catsnake, Boiga forsteni (Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril 1854), occurs in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.Within India, it has been recorded in Sikkim, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, southern Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and Telangana (Smith 1943; Whitaker and Captain 2008; Vamdev et al. 2019; Uetz et al. 2025).This nocturnal species inhabits tree hollows, abandoned nests, and leaf tangles on branches, and feeds on lizards, birds (including domestic chickens) and their eggs, bats, and other small mammals (Whitaker and Captain 2008; Mohapatra et al. 2009).The Renuka Wildlife Sanctuary (4.03 km²; elev.640-950 m asl) is situated in the catchment of the Giri River in the outer ranges of the western Himalayas near Dadahu, close to Nahan Town in the Sirmaur District of Himachal First Record of Forsten's Catsnake, Boiga forsteni (Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril 1854), in Himachal Pradesh: Extending the Known Range in Northern India
Source: Reptiles & Amphibians
Authors: Virender Sharma, Virender Kumar Bhardwaj, Rakeshwar Kapoor
Institutions: Mizoram University, Punjabi University
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4416059063
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