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of attack characteristic of thegenus, throwing forepart of the body into a
figure of eight and brisklyvibrating its tail. The Ceylon Cat snake,Boiga
ceylonensisis foundon the Western Ghats. Slightly longer in total length
thantrigonataitis greyish brown above with oblique spots or bars. Forsten's
Cat snakeBoiga forstenithe largest among the three, reaches a length of
overtwo metres. Brown or reddish brown above with black spots or
crossbars on the back interspersed with white spots.
Three species of Sand Snakes of the genusPsammophisoccur.
Sandsnakes are also back fanged colubers and are mildly
poisonous.Psammophis condanarusis widely distributed in the Indian
region.Olive or lighter above with 4 to 5 brown longitudinal stripes.
Lengthupto 120 cm.Psammophis longifronsappears to be restricted
toMaharashtra, greyish above gradually fading into brown. More orless
similar in length tocondanarusbut stouter. Leith's Sand SnakePsammophis
leithiis more common in desert areas. It has been recorded from the
Deccan (Poona). Yellowish brown above withfour dark longitudinal
stripes, median pair bordered with black spots.Length upto 90 cm. All
Sand Snakes feed mainly on lizards.
The genusAhaetulla,Whip Snakes is represented by a single
speciesthe Common Green Whip SnakeAhaetulla nasutus.Aslender
greentree snake it is widely distributed in India and countries to the
east.The pointed projecting snout is distinctive. Feeds on lizards,
smallbirds and mammals. Length up to 266 mm. Another species likelyto
occur is the Brown Whip SnakeAhaetulla pulverulentus,notuncommon on
the Western Ghats from N. Kanara southward.Ahaetullais also a genus
with fangs at the back of mouth and is mildly poisonous.
The sub-family Homalopsinae, Freshwater Snakes, are representedby
three genera with a single species each, in the State. All are mainlyaquatic
and have provision to close their nostrils. They are back fangedand mildly
poisonous. Feed more or less exclusively on fish. Viviparous. The
commonest species in the tidal creeks of Maharashtra isthe Dog-faced
Water Snake,Cerebrusrhyncopsa greyish, brown orolive snake with dark
spots or cross bars above. Grows to a lengthof 60-90 cm. The other two
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