Wildlifeof India
Common Cat Snake
Colubrid Snakes
Photo: (c) Siva Naturewild, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY (May be cropped or resized)
Boiga trigonata
Basic stats
Range
South Asia: Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, and Iran and Central Asia
Size
About 91cm including a tail of about 18cm
The common cat snake, or Indian gamma snake, is a rear-fanged colubrid of South Asia. Its eyes are large with vertical pupils, and the body is moderately flattened from side to side, with smooth back scales. The back is yellowish-olive or pale grey with white, black-edged zigzag markings that may be connected, and the top of the head has a distinct pale Y-shaped mark. The belly is white or tan. The total length is around 91 cm, with an 18 cm tail (Wikipedia, general species account).
It is distributed throughout India and neighbouring countries. The Reptile Database lists Meghalaya, Gujarat, Sikkim, Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Odisha.
Quick answers
- Where is the Common Cat Snake found?
- South Asia: Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, and Iran and Central Asia
- How big is the Common Cat Snake?
- About 91cm including a tail of about 18cm