Painted bronzeback (Dendrelaphis pictus)

Painted bronzeback (Dendrelaphis pictus) is an animal species in Colubridae, an arboreal snake that inhabits trees, has a long and slender body, a short monk and wide eyes, brownish bronze color on the top, greenish white on the bottom and a linear black line.

D. pictus has a length of up to 150 cm. The top is bronze-brown, the sides have one or two thin blackish stripes and the two are separated by a thick cream or yellowish line. The underside has a greenish white or cream or pale yellow color. The head is the same color as the upper body, but in front and behind the eyes have a wide, elongated black plot. Eyes are black.



This snake has 23–26 maxillary teeth. The length of the eye is equal to the distance between the nostril and the eye. The rostral scale is wider than it is deep and is visible from above. The internasal scales are equal in length to, or shorter than, the prefrontal scales. The frontal scale is equal in length to its distance from the rostral scale (or the tip of the snout), but is shorter than the parietal scales.

There is one elongated loreal scale, one preocular scale, and two postocular scales. The temporal scale arrangement may be 2+2, 1+1, or 1+2. There are seven to nine upper labial scales, with the fourth or sixth scale touching the eye. The snake has four or five lower labial scales in contact with the anterior chin shields. The anterior chin shields are shorter than the posterior chin shields and are separated by one scale anteriorly and two scales posteriorly.

The body scales are arranged in 15 rows; the vertebral scales are approximately the same size as the outermost scales. There are 151–204 ventral scales, a divided anal scale, and 103–174 subcaudal scales.

Painted bronzeback inhabits rainforest to plantation and agricultural land, often found near human settlements. Active during the day and usually roams in trees, plants and bushes. Sometimes also wander on the ground or grass. This snake includes low poison and does not harm humans.

If feel threatened will flatten neck that both sides of the neck will show the edges of the scales which are bluish in color. The main food is lizards, lizards, geckos and small frogs. The female lays 2-10 eggs. Each young snake that hatches is 25 cm long.

TAXON

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Ahaetuliinae
Genus: Dendrelaphis Boulenger (1890)
Species: Dendrelaphis pictus Gmelin (1789)

SYNONYMS

Ahaetulla ahaetulla Smith (1943)
Ahaetulla bellii Hardwicke & Gray (1834)
Ahaetulla boiga boiga Ladiges (1939)
Ahaetulla boiga boiga Mertens (1930)
Ahaetulla boiga intermedia Mertens (1927)
Ahaetulla boiga Schmidt (1927)
Ahaetulla decorus Gray (1825)
Ahaetulla fasciata Link (1807)
Ahaetulla picta Cope (1861)
Ahaetulla picta picta Haas (1950)
Coluber ahaetulla Linnaeus (1758)
Coluber boiga de Lacépède (1789)
Coluber decorus Shaw (1802)
Coluber pictus Gmelin (1789)
Coluber pictus Linnaeus (1789)
Dendrelaphis (boiga) Savage (1952)
Dendrelaphis inornatus intermedius How (1996)
Dendrelaphis pictus Cox (1998)
Dendrelaphis pictus intermedius Meise & Hennig (1932)
Dendrelaphis pictus Manthey & Grossmann (1997)
Dendrelaphis pictus pictus Gaulke (1999)
Dendrelaphis pictus pictus Mertens (1934)
Dendrelaphis pictus Tweedie (1983)
Dendrelaphis pictus Vogel & Rooijen (2011)
Dendrelaphis pictus Wallach (2014)
Dendrelaphis proarchos Vogel & Rooijen (2011)
Dendrelaphis proarchos Wall (1909)
Dendrophis boiga inornatus Meise & Hennig (1932)
Dendrophis boiga intermedius Meise & Hennig (1932)
Dendrophis boiga, Leonhard Stejneger (1933)
Dendrophis decorus Fitzinger (1826)
Dendrophis picta Duméril & Bibron (1854)
Dendrophis picta Schlegel (1837)
Dendrophis picta Stoliczka (1870)
Dendrophis pictus Boie (1827)
Dendrophis pictus Boulenger (1894)
Dendrophis pictus de Rooij (1917)
Dendrophis pictus Fischer (1884)
Dendrophis pictus pictus Brongersma (1931)
Dendrophis pictus pictus Kopstein (1938)
Dendrophis pictus var. Boettger (1883)
Dendrophis pictus Wall (1907)
Dendrophis proarchos Wall (1909)
Dendrophis proarchus Wall (1921)
Leptophis pictus Cantor (1847)

VERNACULAR NAME

Chinese (simplified): 过树蛇
Chinese (traditional): 過樹蛇
Czech: Stromovec bronzový
Danish: Sydlig Malet Bronzesnog
English: Painted Bronzeback, Common Bronze-back, Indonesian Bronze-back
German: Gefleckte Bronzenatter, Gemeine Bronzenatter
Indonesian: Ular Tambang, Ular tali picis
Italian: Colubro dorsobronzeo indonesiano, Serpente arboricolo dal dorso di bronzo
Java: Ulo tambang, Ulo tampar
Madura: Olar kandilis
Russian: Блестящий древесный уж
Thai: งูสายม่านพระอินทร์
Toraja: Duwata, Ule lewora

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